Jackson Jambalaya

Thank you, Republican leadership and legislators. And to hell with all the bitchers.

Isn't this what we wanted? They cut the budget, so the MDH did what needed to be done. According to the opening of their press release: they reorganized, which cut administrative costs, but does not affect services.

Restaurant inspection frequencies have been slashed to the point that they are meaningless. Most are on a once a year or longer between inspector visits. Eat out at your own risk.

Less public health services = declining public health = more doctor visits = more money in pockets of MSMA membership.

11:40:
'Does not affect services' isn't exactly true though. Think how 'centralizing' drivers licenses would affect you if there were only 3 places in the state to get them.

Health is simply doing what they can with the money provided to them. Fewer locations means services are further away from more people than before. That's the ultimate outcome.

1:05, And if the Dept of Health has determined that the delivery mechanism of three, four decades,ago isn't needed today, then bless their souls for making the change -even if took being forced to do so.

It was DOH's statement that it doesn't affect services, not mine. I trust them to be a better judge of that than you and me put together.

Many delivery mechanisms are available today besides an office in every cpunty.

Again, thanks to some legislators that are willing to make these decisions and bear the slings and arrows from the entrenched bureaucracy that doesn't like people stirring their pot.

11:40am, if you believe the DoH reduced without affecting services, then you should be upset that they went to three locations. Why not just one? You believe being reasonably close to service delivery is not important, therefore Health should have closed all but one facility (in your view).

@1:15: Did you think that the Dept of Health would put out a press release stating that it's going to screw up services? They know better than that. Them folks want to keep their jobs until they can get some resumes out.

Testing for STIs will now cost $25. Hell, people didn't want to get tested for free, they sure as heck are going to go and drop that kind of change.

Restaurant inspection frequencies have been slashed to the point that they are meaningless.

Since you surely must know, what is the minimum per facility inspection frequency necessary to make the process meaningful? Share some specifics instead of the BS generalities you routinely litter here.

11:58, that was reported to have been done over a year ago so if in fact it is true it wasn't a result of this year's budget. But.....thanks for playing, you can pick up your consolation prize at the door on your way out.

12:26 - read the press release. This was a reduction in ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF, which is not what delivers any services. Just like the earlier poster missed the point, or intentionally skipped over this point, the cuts are not to the delivery of services. That is, if you take the DOH at its word which of course I do until proven that I shouldn't

PP - I don't run the Dept of Health. If I did, I am not sure if I would have gone to one, three or a different number. I trust Dr. Currie and her staff to be a better judge of that. Unlike many commenters on this site, including you, I don't pretend to know everything about everything.

What's the best way to run this department or others is better left to those that are hired to do so as long as they are doing a reasonable job. It is the legislature's job to decide what an appropriate proportion of the limited dollars available should go to each department.

If Dr. Currie decided that one office could do the job, then I would support that as well. What I read is that the cuts were made without affecting the delivery of services. SUCCESS.

3:17

I'm not the person you were addressing, but here is your specifics:

Food establishments in Mississippi are inspected a minimum of one to four times yearly. The number of times a food facility is inspected is determined by the risk level of the facility. The more likely that a food-borne illness could occur, the higher the risk level of a food facility.
Source: http://msdh.ms.gov/msdhsite/_static/30,3432,77,311.html

Year-to-date restaurant/food service inspections from Jan. 1 through May 16 for each year listed:

2017: 7,699

2016: 9,092

2015: 12,426

2014: 13,147

2013: 12,606

Total year-over-year restaurant/food service safety inspections:

2016: 22,051

2015: 33,431

2014: 33,561

2013: 33,191

2012: 34,368

Source: Clarion Ledger, May 20, 2017 http://www.clarionledger.com/story/news/politics/2017/05/21/health-department-cuts/328476001/

Everyone will have to decide if they are comfortable with the number of restaurant inspections being reduced by 35% to 39% (so far).

MSMA now controls the Board of Medical Licensure and the Board of Health. The next target is obviously University Medical Center because it has become competitive with the private sector abandoning its position as the state's charity hospital where all the docs could send their patients that can't afford to pay.

The raw total of inspections means nothing and doesn't allow the public to determine if the minimums per establishment are being maintained.

I'm just proud of the leadership of the Board of Health. They are hiding out of sight like cockroaches in a lighted room. They've not done shit to help the agency. But, why should they since they are owned.

Who among us knows where the county health department is? Sure, we knew where it was fifty years ago. Who among us has ever darkened the door? They used to come to the school to give us shots. But that was in 1960.

We don't need County Health Department Buildings and the overhead of staff in those buildings in order to conduct restaurant inspections. Put a hundred of those people in little white Prius vehicles with a logo on the door and tell them to charge six bucks for their lunch and come home every afternoon.

And put five nurses at the medicaid service points. It's called the Kentucky Fried - Subway -filling station model of business location.

They reorganized but what did they pay an outside contractor to do the plan Did they not have competent staff to do it? Had enough money to pay for outside services

I don't know, 10:10. Do you? Are are you just like half the bitchers on this site that wants to assume waste, incompetence, fraud, whatever accusation you want to make. Next time, how about getting the answer to your hypothetical and present facts if you find them