PORT ANGELES — The Clallam County public health clinic in Forks will be closed during the noon hour because of a staffing shortage.
County commissioners approved the change by a 3-0 vote Tuesday.
The clinic at 140 C St. now will be open Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 8:30 a.m. to noon and from 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
It has been, and will continue to be, closed Mondays and Wednesdays.
County Health and Human Services Director Iva Burks proposed the change after two part-time employees resigned.
Current staff can no longer fill the hours of operation, according to the resolution the board approved.
“We are extremely thin,” Burks told commissioners.
The impacts of the change will be minimal: Appointments were not scheduled during the noon hour because of lunch breaks.
“Apparently, they don’t have a large contingency coming in during the noon hour,” Commissioner Mike Doherty said.
Doherty said the change is “generally considered temporary” but could be made permanent during budget talks.
The resolution says the part-time positions will be filled.
The clinic holds immunization clinics the third Tuesday of the month from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and from 1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Consolidate services?
Doherty asked Burks to check with Forks Community Hospital Administrator Camille Scott “to see if there’s a way to consolidate our services in her medical campus.”
Commissioners Mike Chapman and Jim McEntire supported the idea of consolidating services with the West End hospital.
“I do agree that we ought to pursue some sort of combination with the hospital out in Forks,” McEntire said.
“It just makes good sense.”
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5072, or at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.