Panola County denies UT Health request for help with pandemic expenses

Published 5:45 am Thursday, September 30, 2021

By From Staff Reports

CARTHAGE — Panola County commissioners have voted against providing federal stimulus funding to UT Health Carthage.

The hospital had previously asked the county for $369,000 to help cover staffing and other costs accrued during the most recent COVID-19 surge when the state did not provide assistance. CEO Mark Leitner told county officials at their Aug. 31 meeting that the state had directed UT Health to ask their local entities for funding relief through stimulus funding that cities and counties had received.

County officials told Leitner Aug. 31 that they have not allocated any of their $4 million in stimulus funds. On Tuesday, commissioners denied the request.

“What do y’all wanna do?” County Judge LeeAnn Jones asked.

“I say no,” Pct. 4 Commissioner Dale LaGrone replied.



“I don’t think any of the surrounding counties are doing it either,” Jones said.

Aside from requesting the county’s help, Leitner and UT Health Carthage have asked the city of Carthage for $130,000 to help with COVID-19 expenses. City officials told Leitner on Sept. 13 that, while they wanted to work with the hospital, they would wait to see if the Legislature appropriates any funding for hospitals’ pandemic-related expenses in this current session.

“So we may need to wait and look at what the state does do,” Mayor Lin Joffrion said at the time.

“That would be my recommendation is — and Mark and I had a good conversation,” City Manager Steve Williams said. “We all know that our hospital, we’re proud to have it and we want y’all here and want to work with y’all. But obviously we want to make sure we handle our funds as well as we possibly can also.”

Elsewhere in East Texas, Leitner told city officials, UT Health has also asked their other city and county agencies for COVID expense help.

Smith County commissioners voted Tuesday to provide $4.5 million in total to UT Health East Texas, Christus Trinity Mother Frances and three emergency rooms to help local hospitals retain staff and fight COVID-19. UT Health will receive $2 million of that amount.

Smith County Judge Nathaniel Moran said the county recognizes and supports all health care workers and would give compensation to all of them if possible.

“Our approach here is to help retain local staff critical to treating patients with COVID-19, where there is a critical supply shortage by rewarding them for continuing to work in Smith County facilities over the next two months rather than chase contract work outside of the County,” he said.