Hospital Board Seats New Members

By Greg Ritchie

Messenger Reporter

HOUSTON COUNTY –  It was a packed room, with family members and other well-wishers to welcome the new Houston County Hospital District (HCHD) board members after recent elections overturned the previous board. 

Roy Langford, who had been appointed as a replacement board member, was sworn in, along with new members Monica Glover Pierre, Robert Grier and Jarvis McElhany. Grier could not attend due to a prior commitment. 

There were no speeches or fanfare, as the three were sworn in by Tiffany Harrison, filling in for Dick Murchison. Each took their oath of office and the meeting got under way. 

HCHD Board President Barbara Crowson was re-elected to head the board, with Langford chosen as Vice-President and Debbie Kelly confirmed as secretary. 

The ambulance report for April was presented, including 255 calls for service, with 79% going to MidCoast, 13% to MidCoast’s recently opened facility in Trinity, 3% to Palestine and 2% going to Lufkin. It was explained some residents in the southern part of the county were being quickly routed to Trinity, rather than other facilities further north. This led to not only faster service time for patients, but a faster turnaround time for the ambulances, too. The ambulance service was praised for their “out of chute” time – or how fast the crew goes from call to out the door – one minute and thirty-nine seconds. 

Mid-Coast Administrator Kent Waters presented the hospital report for April, telling the board the hospital saw 693 visits to the emergency room, 56 transfers, 10 observations and 10 patients in the swing bed program. The swing bed program is a way for recovering patients from other hospitals to recuperate locally, instead of staying at a facility outside the county. 

The hospital performed 59 surgeries of different kinds during the month. 

Greg Ritchie can be reached at [email protected]