By Zach Jensen,

Supervisor Steve Kelsay said Winneshiek County Public Health’s offering free and confidential AIDS testing to Luther College students, who may already have health insurance, is one example of non-required public health services which county taxpayers might find wasteful. (Photo by Zach Jensen)
The county’s supervisors are homing in on a decision regarding Winneshiek County Public Health’s future.
The Winneshiek County Board of Supervisors continued its ongoing discussion of the topic during its regular meeting Monday morning. Supervisor Steve Kelsay said he would prefer public health services to be provided through an agreement between WinnMed, Gundersen Clinic and the county. Kelsay reiterated a previous report provided to the board by Winneshiek County Public Health Administrator Krista Vanden Brink said Clayton County and Fayette County both have agreements with Gundersen to provide public health services to their respective residents.
“I talked with one of the board members from Fayette County, and he said that system has worked out very well for them,” Kelsay told the board Monday. “You can see that they have a total expenditure of $122,000 compared to our $481,000. If there is success in those two counties, we owe it to our populous to pursue and find out why or what are the possible savings we can make.”
Both Howard and Allamakee counties use their own hospitals, Kelsay added, noting he feels the county would be doing a disservice to its taxpayers if it didn’t explore all options. He went on to say the county’s public health board should be responsible for looking into such options.
Full article available in the April 3 Decorah Leader.
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