 Welcome to Sheboygan County government working for you. My name is Adam Payne, Sheboygan County Administrator and co-host of this program with Chairman Mike Van der Steen and today We're very pleased to have our HR director with us Mike collard. Mike welcome. Thank you very much now some of you Perhaps have seen Mike before he certainly has done this program, but it's been a little while Mike Why don't you begin by sharing a little bit about yourself and when you started as human resources director for Sheboygan County Well, I came to Sheboygan County in December 2002, so it's been over five years now Got my five-year pin last night at the county board meeting. Happy to be here Happy to be still doing some interesting work at Sheboygan County human resources Mike you've made good things happen and during your tenure. No question about that We're gonna talk about some of that But one of the real exciting initiatives that you shared with the county board last night was our in health clinic That's gonna be kicking off. Please talk about that a little bit. I'd love to I could talk all day about this in health clinic Because it's a very exciting project But I think it's going to do great things for Sheboygan County as an organization Great things for our employees and great things for the community as a whole we hope Just to give a little bit of an overview What we're doing is we've contracted with an outside firm called in Terra health and they're going to be opening a dedicated clinic solely to serve the employees of Sheboygan County and any partners that may come in with Sheboygan County on this project in the future and We're definitely talking to some other partners and looking to do that But it would be a medical clinic staffed by a nurse practitioner The nurse has been hired by in Terra and she's an extremely well-qualified person Karen Bonner is her name and As an advanced practice nurse practitioner She's able to do really quite a bit of the basic health care that people need on a day-to-day basis Everything from you know treating basic illnesses doing physical exams You know cuts and bruises ear aches infections a lot of minor procedures On up to some almost mid-level procedures It's estimated by experts in the field that a advanced practice nurse practitioner Can do 70 to 90 percent perhaps although that may be a little on the high side of what a family care Physician can do so a lot of those routine health care needs can be taken care of by a nurse practitioner But we think the nurse practitioner adds something to the mix because frankly she'll have a lot more time to spend a lot more personalized attention and a lot more emphasis on the overall wellness and Health needs of the individual as a whole Outstanding where's the in-health clinic going to be located it's going to be within a block of our law enforcement center within short walking distance of a lot of county employees obviously we have some facilities out to different locations But it's going to be in the prairie states building at the corner of 6th and Pennsylvania And that's also very fortuitous because prairie states of course is the company that manages our health care claims So they're just becoming our landlord or the landlord for this clinic project as well Now of course we have a lot of fine medical offices throughout Sheboygan County Why should Sheboygan County go employees go to our in-health clinic? Well, there are there are several reasons the most immediate reason for an employee is That there will be a cost savings under our health plan an employee who needs to go to the doctor for some routine treatment Or some relatively minor whether it's minor or major treatment normally has to pay first deductible $250 per person or 500 per family and that's met once during the year But even after that amount has been paid by the employee a co-pay is required Usually 10% of the remaining charges after the deductible is met with the arrangement We have for this nurse practitioner clinic. We're able to offer this to employees without any co-pay without any deductible So that's the immediate incentive built in for employees the longer term incentive And I think what should be Almost a greater incentive is that we're able to provide a very good option for health care that might not be available to them Otherwise as part of this clinic the nurse will be Able to access all employees medical records will be able to work with whatever the employees other Doctors or health care providers would be and really pay a lot more attention to the whole picture a lot of focus on employee wellness on prevention of disease prevention of those chronic conditions that both very much harm people's lives and Frankly add quite a bit of dollars to our county budget if we can if we can avoid some of those bad situations through better prevention better managed care at an early stage better identification of health risks Both employees in the county come out way ahead and Nice segue to the next question you made it clear that it's beneficial for the employees that they can save money and as individuals or Families, it's certainly good for their health and well-being, but what about the county as an organization? Why is it beneficial to Sheboygan County and Sheboygan County taxpayers? Well again? We think there are short-term financial benefits as well as long-term short-term benefits come just from the cost of the visit We looked at our health claims for the past year recently and found that the average cost of a physician visit Whatever that may be was a hundred and twenty one dollars Nothing unusual about that But with this clinic we have an agreed fee schedule per visit so that depending on the level of care It would be either forty five dollars or seventy dollars at most just for the office visit So right off the bat we're saving usually at least fifty dollars On the office visit that is a savings that can be split partly goes to the employee But in the form of not having to pay the co-pays and deductibles But the rest of it comes back to the county Now the county then is taking most of that money and using it to pay for a total wellness package and the health coaching services That are also going to be free to employees and employees dependents who are members of our health plan and we think that investment we're taking that savings and kind of reinvesting it and employee health and Produce probably a little bit of short-term financial savings for the county But as a result of that investment much longer-term savings through better awareness of the health risks and keeping people out of those high-cost And poor health categories. I had the opportunity as you know to tour the facility with you the other day And was very impressed with the with the location that employees can simply walk over to the clinic from work However, there was additional space that I know is part of our lease arrangement, but we won't yet be fully using What was the thinking there? Well part of it is that's the space they had available But that really worked out very well for our plans because what we'd really like to see happen with this clinic is to see it grow And expand right now. We're opening on June 2nd less than two weeks from today With just one person working at the clinic that nurse practitioner Karen Bonner Who will be a once one person shop at first to have to do anything from Scheduling appointments to doing the health coaching which is very well qualified to do to doing the treatment and prescribing of medications for instance that comes with it, but as the demand grows both from our employees and then hopefully from other employers which will be able to join up with us and Participate in this arrangement We very much hope to expand in the near future to add, you know, another nurse maybe a separate health coach Maybe another nurse practitioner and office manager If things go well as we very much hope they do We hope to be able to add, you know, perhaps the physical therapy or chiropractic capability and maybe even an x-ray machine At some point down the road. So there's a beautiful space as you mentioned At the Prairie States building that's really just the right size for our dream clinic when we're at full expansion capability But either way we go it's going to be high quality professional-looking office space So we hope that employees and people visiting the clinic have a high degree of confidence that they are getting the very best of medical care There final question before I turn it over to Mike I know you have been really working hard and taking the predominant lead role and getting this pulled together and implemented your Staff have been fantastic and in fact you and your staff have been making presentations to employees throughout Sheboygan County you know sharing with them the The opportunity how it's going to work the savings for both the employees in the county What kind of response are you getting so far from employees? Overwhelmingly positive as you mentioned Ruth Wilson of our HR department staff has done an outstanding job going out and doing employee presentations We've had meetings with different groups of employees Jay Scott who's our insurance consultant and advisor has been participating in those at least some of them and Tara health people have been participating in them and The word is really getting around the employees. We think that when the clinic opens June 2nd There's going to be a line around the block to get in because people are excited about this for nothing but favorable comments So people are getting excited very glad glad to see that outstanding. Thank you Mike Mike I've heard that a lot of companies are offering their employees wellness programs. How will this Affect that and what it will be doing in that area? Well, our wellness program as a whole Will really take a tremendous boost from the operation of this clinic from the opening of it Two years ago. We really didn't have anything in the area of employee wellness. We weren't doing anything We were looking to do something and in fact the idea for the clinic came about When I got together with with people from the city of Sheboygan and the school district in Sheboygan Really to talk about wellness programs and trying to look for some sort of joint program to work on The clinic actually grew out of that as a way to pay for a really good wellness program because they can be very expensive So we're just about on the cusp of really getting that kind of wellness program up and running But we didn't wait for the clinic either About a year ago, you know Adam our county administrator came to me and said we really need to get something started on wellness We had no budget at that point, but we started it anyway We formed a wellness committee which has been a tremendously enthusiastic group of employees that come As volunteers and I haven't been leading that committee. Frankly. They've been leading me because they have a lot of great ideas I told them at the start of the process I have no budget to give you but you know be creative do some interesting things and they've absolutely done that We've had a number of programs We've had they've found some volunteer speakers to come in without payment and and give talks on things such as stress Management or you know stress over the holidays or you know, we've had an event having to do with breast cancer awareness and A number of other things in fact just today they're participating in the you know healthy Sheboygan 2008 program a little bit of competition, you know with some of the other employers see how many Employees will sign up and do at least 20 minutes of exercise and we had a very nice little lunch for people who were involved in that program a healthy healthy lunch healthy food and The wellness program I think is doing better because of the way we started it because we really have the buy-in from employees We'll now be able to build on that with all the resources that will be available to us with the clinic But an almost unanticipated side effect is I think it's really bringing employees from different departments together Really improving morale among county employees and you know some people look down on morale But it's good to see that kind of enthusiasm that people have for the workplace that that's really good to hear As far as the county what other impacts do you think that'll have on you know our health care costs and some of those areas well Something on the order of 80% of health care claims come from 20% of the Population 20% of our employees and their dependents. So if our wellness programs Have the effect of keeping just a few people even one person every year out of that high-cost group out of that chronic illness or catastrophic illness group That'll that one person may save the county a hundred thousand dollars a year if we can do that once every year So if we can do that with just improve the health of a large number of people a little bit and maybe catch a few serious things Before they become those very dangerous things There's going to be some real benefits that we'll never necessarily know about but we'll be there just the same Mike as you know wages and benefits are the biggest part of our county's budget How much does it cost for us to provide the health insurance coverage for county employees? What's about 12 million dollars a year for the for the county budget overall so Considering that the county tax levy is I'm sure Adam can tell you something like 45 million to 50 million That's a significant percentage of the of the tax levy if you look at it that way So it's extremely important that we're good stewards and manage that program What type of things are we doing to keep the cost At a reasonable level for our taxpayers to cover this health insurance for our employees Well the things we're doing now such as the clinic and the wellness program are really kind of a Second or third stage to our plan to keep those costs a little bit under control to start out with we had to have more of a buy-in from employees because You know they weren't paying for health insurance five six years ago except in a very small amount But now through negotiations and changes to our plan all employees are contributing 10 percent for the premium So that's contributed to the fact that employees are a little more motivated to be good consumers of health care We've also had several changes to our health plan. We've changed our network So that we have a much broader network That provides us better discounts from health care providers On a more consistent across the board basis and that saved us quite a bit of money And then effective the first of this year We also had some other significant changes to our plan design some of the technical things but again really designed to encourage people to Spend their dollars wisely or spend our dollars wisely because they're spending their dollars as well And as a result we've had very good success in the last couple of years in keeping the premium rates Down to a very low level of increase Year ago our premium increase was 4.6 percent Which is a lot but much less than it had been we had six years consecutive with double digit Increases in our health insurance cost then they went down to 4.6 two years ago 2.5 percent a year ago And we're just starting to look at our numbers for 2009 what our premiums might be and we're very optimistic That we'll be able to keep that rate very low again Mike as the hr director you take the lead in negotiation of our union contracts What's the current status of those contracts? Well, I've had a year off as they say but I found a few other things to do but We settled all our contracts with eight bargaining units a year ago And are now just again on the verge of reopening contracts with all eight bargaining units Because our contracts all expire at the end of this year at the end of 2008. So it obviously Takes usually quite some time to renegotiate. So we'll be starting this summer And what do we do if we're not able to reach new agreements with them by the end of the year? How do we handle that? I think public sector bargaining is quite a bit different And people need to realize that from the private sector when it comes to union relations and negotiations We have a completely different statute that applies to us We negotiate with each bargaining group And they send their representatives We have our representatives and we really try very hard to come to an agreement And we both understand that if we can't reach an agreement The state more or less takes control The state will send a mediator to try to help us work out an agreement But if we just can't come to an agreement essentially Both sides the county as the employer and the union As a representative of the employees submit their last and best offer And then a state appointed arbitrator comes in And at that point we lose control of the situation And the state appointed arbitrator says either The county's offer is better or the union's offer is better and has no authority to compromise It has to pick one offer or the other So it's really kind of a poker game as to what position you're going to stake out kind of a high-risk poker game frankly Because hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars can be involved in the difference between the offers long term But if it comes to that point the state does Have its arbitrator make the final decision and then the county board unfortunately Loses all say in the matter can't can't reverse that Thanks mike. Do you have any other questions adam? Well, I I wanted to go back to the wellness program and the some of the activities that have been in play that mike touched on it's just been Heartwarming to see the enthusiasm being generated by mike's office and and really throughout Sheboygan county today at the at the luncheon that he mentioned a few minutes ago Folks were walking outside and I noticed a couple of the people that put it together including um Ruth wilson from your office and denise and nila borne and and a number of other good people But those three in particular and they were looking outside and oh, I've never seen that person out They're going for a walk before and look at that crew going by with our non motorized program There's been more interest in getting out on bikes. I know mike personally has taken the long bike ride from plimoth And it's it's just rather remarkable to see some of the Momentum that is being generated I think in part between the non motorized program and our wellness program and seeing people getting out and walking and biking more And and thinking about their eating habits and now with the in health clinic It's just as you said it's nice to see and I do think that our workforce as a whole is Is getting involved? I mean folks are stepping up and getting involved with it and it's a real credit to our I think our organization as a whole the employee newsletter that we recently started as you know Is a part of that as well We've had very good feedback and comments that say this is the first time We really feel like we belong to a larger organization than just my department So things really are coming together. I think kind of we're seeing a culture change in county employment I think so and last night at county boy county board on mike van der steen Of course, uh, you run the show there and we had the opportunity to present some pins to folks for their years of service Including my collard and folks like sheriff health key for what 30 years at the sheriff's department And as we presented that as we jointly went through that I thought, you know the secrets getting out I think people in this community are starting to take notice That sheboygan county has got some good things going and we've got some good things going because we have great people Throughout our organization, whether it's mike health key sheriff health key our hr director A number of folks were identified last night for their leadership Well, well, we've got some we've got a good team in place and From a standpoint of taking notice that kind of leads into my next question The city of sheboygan right now has initiated a discussion with us to look at perhaps combining hr functions, and I know you've had some preliminary discussions With some representatives of the city Where's that at mike and and what are your thoughts on the potential for some Shared services or win-win opportunity to where the city and county could work more together providing hr functions Well, it is at a very preliminary stage right now But I do think that uh the county hr committee as well as the other county leaders that I've talked to have an open mind about it And and we're certainly prepared to look at at the possibility of doing something together with the city and hr Uh, we're talking first of all about first of all about combining hr departments And I'm open minded to that certainly something we need to discuss further Uh the issues relating to that often involve are difficult because Uh human resources often is so tightly intertwined with the general management So there are often issues about who controls what direction you're going and and and it can be very challenging to do that Not impossible. So we're certainly going to discuss it further There are some other possibilities as well that that deserve further examination Such as just sharing or contracting to provide certain services to the city Certain parts of the hr function in return for you know, a contractual payment and that will allow us to add some staff perhaps And a lot of ideas are floating around out there But we are planning to have a joint meeting again of the city salary agreements committee with the County human resources committee tentatively scheduled for june 5th And we hope to firm that up tonight when I meet with the hr committee So from a timetable standpoint these two committees will continue to discuss the opportunities And then ultimately if something is accomplished or they come to terms on Sharing a position or sharing some resources. What's the next step? How does that actually come to fruition? Well, both governing bodies would have to take some action to put that into effect To you know, adjust the staffing of each organizations department And to presumably enter into some sort of a multi-year contract You know to to jointly operate whatever services are agreed upon So there would be some public action, of course Between the county board and the city council as well. Very good switching gears just a little bit For our viewers who have had the opportunity now to hear our hr director talk about some of the things going on in the In the county. We have about a thousand employees Throughout shaboyton county, whether it's the sheriff's department or highway department or working in the courthouse or administration building And we may have some folks out there wondering. Well, how do I apply for a job? What is what is the process right now? Folks are interested in seeing if there's any openings in shaboyton county. Absolutely. It's a question We often get asked so I always like to be sure we we touch on this even though we've talked about some other subjects today We do hire from time to time the nursing home is a big area the sheriff's department is often hiring for Correctional officers for instance. Those are our two biggest areas But a lot of different job classes are covered social workers the highway department workers and everything in between What the thing people should know is that all county openings are listed at the shaboyton job center And on the state job net that's the website associated with that So that's the easiest place to find them is to go to the job center It's at 36 20 wilgis avenue here in shaboyton. You can go there in person You can check them out on the web. You can call them at 208 5810 And see what they have listed and they can they can show you what the listings are and and how to apply Give you the application forms you need so 208 5810 5810 very good So that's so they can get more information and of course your office is staffed by some outstanding Individuals penny elsner who's your right hand person? I don't know if she's the assistant hr Director or not, but she essentially fills that role ruth wilson and then Courtney Courtney aims Courtney aims one of the newest member of the department You've just got some outstanding people if folks have a question in general about well How do I proceed or what's happening with this in health clinic? Do you have a general number that people can contact for more information? Absolutely And our staff would be glad to help anyone who has questions about county employment or about particular jobs It's 459 35 i'm sorry No, no, i'm you're not the first department telephone number is You never you never have to call your own main line. That's it. What's your number? Mine's 31 342 No, the 3105 yours is 3103, isn't it 3105 yours is 3103 459 3105 for the county hr So it's either 3103 3105 Minus 459 3142 if you have any questions for myself or want to give the chairman or i some Some suggestions and if you want to contact the hr director or his department, it is 459 3105 3105 outstanding. That's what happens when you ask a question that isn't on our on our list We only have a minute or two left mic anything else that you wanted to touch on or share with our viewers. Well I think what we haven't covered but uh, there are a lot of things happening in the human resources department Uh, important thing for us to remember is that we're here to help out all the other county departments So i'm a i'm a public servant. I get paid through public dollars And uh, I realize very much that my role is to help all the other county departments And so that's why I may be not in the public I as much as some of your other Department heads that you've had on the program You know the health and human services the highway department the sheriff's department all the courthouse departments They serve the public and uh, we like to keep in mind that we're doing our part and just helping them Continue doing the job. They all do so well very good. Well mic. Thank you so much for joining us today I covered a lot of ground excellent information I'm sure folks can sense his enthusiasm for this new in health clinic because it's something mark and his team Mike and his team have been working on now for some time and it is an exciting New initiative that I think we're only one of two counties out of 72 that Will have their own in health clinic. Is that right? Well, and and we've gone a step further than any other county And the way we've set up this clinic as a completely independent Entity from the other health care Systems in town, you know fondle that county has a very nice clinic But it's managed by the local Agnesian health care system We think the way we're setting it up really has advantages that take our our plan Above and beyond really what any other county is done in the state outstanding outstanding So on behalf of mike van der steen chairman of the county board and our full county board Thank you so much for joining us next month our airport director chuck mayors going to be here We've got some real exciting things happening out at the airport as well a major extension of a runway Certainly very important for economic development and we hope to have mike collared back then the general once a year We have 22 departments to go through so it can take a while to get through all the departments as you might imagine but we'd like to have mike and the the Nurse practitioner join mike perhaps within the next two to three months to give an update on how it's going so until then Thank you for joining us