High Plains Director Provides Hiring Update for County Commissioners

Gene Sobczak, Interim Executive Director of High Plains Community Health Center, met with the Prowers County Commissioners last Tuesday, providing an update on areas he is addressing at the community health facility.

“We are going to conduct some work on the organization in three areas of critical importance, not just High Plains, but other community health centers across the state,” he explained. Those areas are: patient recruitment and retention, staff recruitment and retention and patient satisfaction with their treatment. Sobczak said for the past seven months, he’s been reviewing operations to see which areas required improvement or advancement.

He told the commissioners, three new providers will join the staff, one MD and two physician assistants and others are being lined up through improved recruitment techniques and other changes in the clinic’s hiring process.

“We’re also looking to tie our providers to patient outcomes, while working to see if they will remain with us beyond the basic three-year commitment. We want the employees to be committed to remain here, focusing on patient outcome as much as output,” he stated. To that end, Sobczak said the rental properties owned by High Plains are being modernized for short term lodging for providers.

To ensure better health treatment for patients in the community, he and PMC CEO, Karen Bryant have been meeting weekly over interests of shared concerns and they are planning for the provider’s board of directors to hold reciprocal tours.

“We intend to provide a unified manner of addressing health concerns for our clientele. For example, if one facility drops the masking requirements, the other will follow suit. It makes no sense to do otherwise. We also want to begin incorporating areas of mental and behavioral health into the group.” He is also planning on regularly scheduled town hall meetings with the other communities to provide information and receive feedback on healthcare needs and concerns.
By Russ Baldwin