If you live in Houston or Harris County, a hospital is probably minutes away. But drive an hour outside the city — into Waller County, Grimes County, Wharton County, or Colorado County — and the picture looks completely different.
That’s the reality Governor Greg Abbott is working to fix. He announced this week that the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) will receive $281 million in federal funding for year two of Rural Texas Strong, a five-year initiative designed to rebuild healthcare in communities that have been struggling for decades.
The Crisis Right Outside Houston’s Door
The numbers tell a sobering story. Texas has led the nation in rural hospital closures — more than any other state since 2005, according to APM Research Lab. Today, 28% of Texas counties have no hospital at all, and 84 rural Texas hospitals are currently at risk of closing, according to the Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform.
Right outside Houston, communities in counties like Wharton, Grimes, Austin, and Colorado are classified as rural. Wharton County, for example, is a federally designated primary care and mental health shortage area, according to HRSA data. That means not enough primary care doctors and not enough mental health providers to meet the need…