‘Once-in-a-generation opportunity’: Bexar County is ‘re-imagining’ public health with $60 million investment

Up to $60 million in federal pandemic aid will be set aside to serve economically disadvantaged communities in outlying Bexar County, officials announced Tuesday. The county is forming a public health division under its University Health system. County leaders also will re-examine and coordinate some 15 health-related services currently provided by several departments. A nine-member public health advisory board will be created, and the county will build on partnerships with Texas A&M University-San Antonio and local school districts to develop a trained health care workforce to serve the South Side. The county’s investment “is about no longer allowing a person’s ZIP code to determine his or her health outcomes,” said Commissioner Rebeca Clay-Flores, who represents the South Side.

She said the initiative, announced by Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff and supported by all four county commissioners, will empower the community by tackling health inequities tied to income and education that the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed. The virus has been linked to the death of some 5,300 county residents in the past two years. Many had diabetes, heart disease and other risk factors. “We have to understand how educational opportunities, racism, poverty and other social determinants contribute to the health, both physically and mentally, of students as they grow into adulthood,” Clay-Flores said. A portion of the $388 million provided to the county through the federal American Rescue Plan Act will be allocated for the initiative as commissioners continue discussions on other uses of the funds, including affordable housing, mental health services, domestic violence treatment and prevention, and financial stabilization following revenue losses from the pandemic. The county has until the end of 2026 to spend the money.