March 05--The Pennsylvania Department of Health says state health centers need to go to
the people who use them, not the other way around.
"As a nation and in Pennsylvania, we've all been on the move," said Aimee
Tysarczyk, press secretary and director of communications for the Department
of Health. "But the state health centers system has been standing still."
Tyzarczyk said the 1980s-based model for state health centers does not
reflect the many changes in health care over the last 25 years.
"No one has analyzed the delivery of public health services at state
health centers in 25 years," she said. "Think about all of the changes we have
seen over the past 25 years -- in public health, health care in general, the
way we work and communicate with one another."
The Department of Health announced Monday its intent to close nearly half
of Pennsylvania's health centers because it says they aren't effective in
treating public health problems.
The department says the plan will mean consolidating the 60 state health
centers into 34, although Tyzarczyk could not confirm whether or not the
health centers in Cumberland and Perry counties face closure.
The consolidation also eliminates the jobs of 26 nurses that overlap with
other agencies. Department officials say 104 nurses will remain on the job.
The labor union that represents state nurses says the move runs the risk
of slowing down the detection or prevention of outbreaks of communicable
diseases. Nurses say closing the centers will especially be felt in rural
areas.
Tyzarczyk says, on the other hand, access to health centers in rural
areas will not be compromised.
"Access to services will increase even though there will not be a bricks
and mortar state health center," she said. "This new model allows the
department to take advantage of well-attended senior fairs,
legislative-sponsored health expos and other community health events and we
will ensure that these events are regularly scheduled and in places where
people can easily find us."
Tyzarczyk said some state health centers only report a handful of
walk-ins per week or month and a mobile approach to services will serve more
people.
"Our goal is to ensure that we are in the communities providing services
where people live and work and to those who need them most," she said. "We can
do far better than that if we are out in the community going to where people
are versus having them find us or find ways to get to us since many also have
transportation issues."
State health centers provide STD/HIV services, disease investigations,
immunizations and tuberculosis screening and case management services in 60
locations across Pennsylvania.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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