ODESSA, Texas — The state of healthcare improved on Tuesday night for Odessans and the Permian Basin as a whole. The Odessa City Council allocated ARPA funds, or money the city received during the COVID pandemic, to two impactful projects.
City council is providing a total of $1.5 million from that ARPA fund. $1,000,000 will be going towards the Permian Basin Behavioral Health Center, and the other $500,000 will be used to help restart a free health clinic on 42nd Street.
During Tuesday night's Odessa City Council meeting, city council made significant contributions to healthcare.
“To move, really the healthcare level – the level of healthcare for the Permian Basin – up a notch, and good for them for going first, that’s a big step," said Russell Tippin, President and CEO of Medical Center Health System.
Tippin says the City of Odessa became the first government entity to contribute to the Permian Basin Behavioral Health Center fund.
Odessa Mayor Javier Joven explained their unanimous decision.
“We want to invest, not only in our employees and our city, but also in our other entities like the hospital and we want to be a good partner," Mayor Joven said. "So, I’m very proud of this council to be able to recognize the importance of what our hospital is going [through] and what our constituents are going through, especially with their healthcare – things that are unseen that are very prevalent in our community and that’s going to continue, and so I think this is a very wise investment. We are not only investing in today, but we are investing way in the future.”
Investing in the future of mental health services that will benefit the entire region.
“There’s crisis -- mental health crisis -- then there’s mental health long-term need, and what the Behavioral Health Center is going to provide is that long-term [need], and not only prepare the patient but also the family and the environment to go with that," Tippin said. "And it moves it out of the emergency room, moves it out of the jails, and it gets it where it’s an environment and it’s professionals that can handle that and that’s what they’re trained to do.”
The city also got closer to providing free healthcare.
“The biggest pandemic that we’re going through is diabetes, hypertension, cholesterol and high blood pressure, and there is no education," Mayor Joven said. "You cannot solely just medicate. There is a preventative measure, and pre-screening is crucial to that.”
Tippin mentioned that with the facility and equipment already in place, they should be able to offer services soon to those who cannot afford anything else. As for the Behavioral Health Center, they are still raising money for the $80-100 million project that has already broken ground.