Quick Take
Santa Cruz County lawmakers put off impending layoffs for at least three more months after they reached an agreement to extend some health care services that were proposed for closure.
Santa Cruz County will avoid most of the proposed layoffs in its health agency, for now, as the county’s elected lawmakers worked out a deal to extend two safety net services through September.
The board of supervisors unanimously agreed Tuesday to redirect more than $500,000 from road and housing initiatives to maintain the county’s lab and radiology services for the next three months. Local doctors have called the services critical in their efforts to care for the region’s highest risk patients and control chronic conditions like hepatitis C and HIV. The move preserves about eight full-time employees who had expected to be laid off.
Four other full-time employees, however, were laid off, including the county’s suicide prevention coordinator.
The last-minute budget deal also avoided the closure of the Mental Health Client Advisory Network, or MHCAN, the county’s only peer-run, drop-in day center that serves those with mental illness, many of whom are unhoused.
Instead of shutting down because of a lack of county funds, Gemma House — the transition housing service for formerly incarcerated women — will now be operated by Janus of Santa Cruz. The supervisors also moved $40,000 into saving a syringe cleanup program in South County.
As part of the deal, the supervisors told the county’s Health Service Agency staff to work with front-line health care workers involved with radiology and lab services to come up with alternative options to shutting down once September ends. The HSA staff were also directed to come back in two weeks with an update on how the health department is helping the laid-off employees find new jobs.
Although the supervisors approved the changes to the HSA budget, as of publication time the board was still deliberating over the rest of the county’s budget.
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