The Jasper County Board of Health is looking for a new entity to provide public health nursing services for the county. As of Feb. 1, Skiff Medical Center will no longer provide the service following the merger with Mercy.
“Skiff has been a great partner and provider of public health services in Jasper County. The board of health truly appreciates their dedication to the health and well-being of the citizens of Jasper County and their willingness to support the board through this transition,” chair of the board Margot Voshell said.
Skiff has provided the service since 1984. As the hospital continues to evolve following the merger with Mercy, and as a part of the Mercy Health Network, the hospital found that it can no longer provide the service.
In a letter to the board, Skiff CEO Brett Altman said Skiff leaders recognize the importance for the community to have access to community-based health care services such as home health, hospice and public health. Beginning Dec. 28, Skiff Home Care and Hospice will be managed and supported by CHI Health at Home through Mercy as an approach to improve access to care at home in Jasper County. Due to this shift, Skiff needed to review the implications for managing public health nursing as single service within the hospital operation.
“While we’re expanding several service lines, public health nursing was a service that we provided through our home care department which has been divested to CHI Health at Home. Catholic Health Initiatives or CHI has different divisions that it specializes in and has great expertise with one of those places being home care and hospice,” Altman said. “Public health is not one of the services they provide nationally. Therefore, as our home care and hospice staff moves, it leave virtually no one left with expertise to provide the public health services.”
Skiff does intend to be partners with Jasper County to help identify a successor with public health nursing service expertise. In the letter, Altman said that Skiff remains committed to partnering on behalf of building sustainable community based health care options for improving access to affordable health care.
The board is currently accepting Letters of Interest from nonprofit agencies interested in providing the service. Letters are due no later than 4 p.m. on Nov. 30 to the Jasper County Board of Health, 115 N. Second Ave. E. — B1, Newton, IA 50208. One original and four copies should be submitted with the application.
Contact Jamee A. Pierson at 641-792-3121 ext. 6534 or jpierson@newtondailynews.com