Commissioners vote to terminate IU clinic agreement and weigh Ascension, others for employee health services

Clinton County commissioners on March 17 voted 3-0 to terminate the current supervising-hospital agreement with Indiana University, giving the 90-day notice required to avoid automatic renewal and allow renegotiation or selection of alternate vendors for the county employee clinic.

A county director involved in EMS and clinical oversight said the Ascension proposal includes continuing education benefits and would allow the county's current medical director to remain in place as a co-medical director. The director said the county values its current medical-direction arrangements and wants contract language that preserves local control over hiring and firing: "It's clear at the state level, but I want to make sure it's in our contractual level that the supervising hospital has no say, absolutely zero say in the hiring and firing of employees." The director added that Ascension would cover online education and some training costs and that the county views that as having monetary value.

Commissioners said they had met with three potential vendors and asked legal and staff review before taking a final contract. The board approved termination 3-0 and instructed staff and counsel to bring proposed hospital agreements back for review at the next meeting.