It's not the ideal Christmas gift, but it's coming soon.

More employees at the Alachua County Health Department will be laid off after the holidays.

Health Department officials say for the past two and half years, federal and state grant money was not wisely spent; mainly on keeping the clinic open seven days a week.

Former administrator Jean Munden was fired, and the clinic hours have been cut.

"At one point we were open till 8, 9 o'clock at night, seven days a week, and that just was not sustainable," said Paul Myers, interim Health Department Administrator.

The clinic is now open Monday through Friday, from 7:30 AM, to 4:00 PM, an effort to cut costs, and get out of a hole that was dug after a series of financial mistakes made in the past two years, according to Myers.

"Every level of the organization there are going to be cuts, and staff know that," he said.

After 10 employees were asked to pack their things this summer, more layoffs are coming to the health department in January-that could be 20 employees.

"The clinic is probably going to be the area that's going to be affected the most," he said.

At one point, half of the patients seen at the clinic, did not have insurance. Today, about 20 percent of the patients are uninsured.

"Given about six to nine months down the road, we may be able to expand the number of people that we take into our system, but that's to be seen," he said.