Presidio
The Big Bend Regional Hospital District broke ground on a new health center on Wednesday next to the Presidio Activities Center at 1204 E. O’Reilly. The new facility will house a walk-in clinic, space for primary care and counseling visits, plus administrative offices for the hospital district, conference rooms for training and residential space for visiting doctors.
“This represents more than a building, it represents access to healthcare,” says Ivan Rodriquez, a Presidio resident and an employee of Wilson & Company, the architecture firm who designed the center. “It will allow more residents to receive care closer to home.”
This will be the first major investment by the hospital district in Presidio, the only town within the region without a permanent clinic. Bravo Health currently operates a walk-in clinic in a rented space on O’Reilly street, offering wellness exams, care management and treatment for minor injuries. It will be the likely tenant of the health center. The new space will host the sole x-ray machine within the county, along with lab services, saving residents the long drive to Alpine.
“My goal is that we could offer some urgent care after hours,” said Lynnette Brehm, the executive director of the hospital district, in an interview. “It’s easy to identify that need but it’s going to cost more to have specialists available. We know the public is sensitive to costs.”
The city of Presidio contributed $115,000 to the $4.5 million dollar price tag, with the hospital district covering the rest through tax revenue and fundraising. Construction will be handled by Oprex, a company out of Lubbock. It is expected to take a year, capping off a two year effort by the hospital district to expand health coverage within the region.
“This is your taxpayer money, so it’s our building. We’re all paying for this,” Dr. Laura Portillo, a member of the Big Bend Hospital District Board, said at the groundbreaking.
The district collects about 7 cents in property taxes per every $100 valuation taxed. It is responsible for ensuring that hospitable services and preventative care are available across Presidio and Brewster counties. It is unusual that a single hospital district within Texas covers two counties, let alone such a vast area.
“Our dollars have to stretch a lot further,” said Brehm, pointing out that comparable counties within West Texas often have significantly larger budgets to work with to address similar needs, including indigent care and helping people access services such as Medicaid and SNAP.
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The care needs for residents in Marathon and Alpine are different from those in Presidio and Terlingua. Presidio faces particular challenges with remote terrain, and a lack of options for preventative care. The town has one of the highest EMS response times, and an emergency can involve a 2-hour or longer ambulance ride. Some residents go to Ojinaga instead.
Determined to be as efficient as possible to cut costs, the health center was laid out with these difficulties in mind. The small residential space will allow two visiting doctors to stay on-site to reduce the hassle of navigating the limited housing options in town. An ambulance bay will make pickups easier, and the parking lot can be used for airlifts if needed.
“In today’s environment of tight budgets, what I’m seeing as an architect is the overlap of uses for common spaces for various stakeholders,” said Louis Edwards, the project architect involved with the design from Wilson & Company.
The health center is designed to be both functional and comfortable, with the space allowing a balance of privacy and connection to nature. The roofline traces the mountains to the north, and a placement near the existing PAC building will mimic a traditional central plaza.
“The benefit is, this creates density and utilization of a space and allows for organizations to pool resources together,” says Edwards.
“This project is an expansion of that vision, to serve the public and community,” said Valynda W. Henington, the hospital district board president at the groundbreaking. She was joined by other members of the board, the construction contractors and local politicians at the celebration. A dozen people donned hardhats and took the gold handle of a shovel to move the first dirt.
