LSHA: Plan by Health Dept Will Save Millions. Primary Care in Two Clinics. Com. Rocky Ford Urges Support. The Governor's Board is Thinking
February 12, 2025 9:50 am | 4 min read
Photo and graphic: Columbia County Observer
COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – Monday’s Lake Shore Hospital Authority Governor’s Board meeting was highlighted by appearances of the County’s Health Dept. Dir. Diana Duque and Commissioner Rocky Ford, who attended to promote the County Health Department’s ability to provide cost-effective primary care for all in two clinics in Columbia County.
Background
As reported by the Observer on January 27, the estimated cost for the Health Department to provide primary care in two clinics in Columbia County was about $300,000 a year, which would not require County taxpayers to spend $3 million to build a new clinic and subsidize $2 million in losses for the sweetheart deal with Palms Medical worked out between the Authority’s Manager Dale Williams and its financial advisor Richard Powell, formally the Authority’s accountant – external auditor – internal auditor – and financial advisor (not a typo – all one person).
The $3 million the Authority is proposing to construct a clinic for the use of Palms Medical could fund primary care at the Health Department for at least ten years.
See the Jan. 27, 2025, article: Tonight, the Tone-Deaf LSHA Governor’s Illegally Constituted Board Meets To Do What It Does Best – Continue Squandering Public Funds
Authority Manager Williams kept the Health Department in the dark about the Authority's 12th-hour RFP for primary care services.
Speaking under the condition of anonymity to avoid retribution, a County source told your reporter that Authority Manager Dale Williams was saying that "he didn't think the County Health Department could provide primary care."
Monday Evening At the Authority
Commissioner Rocky Ford and Health Dept. Dir.
Diana Duque
Working in slow motion as usual, the Palms
Medical Primary Care Proposal and Agreement was
pulled off the agenda by Authority Attorney Todd
Kennon, with the explanation, “We are still back
and forth with
Palms first appeared on the Authority agenda on December 9, 2024.
After your reporter, a resident and property owner in South Columbia County, reached out to the Dept. of Health and provided his findings to the Authority, Commissioner Rocky Ford, a life-long resident of Columbia County, picked up the ball and came out in full support of the Health Department providing primary care in Columbia County.
Commissioner Ford introduced himself to the Authority Board:
“My name is Rocky Ford. I am a resident of Fort White, and I encourage y'all to keep an open mind about this before you make a decision [approving the 12th-hour Palms Medical agreement]."
I met with the Health Department last week, and they can provide primary care at their facility across the street. We have a facility in Fort White [a Health Dept. clinic] that's available to do primary care. The County maintains the building. The Health Department used to provide primary care two days a week in Fort White and three days a week in Lake City. The funding for that went away at some point.
The Health Department can provide this service for the money you're talking about spending at Palms, which will pay for this service for over 12 years.
Most of your residential constituents live in South Columbia County. You really need to provide services to that area.
Next up, the Director of the Columbia County Health Department, Diana Duque.
Ms. Duque introduced herself to the Board and said [abridged]:
Commissioner Ford asked me to come and do an educational piece of the services we have to offer at the Health Department, as well as what we can offer if we have the ability to do so.
Currently, we provide women's services and STD testing. We do family planning. We also have HIV services, test and treat. We provide a dental school-based sealing program as well as pediatric dentistry. We have WIC nutritional program and Healthy Start. We do vital statistics with birth and death certificates. We have disease surveillance and public health response for special needs, and we also have an Environmental Public Health Department.
We could do two to three days in Fort white and the rest of time in Lake City.
What would that look like? A physician, an RN, a senior clerk: $381,928, which includes benefits. There would be a one-time cost for some things to set up, but it wouldn't be more than $6,500, which is required for IT in order to handle an influx of patients and the amount of traffic we'd get in that building. But other than that, we would be able to do it.
In the beginning, the first total year wouldn't be more than $390,074; after the one-time cost total and then ongoing, it would decrease to just the salary dollars. Basically, that’s all it would take to offer primary care in Fort White and Lake City.
Jerry Bullard, the Governor's last appointed
board member.
Board member Jerry Bullard, finally relieved of the interrogation by Board member Don ‘Razor Wire’ Kennedy, asked, “Has the county ever approached you about doing primary care?”
Ms. Duque said it had not. Ms. Duque also mentioned that in the future, the Health Department would also be able to offer OBGYN services.
Commissioner Ford mentioned that when he was raising his family, the Health Department played an integral part in the community’s health, giving inoculations and physicals for sports.
Mr. Ford said, “This would be a great service for everybody, school kids in the County – a lot of kids want to play sports. They just can't afford to play sports. Their parents can't afford to play sports, and I think this is a great opportunity to help those kids, too.”
“I'd encourage y'all to think about this and try to try to make the right decision.”
Mr. Ford continued, “I think it's a lot better plan than putting up millions of dollars and then having to come back and pay for lost revenues [for Palms Medical].”
Epilogue
Governor DeSantis has appointed or reappointed everyone on the illegally constituted Lake Shore Hospital Authority Board.
Commissioner Ford, Health Dept. Director Duque and Deputy Secretary of County Health Systems Mark Lander have given the Governors' Board something to think about.
However, what seems like common sense to some is not generally the way of this Governor’s Board.
Stay tuned.
