When both of our hospitals closed in December 2018, we lost our after-hours medical care.
Both the Rockdale and Cameron hospitals provided 24/7 emergency medical care, which was and is needed in the county.
After-hours medical care is still needed in Milam County and now, I am happy to report, we can again have such care.
Little River Healthcare closed all of its facilities in Milam County, in large part because, of a lack of profitability. If Little River or another provider could make money in the county operating a hospital they would be open for business.
There is no question that rural hospitals in the U.S. and Texas are becoming a thing of the past. In the last nine years, 113 rural hospitals in the U.S. have closed due to a lack of profits and 22 of those were in Texas. Therefore, the chances of us having another hospital and 24/7 emergency care is unlikely.
But now we have a real shot at having urgent care in the county. Milam County received a grant of $610,000 for COVID-19 related needs through the Texas Department of Emergency Management and that money can be used to renovate the former “Professional Building” at the former Little River Hospital campus in Cameron for use as an urgent care facility.
We have a tentative agreement with a local, private medical provider who will lease a portion of the renovated building and operate the urgent care facility.
The provider will also provide COVID-19 testing. Clearly this will be a major step in providing needed healthcare and eliminate out-of-county trips for medical care.
The grant money must be spent by Dec. 31, which means time is of the essence for the urgent care project.
The former “Professional Building” renovation must be completed by the end of the year. This can be done, but we must get started almost immediately as plans have to be drafted and construction will take several months.
However, if we go forward with the project, we can have urgent care for little or no cost.
For this to happen the county will have to own the “Professional Building” which means it will have to finalize its plans to acquire the 8.5- acre former hospital campus.
For over a year we have been considering acquiring the campus and buildings with over 50,000 square feet of usable space, by trading nine county buildings in downtown Cameron for the entire campus.
The plan is to renovate 35,000 square feet of the building for county use.
The plan has been endorsed by the Cameron Chamber of Commerce, the Cameron Industrial Foundation, the Cameron Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem, the Rockdale Mayor and many other individuals.
The County Clerk, County Tax Assessor/Collector, County District Attorney, County Veteran’s Assistance office, Adult Probation, Juvenile Probation, AgriLife Extension office, Bea’s Kitchen, The Hop, constables and others will occupy the building.
Architectural plans have been prepared for the renovation, which include cost saving amenities and the most energy efficient utilities.
Bids for the renovation, were received by the Commissioners Court on Monday and a final decision is to be made by the court on Monday, June 29.
The county has applied for a grant which would pay for the entire hospital building renovation. If this grant is awarded, the renovation of the hospital building would be done at little or no cost.
However, if the grant is not awarded, the county would borrow the money, but taxes would not be raised to repay the loan.
Should the court vote to finalize its agreement to acquire the campus we can again have needed afterhours urgent care before the end of the year, with little or no cost to Milam County.
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