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Stimulus money could benefit HealthNet

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Traci R. Rogers

JANESVILLE — Federal stimulus money could be just the medicine that HealthNet needs to serve a growing number of uninsured clients.

The Janesville City Council on Monday will consider how to allocate $145,035 in additional funding that would flow through the Community Development Block Grant program. The Community Development Authority, which advises the council on spending block grant money, has recommended that $125,000 go to HealthNet.

The council meets at 7 p.m. in City Hall, 18 N. Jackson St.

The Community Development Authority has also recommended that $10,000 go to the Janesville Literacy Council to expand job-skill education and that $10,035 be spent to administer the grant.

Traci Rogers, HealthNet executive director, said her staff has looked at possible sites for relocation but always comes back to the current downtown site at 23 W. Milwaukee St. It is centrally located, on a bus line and near other social services agencies.

The new money would allow HealthNet to add 1,300 square feet to its current 2,500 square feet.

“With the economy, there is a greater need than ever,” Rogers said. “We are simply at a maximum capacity.”

The project would double the number of examination rooms; create a larger area to dispense medicine and create a larger workspace for staff and volunteers. It would help HealthNet maintain the quality of care while serving the increasing need, Rogers said.

The project would also update and renovate an aging downtown building.

New enrollment at HealthNet increased 71 percent in 2008. March enrollment was 60 percent higher than last March.

The agency has been forced to limit new enrollments to five a week to maintain the quality of the service, Rogers said.

HealthNet serves people who are not insured and fail to qualify for other programs. Many clients have lived in poverty most of their lives and struggle to get by on two jobs that do not offer health insurance, Rogers said.

HealthNet is now seeing patients who have never been unemployed and have never had to seek such services before, Rogers said.

The $125,000 is not enough to cover the expansion plans, and HealthNet will launch a campaign to raise another $50,000.

HealthNet recorded 500 visits when it opened in 1994. The number is estimated to increase to 8,000 visits this year. Last year, HealthNet had 7,401 visits.

“For us to keep up with that, we’re going to have to address the challenge,” Rogers said.