Regional health-care plan proposed

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By

The Facts

Published December 29, 2001

Brazoria County Judge Willy said it is too early to tell if a

County plan to consolidate public health-care facilities in the

Houston-Galveston area will benefit residents here.

" The concept might have some merit if it could save us dollars in

health care, " Willy said. " I don't want to be put in a position to help

subsidize County's problems. "

County Commissioner Steve Radack has asked the county to

study the benefits and drawbacks of creating a single public health-care system

for 13 counties in Southeast Texas, including Brazoria.

Radack said he hasn't reached any conclusions on the idea's ultimate

feasibility, but he thinks it's worth looking into.

" I think there's a better way of doing it, and I think there's a way

of doing it cheaper, " Radack said. " I don't think here in Texas we get the

amount of money we always deserve from the federal government. "

Currently, Brazoria County has two public hospital districts,

Angleton-Danbury and Sweeny. Officials from those districts could not be reached

for comment.

The county also sends its indigent patients to University of Texas

Medical Branch in Galveston, a contract that has won praise from several

quarters.

Radack acknowledges it would be difficult to meld 13 different

systems into a single whole that will please everybody.

" It's difficult for me to tell you what the advantages or

disadvantages are going to be, " he said.

However, he did note that the Houston city limits spill over into

Fort Bend and Montgomery counties.

Radack pointed out the Houston-Galveston Area Council, a voluntary

association of local governments and local elected officials in the 13-county

Gulf Coast Planning Region, offers cooperative purchasing allowing cities to get

lower rates on vehicles and other equipment through volume purchases.

" Houston fire department and ambulance is required, if they make a

pickup, they're obligated to transport the patient to a facility inside the city

limits of Houston, " he said. " This is something I put out there, not a cure-all.

But you look at the fact we purchase police cars through the Houston-Galveston

Area Council, there's got to be some advantages. "

Radack said he thinks the counties have worked together in the past

and will continue to do so.

" If you look at many of the efforts we're making in this region on

transportation and air and water quality, we have a kind of nucleus, " he said.

" Hopefully, we can come up with better health care for the entire region. "

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