A career health care worker said “people will die” without a local hospital, but other citizens are concerned about the creation of a new government entity and taxes.
Orange County Commissioners Court Thursday afternoon held the first of two public forums on creating a special hospital district to get a new hospital to the county. The need for the hospital came in December after Baptist Hospitals of Southeast Texas announced the closing of the Orange hospital.
Becky Trahan, who said she worked at the hospital and has been in health care for 35 years, gave the warning about people dying. She said three or four years ago, a bad strain of influenza was going around.
The local hospital had to have 12 people suffering with the flu to be flown to larger hospitals by medical helicopter because of their condition. One of the 12 died. They were all between 40 and 60 years old. Trahan said more would have died without the initial treatment at the local hospital.
She said the cost of $5 to $10 a month for a hospital district is worth the money. Without a hospital, “people will die. I have worked there and I have seen it.”
County Judge Brint Carlton took an hour to explain how a hospital district could be formed and how it would function. He said Orange County Commissioners Court has researched how to form a special district and has researched other hospital districts.
However, the election and creation of a hospital district will come from citizens. If approved, Commissioners Court would appoint the first board of directors for a hospital district, likely with one from each of the four county precincts. After the appointment, the hospital board members would be elected by the voters.
The board of the hospital district would set the tax rate based on the costs of building and running a hospital.
Carlton and other members of Commissioners Court said local efforts to get a new private hospital to the county have been fruitless. In addition, the county sold the hospital to Baptist in 1988 and Baptist owns the building complex. It is not for sale and no outside company wants to use it.
Precinct 2 Commissioner Barry Burton said public suggestions have been made to turn the Baptist hospital into a federal Veterans Administration hospital. He said the county got resolutions from the region supporting a VA hospital. However, even without the support of the local congressman, the proposal is dead in Washington, D.C.
“Even a VA hospital doesn’t address the health care concerns of our local citizens,” he said.
Carlton and commissioners talked about how a hospital district could qualify for federal grants and funds.
Stephen Covey, who lives in Burton’s precinct, said he believes in little government and a hospital district would create a new taxing entity.
A man who said he lives in Bridge City, complained about the property taxes needed for a hospital district. “Me and my wife are paying $1,000 a month for insurance and now we’ve got to pay for the hospital,” he said.
Carlton said an election for the special district could be held in the spring or the summer. Even if a hospital district is created, it will take three to five years for a new hospital to be built and start operations.
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