Cleft lip, palate funding sought
Spokane County commissioners want city officials to join them in a last-ditch effort to save a program that serves children with cleft lips and palates.
Commissioners unanimously agreed Tuesday to help restore $35,000 in local funding for the program if the larger cities in the county will pitch in on a per capita basis.
The proposal by Commissioner Mark Richard is intended to help parents and advocates win back a $50,000 state contribution to a program that serves some 300 cleft lip and palate patients in this region.
Among other things, a Health District nursing team teaches parents how to feed their infants, who often require special bottles and techniques, and helps families obtain specialized medical care.
Richard’s proposal would replace a Spokane Regional Health District contribution that was reallocated when the state Department of Health recently announced it would withdraw its $50,000 annual payment in January. The underfunded Health District can’t restore its $35,000 local match without cutting other programs, Richard said.
His proposal to replace the Health District contribution is subject to restoration of the state funding.
State Health Department officials blamed their action on cuts in a federal program that provided much of the money the department had spent to maintain maxillofacial nursing teams in Spokane, Yakima and Tacoma.
In addition to the state and local contributions, the Spokane maxillofacial team relied on Medicaid to cover the $61,000 balance in its annual budget.
Parents of local children with cleft lips and palates have lobbied hard to replace the state funding for the program that serves about 300 families, but they were surprised recently to learn that the Health District had reallocated its share.
“We didn’t realize we were supposed to work on them, too,” said Kari Almeida, who heads Spokane Smiles, a support group for families. “If I didn’t know we had the local money, I would have asked for more at the state.”
State Sen. Chris Marr, D-Spokane, said recently that he planned to meet with Washington Secretary of Health Mary Selecky and others to determine what can be done to avoid the state cuts.
The program was cut in part because it offers direct services to specific clients instead of systemwide services to all. Marr said he understood the philosophy that led to the decision but believed that the program provides services that are crucial to the small number of children and families who benefit.