Aug. 20—Permian Strategic Partnership is involved in discussions to create a healthcare hub at Highway 191 and FM 1788 in Midland County where a behavioral health center would also be located.

PSP contracted with The Chartis Group, a well known healthcare consulting firm. PSP President/CEO Tracee Bentley said this is the most unique and largest area they had ever done an assessment for. It included West Texas and Southeastern New Mexico.

There were conversations going on with Midland Memorial and Medical Center Hospital about the need for behavioral health. Right about that time, the initial assessment results came out and it "really codified the need."

"PSP, when we knew we wanted to start making significant investments in healthcare, some of the things that we knew we needed to invest in were obvious. We know that we need more doctors, more nurses, more health care professionals in general, I would say," Bentley said.

"But we wanted to make sure that all of our investments were really backed by facts, and that we weren't just guessing that we knew the critical places that we needed to make investments. And so we partnered with Scarborough Foundation, the University of Texas System, and Texas Tech Health Sciences, to oversee a regional assessment on health care. This assessment pointed out here are some areas in need that you all might want to look at to elevate healthcare in your region," she added.

"We started that in October of 2020 because we asked them to assess a very large region. ... Within our large region, there are several independent health care systems that also needed to be evaluated. So that's why it's taking so long and it's still, I would argue, ... not complete. We know we did get some initial results out of that earlier this year. The number one thing that came out for all of us was the lack of behavioral and mental health care for our area. This is why you're seeing us come out in very strong support of the new regional behavioral health center shared by Midland-Odessa and really the entire region. It will just be between our two communities, but it's meant for the entire Permian. It was very exciting," Bentley said.

The second thing that came out was the need for more specialty care.

"I think we all knew that, but having the study really point to that and say, when you have almost 50%, so for this number astounded me, 45% of Permian residents leave the area for specialty healthcare — 45%. We have to do better than that, so we need to be working on getting specialists here so that people don't have to leave. A lot of people, I think we don't realize ... don't have the option of leaving for health care, even if they wanted to. It's wildly expensive and not everybody has those resources and so everybody, the community, we owe it to ourselves to do everything we possibly can so that every Permian Basin resident has access to high quality specialty care," Bentley said.

The third thing that came out was that they need to take a hard look at what level of care is appropriate for the region and industry.

"Is a level three trauma okay for where we're at and industry around us, or should we really be looking at a level two or level one. Of course costs are associated with all these, and we understand that. But when we have men and women out in the field and they have an acute injury and flying them to Lubbock, or to Dallas is the only option and the best that we can do. I think it deserves a look. I'm not saying the answer is to immediately go out and build a level two or one, but I'm saying we need to be analyzing these things, because that's important for the health and safety of our region," Bentley said.

She noted that it can take an ambulance an hour sometimes to get to some sites after accidents.

"... We can't fix the remoteness of where we're at. But we have to really look at do we have the most efficient emergency care and systems in place? What are we lacking? Maybe we have the right systems, we just need them to coordinate. All these things are being looked at because it's something that is ... an issue," Bentley said.

There were conversations going on with Medical Center and Midland Memorial about the need for behavioral health and then right about the same time, the initial Chartis results were issued.

"It really codified the need and they said, Okay, if this assessment is saying this is the first thing that needs to happen, let's really push to make this happen. So the timing was really good," Bentley said.

On the healthcare hub, repurposing the existing hospital buildings and locating a healthcare facility at 191 and 1788, she said they are far from figuring those things out.

Right now, they are still on the questions of whether it is feasible and whether it will elevate healthcare in the community.

"Because if we can't answer yes to both of those, then it's not a good fit. So talking about empty buildings and where we're going to put this or that, we're aways off from. Right now, we want to know, how or would the Permian Basin benefit from an academic medical center? And do the benefits outweigh the cons? I will tell you other regions who have an academic medical center have benefited hugely when it comes to economics. It's another economic driver that can add to our economic diversity. I don't know anybody who doesn't think that that's a good idea, and so exploring it I think we would all like to know, does this make sense? Or does it not," she said.

But looking at something new is a good thing, Bentley added.

"That doesn't mean it's inevitable. But exploring what our possibilities are to help bring world-class healthcare to the Permian Basin, which is really the goal of this entire project," she added.

Everyone would like more specialists to be available here.

"Those are all things that we were looking at. In fact, in May, we supported an initiative with Texas Tech that will increase surgeons, cardiologists and pulmonologists, I believe, all specialty care that we need more of that will hopefully come to our area, do a fellowship and then stay, which is always our goal," Bentley said.

She said they are focused right now on getting the behavioral health center "across the finish line."

Reps. Brooks Landgraf, R-Odessa, and Tom Craddick, R-Midland, joined forces last year on Senate Bill 8 to direct how the state will spend federal dollars allocated to Texas under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.

The legislation includes $40 million for a behavioral health center that will be constructed and operated by the hospital districts of Midland and Ector County. Landgraf and Craddick worked together to ensure the funding was included in the final version of the bill, a news release said.

The center will include 100 inpatient beds and outpatient psychiatric care facilities, along with a crisis stabilization unit, professional offices, and counseling and therapeutic spaces appropriate for all ages. Texans who live in the Permian Basin currently have to drive to Lubbock or San Angelo to access similar care, the release said.

That is what Bentley said the business and community leaders are focused on right now. She added that they are working to raise another $45 million for the behavioral health center.

"As soon as we feel confident that is, in fact, inevitable, all the money is raised, the architect firms are ready to go and we're ready to break ground, I think is when we will start focusing on future projects," Bentley said.

"I do think, though, that there are things even before the decision is made on an academic medical center ... that we could be doing. ... Again, going back to specialty care, so having a pediatric center, maybe is something that the assessment said that we could, that we should look at. The potential of a regional cancer center would be, I think, a real gem for our community, again, if it makes sense," Bentley said.

Asked about the PSP campaign to get people vaccinated against COVID, Bentley said she thinks they started off at 40-43 percent vaccinated in the Permian Basin when the campaign started.

"We wrapped up our campaign April of this year and we were able to increase vaccinations by 17%. While we would have liked to have seen more, we were also happy to know that 17% of Permian residents decided to get vaccinated, so we were proud of that campaign. We learned an awful lot and we hope that we made a difference," Bentley said.

PSP also helped small regional cities to acquire grants with a West Texas rural grants initiative.

Bentley said PSP was able to help cities with infrastructure grants for water and sewer systems as well as new libraries, broadband, law enforcement and safety personnel grants.

"This initiative for us is one that, in addition to helping with the resources to apply for these grants, we're also working alongside each community showing them how to go about the process and where to look ...," Bentley said.

She added that it's meant to be self-sustaining.

"It takes resources to get resources. ... We have the same program in New Mexico and what we're finding is, after a couple of grant applications under their belts, they now feel more confident on how to write a great grant and largely be successful. It's very daunting, if you've ever looked at a grant application, especially at the federal level, it's overwhelming. But going through a couple of times with somebody who knows how to do it makes all the difference," Bentley said.