Making medical progress in Milam County
It was just over a year ago that Little River Healthcare closed its doors in Milam County. We lost two small hospitals, emergency rooms and clinics in the county.
Rockdale was hit the worst as Little River ran the hospital and the clinic. The good news is that we have made progress to get more medical care in the county and more is coming.
We now have four clinics in the county open for business.
There is a clinic in Thorndale, operated by Dr. House; two clinics in Rockdale, Healthpoint/St. Joe and Rockdale Medical Clinic which is open for adult primary care Monday through Friday and cardiology care on Monday; and Scott & White Clinic in Cameron.
Dr. Peyton Thompson M.D. and Monique Schweitzer P.A. are making house calls throughout the county as well for acute and chronic illness care. You can reach them at (512) 760-6118.
Standards Home Health Care, which is the largest independently owned home health care service in Texas, providing all types of home health care, is headquartered in Cameron and run by our very own Tommy Standard. We now have free emergency air transport for any Milam County citizen and there are emergency rooms in Taylor, Temple and Bryan/College Station.
Of course, we would all like some kind of after hours urgent care or an emergency room. The problem is money, as it would require a large subsidy for such an operation.
Your county government has been looking into other opportunities for healthcare and one possibility is 24-hour telehealth care. We recently met with Texas A&M to develop innovative ways to address access to additional health care in the county through a grant from Blue Cross Blue Shield.
We are holding a public meeting this Thursday, Jan. 23, beginning at 6 p.m. at The Yards of Cameron, 301 Adams Avenue in Cameron, to discuss the progress that has been made and the possibilities for additional health care in the county. In fact, representatives from Texas A&M will be on my radio program this Wednesday, Jan. 22, at 9:05 a.m. to discuss the “Moonshot Project.”
We will be asking for input as to health, wellness and care in the county from all those who are interested. Come out and take part in the exciting possibilities that are available to better provide healthcare in our County. Please come out and participate in this important meeting.