Branson, Taney County consider merging health departments

Linn Smith, the city of Branson’s health director, and Jim Berry, the county’s health director, last week presented a 14-page agreement to the Health Services Integration Task Force, which was created in May to explore the idea of a combined department.

Smith and Berry said the local public health system would be stronger with a single department because resources would be combined to better meet growing health demands, and the community would have access to more comprehensive services, according to a city of Branson news release. Currently, the city conducts all environmental inspections for commercial businesses, while the county provides general health programs for adults and children.

Under the proposed agreement, all city health department employees, equipment and resources would move to the Taney County Health Department offices at Bee Creek and Rinehart roads. The county department would add a one-story building behind its main office to house the additional employees. If the building isn’t complete by the time the integration takes place, the city employees would be allowed to remain in City Hall temporarily.

The city employees would maintain their current salaries and benefits.

Also under the merger, the city would pay the new department annually for environmental health services within city limits, though terms of that payment have not been laid out. Currently, the county health department receives 60 percent of its funding from a county tax levy and other funding from fees for services and from contracts through the Missouri Department of Health.

The agreement also gives two options for animal control: All animal control services would be turned over to the new department, or animal control responsibilities would be divided between the new department and the city.

Over the next three months, the task force will conduct meetings with businesses that would be affected by the merger. Dates of those meetings will be announced later.

Both the city and county health departments will review the proposed agreement with their employees, and officials hope to complete the integration early next year.