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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to authorizing the establishment of a grant program to |
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allow the Nueces County Hospital District to recruit and retain |
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certain medical professionals. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Section 281.094(a), Health and Safety Code, is |
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amended to read as follows: |
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(a) With the approval of the Nueces County Commissioners |
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Court, the board of the Nueces County Hospital District may use |
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funds made available to the district from sources other than a tax |
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levy to fund: |
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(1) health care services, including public health |
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services, mental health services, intellectual disability |
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services, emergency medical services, health services provided to |
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persons confined in jail facilities, and for other health related |
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purposes; and |
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(2) a grant program established under Section |
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281.0941. |
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SECTION 2. Subchapter E, Chapter 281, Health and Safety |
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Code, is amended by adding Section 281.0941 to read as follows: |
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Sec. 281.0941. NUECES COUNTY HOSPITAL DISTRICT PHYSICIAN |
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RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION GRANT PROGRAM. (a) The board of the |
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Nueces County Hospital District may establish and administer a |
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grant program for hospitals located in the hospital district to |
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provide the funding necessary to: |
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(1) allow hospitals in the district to: |
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(A) retain physicians currently practicing at |
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those hospitals; and |
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(B) recruit physicians who practice medicine in a |
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specialty or subspecialty providing treatment for the most common |
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and critical health care needs of the residents of the hospital |
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district to practice at those hospitals; and |
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(2) increase the number of residency positions at |
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hospitals in the district. |
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(b) If the board of the hospital district establishes a |
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grant program under this section, the board shall adopt rules to |
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ensure the grant is used in a manner that is consistent with the |
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public purpose of providing medical aid and hospital care for the |
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indigent and needy individuals residing in the district, including |
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rules: |
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(1) prescribing the manner in which a hospital in the |
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district may apply for a grant under this section; |
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(2) establishing eligibility and selection criteria |
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for a hospital to be awarded a grant under this section; |
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(3) establishing accountability controls for |
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hospitals awarded a grant under this section to ensure the district |
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receives a benefit in return for the award of the grant; and |
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(4) relating to any other aspect of the program the |
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board determines necessary for the program's administration. |
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(c) The board of the hospital district may not use money |
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received by the district under Chapter 298C to fund a grant awarded |
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under this section. |
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SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025. |