Harris Health proposes new $2.5 billion bond proposal to improve wait times, lines at LBJ Hospital

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Officials with Harris Health fielded questions from the public in a community forum on Monday evening as they presented the latest details on their $2.5 billion bond proposal to build a new Lyndon B. Johnson Hospital. Patients often reported waiting in long lines for hours to get into the emergency room.

Leron Bradford brought his mother in for urgent care at LBJ Hospital on Monday. He told ABC13 at that point she waited 45 minutes and counting to see a doctor. But it wasn't an uncommon experience for their family.

"It's packed in there. The emergency room line is out the door. There's people covered in blankets and stuff cause they've been sitting so long waiting. Some people sleep because they've been waiting so long," Bradford said. "It's like this every day, not just today. They need more space, more doctors, more everything here."

READ MORE: LBJ and Ben Taub make staffing adjustments to deal with COVID-19 surge

Harris Health President and CEO Dr. Esmaeil Porsa said the strain on space and staff has long been a critical problem for the hospital. He explained the facility was already too small to handle the demand 30 years ago when he first started his training. Since then, the county's population has more than doubled in size.

"When I visit the hospital, I see patient beds in the hallways of the hospital because we don't have rooms to put our patients in. That's how our nurses take care of our patients in the hallways, and it's the same thing with the emergency room. We have people waiting in excess of 24 hours in the ER to be seen. That's what got me emotional," said Porsa.

That's why Porsa said he presented a $2.5 billion bond proposal to Harris County Commissioners in June, $1.6 billion of which will go to building a new hospital on the LBJ campus. The other $400 million will be invested in increasing capacity at Ben Taub Hospital, and $500 million will be used for community clinics.

Harris Health plans to spend an additional $400 million from philanthropic funds, operational cash, and personal cost savings to refurbish the existing LBJ hospital and provide other services, such as inpatient and acute psychiatric care.

READ MORE: 'Please send help now': Lyndon B. Johnson Hospital staff say they're beyond breaking point

The expansion aims to help bridge health disparities for the people they treat across Harris County, 46% of which are uninsured, and 21% use Medicaid or CHIP, a low-cost health care program for children. Breaking it down by ethnicity, 52.9% of patients are Hispanic/Latino, 24% are African American, 14.4% Caucasian, and 8.7% Asian and other.

"This is the first time the Harris Health system is going to the voters of Harris County for a bond proposal. For us being the largest public health system in the state of Texas, it shouldn't be that way when you compare us to other public health systems in the state of Texas. Normally every 5 to 10 years, hospital systems go to voters for a bond proposal to expand services and invest in their infrastructure," Porsa said.

Bishop James Dixon, president of NAACP Houston, said their goal is to keep the decision-makers accountable. His organization hosted Monday's community forum at the Community of Faith Church, along with the Community Leadership Coalition for Accountability that, includes more than 30 leaders and organizations.

"The death age amongst vulnerable people in Northeast Houston is about 15 to 20 years younger than those in the suburbs. We have some very deep systemic issues that affect their quality of life like health deserts. The fact is that minorities lead to hypertension, cancer, and high blood pressure. We believe this is an opportunity for Harris Health to do some things proactively for preventative healthcare," Dixon said.

"We're not going to give this bond proposal our support as leaders if it does not meet the smell test if it does not satisfy major questions about the future health of our community and the economic viability of our community at the same time. This is an opportunity to really see an upsurge in what minority-owned businesses can experience when it comes to construction, operators, and community services," he added.

This event is one of several that's been held regarding to the bond. Porsa said Harris County Commissioners are scheduled to vote on Aug. 17 on whether to approve the bond for the November ballot.

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