HARRISBURG When four Wolf Cabinet secretaries appeared at a budget hearing before the Senate Appropriations Committee last week, the hearing room was packed with advocates, lobbyists and vendors.

They were trying to glean details about the proposed creation of an umbrella Department of Health and Human Services by merging the departments of human services, aging, health and drug and alcohol programs. Gov. Tom Wolf has said the delivery of human services can be made more efficient and an estimated $90 million in savings realized through the merger.

Pennsylvanians would most likely interact with these agencies if they visit a county assistance office to obtain benefits from medical assistance or other programs, go to a senior community center daily for meals and activities or encounter a public health nurse during an outbreak of a contagious disease.

Ambitious timeline

As chairwoman of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee, Sen. Lisa Baker, R-20, Lehman Twp., led the questioning about the merger.

Baker asked how an ambitious timeline to create the new agency by July 1 could be met assuming the Legislature gives approval. Sen. John Blake, D-22, Archbald, said its important that the separate agency missions in such areas as providing public health care and services for senior citizens not be lost in a consolidation.

The goal is to have a framework for the new department established by July 1, said Ted Dallas, secretary of the Department of Human Services. The actual consolidation would take place over the 2017-018 fiscal year, he added.

Same services

Department of Aging Secretary Teresa Osborne said the services provided by senior centers wont change under the merger. Osborne supported this statement by noting these services must be provided under the federal Older Americans Act. There are nearly 500 senior centers run by area agencies on aging in Pennsylvania.

In recent weeks, Osborne has visited senior centers that receive Lottery-funded grants to pay for improvements. Two of her stops were at the Robert J. Drake and Hamlin senior centers in Wayne County. The visits served the purpose too of easing jitters over the future of the senior centers.

Some $2 million in grants have been distributed this year under the competitive program. Osborne said requests for grants totaled $5 million.

Assistance offices

The DHS county assistance offices will continue as places where individuals go to obtain benefits, said Dallas. The merger plan calls for the back-office processing functions in the CAOs to be done out of five regional centers in an efficiency move.

The blueprint calls for the public health nurses in the Department of Health to work out of the county assistance offices. The nurses are currently based in leased offices throughout the state.

Health Secretary Karen Murphy said the aim is to have the nurses work more closely with community-based health services, but questions still surround this aspect of the merger.

Contact the writer:

rswift@timesshamrock.com

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