Health advocates and physicians made last-minute comments on Thursday opposing planned cuts to county public health programs. The Sacramento County Board of Supervisors, which faces a $76 million budget gap, is expected to approve a budget Friday with major cuts to programs.

The board’s final budget hearing for the 2009/2010 fiscal year will start at 1:30 p.m. Friday. The meeting is open to the public and will be held at 700 H St. Earlier this month, the board approved layoffs for 300 county employees. 

Zachary Hold, a primary-care physician, said additional proposed cuts to public health would lead to patient deaths. The cuts would also increase the amount of time patients would wait to see a medical professional, he said, pointing out that the wait times are already lengthy. Hold works as a physician part-time for the county in addition to his employment with the University of California, Davis. He noted that he was not speaking on behalf of UC Davis.

“I recently took care of a woman at the evening clinic who sounds like she’s been having little heart attacks for about two or three weeks,” Hold said. “And I wonder if she had gotten access in a more timely fashion -- three or four months ago even -- we would have been able to prevent her admission to Sutter, which is where she is right now.”

“There will be more deaths as a result of more cuts to the health system,” Hold noted.

Joseph Iser, director and public health officer of the Yolo County Department of Health, also raised concerns about the planned cuts. He said that proposed cuts to Sacramento County’s communicable disease program and public health laboratory would harm public health in nearby counties. Addressing the supervisors, he said that if the county is not able to administer tests to diagnose diseases or track foodborne illnesses, “you directly impact the health in your surrounding counties too.”

Photo credit: Anthony Bento.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.