GOLD BEACH – Curry County commissioners voted to forgive $190,000 in loans from the county general fund to the Public Health Department on Wednesday, then began the task of finding some agency to take over that department.

Commissioner George Rhodes noted the county is in financial straits, but he said it was necessary to forgive the $160,000 loan made on June 29, 2007 and $30,000 on Oct. 19, 2009.

 “What’s at stake is being able to provide the services,” Rhodes said. “For the Health Department to continue to operate, it needs to be able to look outside the county. It’s impossible to move with that loan hanging over its head.”

Health and Human Services Director Jan Kaplan said there would be no way any entity would take over the $190,000 debt.

“We could close the health department, but there would be no way to collect it. There’s no profitability in the health department, no place for that money to come from. At some point, it needs to be written off,” Kaplan said.

Commissioners then directed Kaplan to make plans for separating Public Health from Mental Health. The two departments were merged in early 2010, a few months after Kaplan was hired to run the Department of Human Services.

Earlier this year, commissioners and the Curry Health District Board directed Kaplan and Health District CEO Bill McMillan to develop a business plan to merge Health and Human Services into the Health District.

“It’s my understanding, that’s not on the radar any longer. There are issues that prevent that from happening,” Rhodes said at Wednesday’s meeting.

The Curry Health District received an audit report in late October which noted it had lost a substantial amount of money during the past two fiscal years, which could endanger the district’s ability to operate at its current level.

“We have begun to satisfy the state and JBH (Jefferson Behavioral Health) reports,” Rhodes said. “We need guidance on which direction we are going to go.”

Commissioner Bill Waddle said that due to loss of timber funds, the county is unlikely to be able to operate public health next year.

“We see the need for public health department under local control instead of giving it back to the state,” Waddle said.

Rhodes said that if the state took over the county health department, it would not run it, but would likely contract it out.

Kaplan said for now, his major function would be to shore up the business process of the health department.

“I would see it as highly likely we create a local health department not under the county,” Kaplan said.

He said the goal would be to find some agency to take it over by the end of the fiscal year (June 30).

“I have been on the phone, getting interest from potential partners,” Kaplan said. “In two days, I have gone from ‘I don’t know’ to ‘we can do it,’” Kaplan said.

Rhodes said he would suggest that Kaplan begin separating the departments, Public Health and Human Services, and Kaplan spend his time working to spin off Public Health.

He also suggested that JBH, which funnels mental health care funding for Curry and four other counties, be asked to furnish help to run Human Services.

The commissioners agreed to ask JBH for help to run Human Services while the separation is being worked out.

“I suggest the separation is something we target for next fiscal year,” Kaplan said. “We’re going to need to work quickly.”