Hamilton County Hospital District, Fisher County Hospital District in Rotan and Tyler County Hospital District are each in line for roughly $7.5 million in state rural health grants, according to a list the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) posted Oct. 23. The agency calls these “intent to award” decisions, not payments. No money moves until a contract is fully signed.
The Oct. 23 update to the Rural Texas Strong list shows 129 award lines for 117 named providers in 91 counties. The lines total $200,266,548 over the life of the grants. About $87.2 million is the first-year portion, according to the spreadsheet. Only one of the 129 lines, $725,000 for Starr County Hospital District, is marked as a fully executed contract.
The list matters because it shows who is getting the money and where. The state’s Oct. 15 announcement put $78 million in first-year grants for 216 rural providers into a headline number. A hospital board or county that wanted to know whether it was on the list had to find itself in a spreadsheet. The Oct. 23 file includes a county column that makes it possible to see where the money is headed.
The largest amounts go to hospital districts and small hospitals. CAHRMC in Colorado County is listed at about $9.49 million across its lines. El Campo Memorial Hospital in Wharton County is at about $8.26 million. Hamilton County Hospital District is at $7.5 million, Fisher County Hospital District at $7,499,340 and Tyler County Hospital District at $7,499,000. Memorial Medical Center in Calhoun County is at $7,497,200, and three St. Joseph Health sites, in Grimes, Madison and Burleson counties, are each at $6,897,340. Mid Coast Medical Center in Crockett, in Houston County, is at about $6.7 million.
Smaller and more remote providers appear too. The list shows Preferred Hospital Leasing’s hospital in Van Horn, in Culberson County, at $4.29 million and its Collingsworth County hospital at $3.74 million.
HHSC says on the document that a grant “is not considered awarded until a contract has been fully executed.” That caveat has already mattered. The Dispatch reported Oct. 21 that Comanche County Medical Center was slated for $6.8 million but had no signed contract. The governor’s office announced Oct. 22 another $8.1 million for 28 providers. Those 28 are a separate batch, tagged “Added Oct. 14” in the file.
The word “rural” comes from the state program, and the list should be read with that in mind. HHSC’s lists have included providers in counties that sit inside or next to large metro areas, so not every line is a small-town hospital. The Dispatch has not independently tested each county.
HHSC has not said when it expects contracts to be signed or when payments will begin. The spreadsheet has been updated roughly weekly since the Oct. 15 announcement. The next update will show how many of the 129 lines have moved from intent to a signed contract.