While the city’s Health Centers are reducing the waiting time for doctor’s visits, withthe intention of reducing them further across the board, the outlook is not so rosy for public dental clinics.
Dentists willing to work for the city salary between $74,000 and $95,000 are becoming more scarce, new health commissioner Dr. Donald Schwarz testified in a budget hearing before City Council Monday.
The city has difficulty attracting a number of positions in the medical field – nurses, pharmacists and, according to the fire department, paramedics. In the case of dentists, it’s getting harder to get an initial appointment at the city’s health centers – 34 days now versus 24 days last year, a 42 percent increase in waiting time.
In contrast, the medical and pre-natal waiting times are going down, Schwarz reported. The average waiting time for an initial medical appointment was down to 55 days in March, versus 60 days in March 2007; two days for return visits, down from 12 last year. Pediactric appointments are now 9 days, down from 10 last year, with return visits at 20 days, down from 21 last year. New prenatal appointments have a 20-day waiting time, versus 29 last year, with return visits at 10 days versus 13 last year.
The numbers are an average – some centers have longer waits than others (Health Center 10 in the Northeast has notoriously long waits). But another $3 million added to the budget year beginning in July will help to move those averages down from the 55-day initial waiting time to 30 days across the board by June 2010, Schwarz said.
The six areas for improvement outlined by Schwarz are:
-Increase staff to improve customer service (including wait times) at health centers;
-Improve turnaround time for autopsies.
-Increase food establishment inspections.
-Establish better planning for the health department.
-Workforce hiring, recruitment and planning.
-Replace funding for the $1.4-million Steps for a Healthier U.S. Grant, which targeted preventative programs to reduce diabetes, obesity, and asthma.
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