County approves health department price increases

    The Ford County Commission approved sweeping price changes at the Ford County Health Department on Monday.
    Of the 43 services offered by the department, 17 prices were either raised or lowered after officials cited increasing supply expenses, pushing the cost of services steadily upward.
    The largest increase was a $20 jump in physicals for kindergarten, day care and Head Start students.
    Angela Elder, director of the health department, said the prices for physicals made the largest jump because the state added more requirements for the procedures. That meant, Elder said, that workers at the health department had to spend more time, supplies and money for children to pass their physical.
    Elder said her staff had thoroughly reviewed the various prices and the new ones, which went into effect Monday, reflect a more efficient system.
     The majority of vaccinations stayed the same, with the exception of "misc. (other) injections," which rose by $5. Other procedures affected were blood sugar tests, vision and hearing screenings, blood pressure tests, treatments for sexually transmitted diseases and child care licensing costs for centers.
    Elder said the costs for child care center licensing went up because the department regularly sends out employees to review day care centers and with gas prices rising, it was becoming more expensive to make in-person trips.
    Commission Chairman Kim Goodnight said he wanted to stress that the county wasn't making any additional money off the price increases.
    "We can't charge more than it costs," Goodnight said.
    Goodnight also praised the department's decision to raise the price of day care licensing.
    "It does address some of the transportation issues we have in maintaining some of those services," he said.
    Elder said she didn't expect many complaints in the coming months as people began to notice the price increases.
    The Ford County Health Department treats an average of 10,000 monthly customers, according to statistics provided by the department. Elder said the demographic of clients ranged from poverty-level to higher-income residents.
    This is the first time the department has adjusted its prices since 2006.

Reach Mark Vierthaler at (620) 408-9932 or e-mail him at mark.vierthaler@dodgeglobe.com.