Clinic owners desire to locate in Daingerfield

By Marlene J. Bohr
mbohr@steelcountrybee.com
 
Recognizing the need for additional medical care in Morris County, the Morris County Commissioners approved a letter of support for WellnessPointe Family Health. Members of the clinic addressed the commissioners at their Feb. 11 meeting to inform them of the health need in the community and of plans to apply for a federal grant.
Carl Walters, chief executive officer of WellnessPointe, said there were four or five things they wanted to accomplish.
“We want to tell you about us and a federal government opportunity,” Mr. Walters said. “We would like to get your endorsement to open up a wellness center here to serve the people in Daingerfield. We started over 20 years ago as a private practice ob/gyn and Dr. John Kirk, one of our founders, said there was a need for services for low-income people. We are the largest federally qualified health center. It receives federal dollars to provide core services to anyone that wants to use them. It accepts most insurances. We provide several services. We employ 160 full-time employees. Our board is made up of the people that use this system.
“We provide medical, dental, behavioral health, WIC, and social services. We play a major role in chronic disease education, prevention, and treatment. We decided to go to Morris County because we are looking at where the need is for us. We found that Morris County has the worst numbers and that means there is a better chance for a grant.”
The resident ratio to primary care services is extremely high, such as 4.2741 percent, according to Mr. Walters.
“We have a clinic in Gilmer,” he said. “This area is not served very well at all. We think we can write a successful grant application to submit to enable us to come out here. It is important that we get not just state and federal support, but the community support to be successful by bringing our services here. This will bring job creation to your area. We are asking for support, and if we are coming here we plan to stay. We need input as to where to put the clinic.
“We are not coming here in the spirit of trying to compete with any medical person here. We are coming because this area has been identified as being an underserved area. This is not just for Daingerfield, it is for the whole county. We will be open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.”
Mr. Walters talked about Plan B if the grant is not received.
“If the grant is not approved and if you are interested in us coming here, we need to talk about alternative funding,” Mr. Walters said. “Financial support will be needed from the county for the first two years.”
Commissioners asked how much money they expected to need for the first two years.
“All we can ask is that you look and see how much you can provide,” Mr. Walters said. “It might be where you find us a building and we have a partial rent reduction. We need a maximum of $650,000. The maximum we can get is $650,000 from the federal government if we get the grant.  And the grant would be ongoing. If we do not get the funding, we do not want to abandon Morris County.”
Dr. Brad Johnson, president of Northeast Texas Community College, addressed the commissioners about the new plans for the college.
“I wanted to bring your attention to the strategic planning the college has done and we will be doing this through August,” Dr. Johnson said. “It should matter to you because this is the time that the college evaluates long term plans. Resources are limited. You have to stay within those constraints. The last plan resulted in the ag center and the industrial training center. Those are not just the buildings, they are programs which are for you folks in our community who go and can compete for a good job and provide for their families. They are not obvious. We are doubling down on agriculture and I think the small farms component.
“At the time Tyler Junior College is closing down their ag program, ours is growing. We need your help. We need to be sure we are paying attention to the needs of our community.”
Dr. Johnson said the college’s degrees have increased, but NTCC is still behind the state.
“We have a sense it will be critical,” Dr. Johnson said. “We are in a globally competitive environment.  I want to make sure our strategic planning puts emphasis on what is needed. We have had two education summits and brought people together. Almost 230 people from the community and college have participated in these events. We want to get the conversation started. We are putting a team of 25 people to do the actual planning. You can follow us on Twitter and Facebook and you can make comments and offer ideas.
“The planning team will meet in late February and come up with objectives. We will send them out and put together work teams and decide what it will take to make this dream a reality. In June the board will look at it, and in August it will be officially considered. Daingerfield-Lone Star Independent School District and the college are working hard to open a skills center at the school. It is something very valuable in our area.”
In other business, the commissioners approved a resolution for a Justice Assistance grant application and for a Juvenile Justice & Delinquency Prevention grant. 
County Auditor Shanna Solomon said this is a grant application for one year.
“You can apply for the same grant each year for five years,” she said. “This is for the elementary school at Pewitt. There is a second grant you apply for that will add a vehicle to it, in addition to the other grant for an officer.”
Morris County Deputy Ross Dickson said when an officer is on duty, they will be at the school during school hours.
“Not only is an officer necessary to prevent a school shooting, but it can foster relationships with students that do not have an opportunity to meet an officer.”
There are approximately 600 students in the Pewitt Elementary School, in addition to more than 50 employees.
“I am excited about this,” said Dr. David Fitts, superintendent of Pewitt said. “We at Pewitt are under the auspices of the Morris County Sheriff’s Department. All our police protection comes from Morris County. We ask that the commissioners’ court apply for this grant. I would be derelict in my duties if I did not come before you and ask you to vote with your conscience.”
Deputy Dickson agreed.
“This might be one of the most important things you have decided in your life if we have someone to come between those students and someone that is intent on harming them,” Deputy Dickson said. “It has been a God send for us to have a school resource officer. It can be parental disputes and custody battles also that an officer is needed. The children growing up get to know the law enforcement officer. If every child in Morris County grew up knowing the law was a resource, it could make a little difference in later years. I think if we are paying 50/50 with the school, it is a small price to pay to put someone between the students and danger. We are beating the odds.”
Veterans Service Officer James Garner and County Clerk Vicki Falls each received a certificate of completion of training. Mark Johnson was deputized as a reserve deputy sheriff.