Saline County Health Department employees will soon get a few more pennies per gallon mileage reimbursement to help them cope with spiking gas costs.

At its regular meeting Monday, May 12, the health department board approved an increase in the mileage rate from 44.5 cents per mile to 47.5 cents per mile, keeping pace with the rate paid by the state to its employees. Adminstrator Gayle Thomas said the increase -- effective July 1 -- shouldn't put a very big dent in the department's budget because most of the miles logged are in conjunction with the Children with Special Health Needs program, and the state will reimburse the department for those trips at the new higher rate.

What will come from the department's budget is mileage from travel to training workshops and the health inspector's travel, according to Thomas.

In other business, the board opted to defer a decision on when to hold an open house for the department's new facilty.

The department has been operating from the new building since the beginning of March, but among the final details that remain unfinished is the landscaping.

Without it, the terrain around the building is mostly bare dirt -- or rather, mud, since the winter and spring months have been wetter than usual.

Thomas said Medical Reserve Corps Director Russ Donnell had to scoop mud away from entrances before a recent blood drive.

By consensus, the board decided to postpone setting a date until the weather gets dry enough that landscaping work can be done.

Thomas also reported that new clinic hours that include evening hours on Wednesdays appear to be filling a need. There were 19 appointments the first week of the extended hours and only six no-shows, she said.

During the meeting of the Saline County Health Funds board of trustees, following the health department board meeting, Thomas reported that the department had collaborated with the Saline County Medical Reserve Corp to purchase an automatic external defibrillator (AED) for the new facility.

MRC Director Russ Donnell got a good deal on the equipment, according to board member Sara Kirchhoff.

MRC had received a donation of $1,100 for the purpose of buying an AED unit and the health department contributed about $500.

Typically, AED units can cost about $2,500, Kirchhoff said.

Board members Roberta Griffitt, Sara Kirchhoff and Virgie Simmerman were present. Board President Stephen Allegri was absent. The next regular board meeting is scheduled for Monday, June 9, at 7 p.m.

Contact Eric Crump at marshalleditor@socket.net