Federal and state funding cuts, plus increased costs, will impact some Santa Barbara County Health Department services.
The county will continue to provide primary care services. But it will no longer provide in-house specialty services in nephrology, urology, neurology, and gastroenterology. Outside providers will now handle those services.
The county will no longer offer phlebotomy services at its Lompoc and Santa Maria clinics but will offer blood draws using contractors. In the southern part of the county, the health department had already been using outside partners for blood draws.
The county will also consolidate its pharmacy services in Santa Barbara and Santa Maria into the Lompoc Health Care Center. Patients can fill prescriptions through community pharmacies, including at four Walgreens in the county.
