Aransas County officials want to build 'micro' hospital in hurricane-damaged Rockport

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The closest hospital to Rockport is more than 30 miles away, in another county.

To get to the closest hospital — Christus Spohn Hospital Shoreline in Corpus Christi — residents have to cross two bridges and weave through major road construction. 

It also takes more than an hour for an ambulance to transport patients to Corpus Christi from Rockport -— even with its lights and sirens blaring. 

That can be life-threatening if you’re in critical condition. 

Aransas County officials have been working to change that. 

The county applied in August for a non-competitive state grant of about $9.8 million to construct a “micro” hospital in Rockport.

The hospital would have eight to 10 beds, would span 10,000-to-15,000 square feet and have an emergency room, said Kim Foutz, who is part of the Aransas County Long-Term Recovery Team. 

The county would own the hospital and lease the structure out to a private operator.

“Aransas County has come a long way since that dreadful day of Hurricane Harvey’s direct hit Aug. 25, 2017,” County Judge C.H. “Burt” Mills Jr. said. “The community is under-served in healthcare services and resources. … We are excited about the potential opportunity before us in cooperation with our local, state and federal partners.”

The funding

The grant would come from the Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery Program with the Texas General Land Office. The county has been allocated about $54 million from that program. 

County officials expect a response from the state office by the end of the year. They don’t have a timeline yet for when the hospital would open, if the grant is approved. 

The need

Aransas County has struggled since Hurricane Harvey struck the area in August 2017. The devastating Category 4 storm destroyed homes and businesses. Many residents left the after the storm and never returned because of the lack of housing. 

The hurricane majorly damaged Care Regional Medical Center in Aransas Pass, causing it to close. The 75-bed hospital never reopened. 

Twin Fountains Medical Clinic-Urgent Care, a free-standing emergency center, also has remained closed because of Harvey damage. 

Another free-standing emergency center, Code 3 Emergency Room and Urgent Care, opened about a week before Harvey hit Texas. The center can’t collect from Medicare, Medicaid or government programs for the uninsured it cares for. 

“One of the reasons we realized there was a need — (the center) is having a volume over 1000 (patients) a month,” Foutz said. “They’re getting higher-need patients like stroke victims, heart-attack victims. That’s not really part of their mission.”

The county has paid the center $112,500 so far this year from the county’s healthcare sales tax revenue to help defray these costs, according to county documents. 

The study 

Aransas County is federally designated as a shortage area for health professionals, according to a study done by Texas A&M University to establish the need for a micro-hospital.

Many residents in the county are elderly and have health problems so they can’t drive on the highway. The distance of the closest hospital also is a barrier for low-income families who don’t have access to transportation. 

The proposed hospital would also allow the elderly to return home much sooner after being treated than at other centers in Corpus Christi. 

Establishing a new hospital is also needed to retain and recruit physicians. Several healthcare professionals left the county after the hurricane because of the decreased population and lack of hospital care. 

Some physicians have said they would like to return to the area. 

Closure of the Aransas Pass hospital also negatively impacted the county’s economy. The loss of high-paying jobs caused a drop in retail and leisure spending.

Kathryn Cargo follows business openings and developments while reporting on impacts of the city government’s decisions. Help support local journalism with a digital subscription to the Caller-Times.

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