TERRELL, Texas — With the announcement by the Texas Department of State Health Services last week of a tentative award notice to privatize Terrell State Hospital, State Representative Lance Gooden, R-Terrell, announced a town hall meeting on Monday, November 3, 2014.
TERRELL, Texas — With the announcement by the Texas Department of State Health Services last week of a tentative award notice to privatize Terrell State Hospital, State Representative Lance Gooden, R-Terrell, announced a town hall meeting on Monday, November 3, 2014.
The town hall meeting will be held at the Rockwall and Brin Church of Christ at 407 N Rockwall Avenue in Terrell, Texas, from 6 p.m. until “as late as we need to,” stated Gooden.
Community members and employees have been concerned about the privatization of the hospital since the state announced plans to seek bids from private companies. The hospital currently employees approximately 980 people and cares for more than 250 patients.
The state is currently working on contract negotiations with GEO Care, now known as Correct Care Solutions, LLC, and expects to decide on whether or not to enter into a final contract by the end of the year.
Below is a complete letter from Representative Gooden:
“For more than a century, the Terrell State Hospital (TSH) has been an integral part of our community. As one of the largest employers in the area, TSH employs nearly 1,000 people and has an enormous impact on our local economy. All of us that have grown up in Terrell have many friends that have worked at TSH for all of their adult lives. It is a special place with wonderful people.
Without a doubt it has been a rocky road for the facility over the past year. The federal investigation into Terrell State Hospital that resulted in Superintendent Joe Finch resigning his position and the threat of losing $4.6 million in federal money brought the problems plaguing TSH to light. I commend and thank the employees for the improvements that have since taken place.
Unfortunately, the list of funding priorities is long and mental health will continue to compete with education, transportation and water issues for limited Texas budget dollars. Therefore, we must continue to explore innovative and cost-effective ways to improve our state’s mental health services, while at the same time continuing to improve care and ensuring access to services.
Exploring ways in which higher-quality services can be provided while reducing costs to Texas taxpayers, the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) that oversees the Department of State Health Services and Terrell State Hospital earlier this summer issued a Request for Proposal to privatize all or portions of Terrell State Hospital. And most recently, the state awarded the bid and began contract negotiation with Correct Care Recovery Solutions (CCRS and formerly Geo Care).
Privatization has proven to be one such way in which services can be improved, infrastructure can be updated, and access to care can be expanded – all while saving the state money.
That said, I’m sure we can all agree that the answer does not simply lie in turning it over to a private company without oversight, nor should such privatization threaten the location of this facility – both for the clients it serves and the staff it employs locally.
Let’s be clear: since I was elected in 2010 I have worked to ensure the hospital stays open, and I have always fought to protect our local jobs there. I share the same concerns as everyone regarding employment, retirement benefits, and quality of patient care. But there are numerous rumors and scare tactics floating through the community that quite frankly are just false.
To set the record straight – under CCRS leadership, Terrell State Hospital will continue to report to HHSC and DSHS and comply with all state and federal regulations. That’s non-negotiable.
It is also non-negotiable that CCRS keep both the facility and its jobs in Terrell.
There’s ample reason to want the state to do right not only by its taxpayers, but also to the clients and families served by Terrell State Hospital and also by the hard working men and women that staff its halls and provide critical mental health care to their patients.
CCRS’s commitment to this community can and should run deep. By keeping jobs here, they help our local economy. By improving our TSH facility and campus, there’s opportunity for even more economic growth and investment beyond the tax dollars the state already contributes to TSH. Those are just a few ways I can see privatization working for Terrell.
It’s understandable there are many questions regarding the company and its culture. For this reason I am hosting a town hall meeting with Correct Care leadership to visit with the Terrell community on Monday evening, November 3rd, at the Rockwall and Brin Church of Christ. We will begin at 6pm and we will stay as late as we need to. This event will provide Terrell residents and TSH employees with an opportunity to meet CCRS and learn more about their company and other public-private partnerships in which they are engaged. I must caution though, there will be some questions that CCRS – out of respect for the integrity of the process – will not be able to answer until the final contract is signed.
Working together, Terrell State Hospital has the opportunity to transform itself and become a model for how mental health care can be delivered by the state. Let’s let clearer heads prevail. Let's stop the misinformation and get real answers.”