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SANTA CRUZ — Health experts predicted rolling blackouts in medical care and an increase in crime Wednesday as county supervisors cut $2.2 million in area health services.

The cuts will, among other things, close the county’s Watsonville pharmacy, reduce nurses who help at-risk babies, end treatment for more than 300 drug abusers, and cut the successful drug court program in half.

"These cuts are going to the services that keep people out of jails and the hospitals," said Paul O’Brien, executive director of the Santa Cruz Community Counseling Center. "Is this going to be a community where the only people who can afford to live here are the ones that can buy a $500,000 house? Is this going to be an open community or is this going to be a gated community?"

Rising costs in prescription drugs and medical equipment, decreased state and federal funds, and the loss of utility tax revenue is what’s driving the cuts, said Rama Khalsa, county health director.

The cuts will force the health department to shift its policy of treating all uninsured patients to treating only the very ill, Khalsa said. Clinic patients who don’t have life-threatening illnesses will be handed self-help guides, recommendations for over-the-counter drugs, and sent home.

"It’s fair to say we’re in a crisis in our clinics," said Bobbie Herndon, county clinics chief.

"These cuts will make it impossible for people to get the kind of help they need," said Dr. Martina Nicholson of Janus, a drug treatment and perinatal program. "People out there don’t understand how the cuts are going to make this town really hard to live in."

Other cuts approved Wednesday include:

"If it wasn’t for them, I’d be standing on the street," he said. "I’d be doing drugs. I’m getting together."

Angelica Diaz, now recovering from drug abuse, said if it weren’t for the public health department’s at-risk infant nurses, her baby daughter might not be as healthy as she is today.

"Because of their help ... she has a future," Diaz said. "She can grow up to be a functioning member of society."

Wednesday was the third day of budget hearings that will last through next week. County supervisors are cutting $10 million in discretionary revenue due to voters’ March repeal of the utility tax.

Supervisor Mardi Wormhoudt objected to the health department’s plan to make indigent patients pay a $10 co-payment at clinics. The fee would save the department $55,000, Khalsa said. Wormhoudt feared it would deter sick poor people from getting help.

"To me this is just not acceptable," she said.

The co-pay decision was moved to the last day of hearings.

Also delayed was a vote on funding for the Santa Cruz AIDS Project, which stood to take an $18,000 hit. Wormhoudt said the cut is "unfair" because it is far more than what most community organizations face.

Contact Jeanene Harlick at jharlick@santa-cruz.com.

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