HOUSTON – There was a major development Tuesday in the fight for Ben Taub to maintain its status as a Level-1 trauma hospital.
County commissioners approved seven new operating rooms to their existing 11 and the $70 million needed for construction at the hospital.
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The Verification Review Committee, part of the American College of Surgeons, issued a letter to Harris Health, which runs Ben Taub, in January. The letter said after a visit in November 2014, the committee had significant concerns about Ben Taub's operating room availability and trauma surgeon staffing that had an impact on the care of some patients.
Ben Taub is one of two Level-1 trauma hospitals for adults in the heart of Houston.
President and CEO of the Harris Health System George Masi said the possibility of losing one of those hospitals is extremely worrisome for a city this size.
"A city the size of Houston, of 4.7 million in population, the American College of Surgeons recommends one Level 1 trauma hospital per million," Masi said. "Of course, today we have two in Houston proper. When you get to ground zero of Houston we should have at least several other Level 1 trauma centers but to have one of those, one of the current ones, to be put on watch if you will, because of not having adequate operating rooms, that is a great concern to the entire community."
County Judge Ed Emmett said that in the project to remove all doubt surrounding the status and improve the county's hospital, they will remodel 60,400 square feet of Ben Taub clinic space on the second floor and build out 62,000 square feet of shell space at Ben Taub Tower to house the relocated clinic services.
This will create a total of 18 operating rooms, including one hybrid trauma room for the most complicated traumas. In addition to that, Harris Health told Channel 2 that they are hiring several new surgeons to tackle the additional demand.
Masi said the project will begin in the next few months. None of the current operating rooms will close during construction.
The project is estimated to be complete in December 2017. Meanwhile, they expect to receive another report from the ACS this December.