BAKERSFIELD, Calif. – The Kern County Grand Jury is raising alarm about a “severely affected” health system in the county following a 25% budget cut in this year’s budget.
A new report issued by the jury this month says the Kern County Board of Supervisors’ decision in August to cut funding for the county’s department of public health by $12 million has left many services and programs underfunded.
This is especially concerning since nearly half of residents in Kern County are enrolled in Medi-Cal – which is one of the highest enrollment rates in the state. The jury is recommending the Board restore funding for the health department to previous levels and adjust for inflation.
Not doing so, the jury warns, risks further worsening doctor and nurse shortages and causing economic strain to the county with a population of just over 900,000.
The jury reviewed county documents and interviewed health department staff to understand how the budget cuts are impacting the county’s health safety net.
More than two dozen staff were eliminated under the budget cuts, according to the report. And among the services and programs that are not being adequately funded are initiatives to prevent and treat sexually transmitted infections, nutrition services, home care services for seniors and veterans and lab tests for diabetes and Valley Fever, among others.
Kern County has one of the state’s highest rates of sexually transmitted infections and Valley Fever, so the health department prioritizes that type of testing and treatment.
“The safety net provided by the [department of public health] has been greatly weakened,” the jury wrote in its report.
George Martinez, a public health employee who was laid off due to the budget cuts, said the jury's report underscored concerns he and his union, SEIU Local 521, had raised.
“Workers and community members have long demanded action to fix Kern [County], yet county leaders have turned a blind eye at the expense of community health. Their failure to protect essential jobs and public health services is unacceptable and puts our residents at risk,” Martinez said in a statement.
KVPR reached out to Kern County Board of Supervisors Chair Leticia Perez’s office for comment about how the Board planned to respond to the report, but did not hear back in time for publication.
The county in the meantime is relying on support from hospitals and clinics to absorb some of the impact of the health department cuts, according to the jury.
Kern Medical helps fill gaps in healthcare services, for example, and operates two mobile units it plans to deploy to rural areas, but the jury warns these may not be enough to meet everyone’s needs.
Last year, the county’s public health department saw up to 61 patients per day at its clinics. The city of Shafter, northwest of Bakersfield, also lost its public health clinic earlier in the summer due to budget cuts.
