A committee charged with finding ways to get more of Douglas County’s uninsured to use Health Care Access says the clinic should consider staying open one or two evenings a week.

Longer hours would make it easier for the uninsured, most of whom work, to tap the clinic’s services, committee members said Tuesday.

But, they said, Health Care Access should steer clear of taking on more services obstetrics, for example than it’s already providing.

“It’s better to do something and do it well, than it is to take on something else and end up not doing so well,” said Ernie Angino, a member of the clinic’s Long-range Planning Committee.

Other recommendations include:

Doing more to figure out who doesn’t have health insurance and then finding ways to get them to rely on the clinic rather than the emergency room at Lawrence Memorial Hospital.

Avoiding getting involved with government programs aimed at starting full-service clinics for the poor.

Today, most of Health Care Access’ services are financed by fees, donations and private grants.

The committee’s recommendations will be presented to Health Care Access’ board of directors in July.

“What we heard today was exactly the kind of input I was looking for,” said Pat Parker, chairman of the committee and a member of Health Care Access’ board.

Only two of the planning committee’s 13 members Parker and Barb Schnitker, director of nursing at Lawrence/Douglas County Health Department also serve on the clinic’s governing board.

Health Care Access formed the committee eight months ago to address persistent concerns that only 1,000 of the estimated 10,000 uninsured adults in Douglas County are seen at the clinic annually.

Ray Davis, an associate professor in public administration at Kansas University and a member of the Lawrence Memorial Hospital board of trustees, said the hospital had recorded 29,000 emergency room visits last year.

A report on how many of these visits involved patients who could have been seen at Health Care Access is expected later this summer.

Last year, Lawrence Memorial Hospital wrote off almost $2 million in uncompensated care.

Some committee members liked the idea of tying the clinic’s finances to a local or countywide sales tax, but others said the chances of such a tax passing were so slight that it was not worth discussing.

“There is absolutely no appetite for an additional tax none,” said Douglas County Commissioner Bob Johnson.

In Douglas County, Johnson said, most people hold Lawrence Memorial Hospital in high regard and are not aware of the problems posed by the uninsured.

“There’s not a huge awareness of the problem,” he said.

Nikki Rhea, executive director at Health Care Access, welcomed the committee’s recommendations.

“When we’re through with this, we’ll have a long-range direction, which is something we don’t have now,” Rhea said. “And that’s because when we got started we didn’t think we’d be around long enough to need one. Now, there’s no end in sight.”

Heath Care Access was founded in 1988.