Jennifer Franklin, chief clinical officer of Yoakum Family Practice Clinic said access to mental health in rural areas is complicated. However, she suggested that lawmakers find the few professionals and hospitals treating mental health efficiently around the state and let them be an example for other health care providers.

Chief Executive Officer of Winkler County Hospital District Lorzeno Serrano said rural hospitals need to provide resources and training spots for mental health professionals.

He said prospective mental health professionals from his district have had to drive up to 400 miles every weekend to get real-world clinical hours.

“It’s just very difficult,” Serrano said. “There are qualified individuals that are willing to go into this field, but it’s so hard to find the programs, to figure out how you’re going to pay the bills while you do that.”

Although state legislators will surely discuss health and mental care this winter, John Hodges, family nurse practitioner of Ralls Family Medicine, said legislative decisions alone will not fix the mental health crisis.         

“We have 30 to 40 years of stuff we got to clean up,” Hodges said about frequent prescribing of anti-depression and anxiety medication. “They don’t talk about coping, they don’t talk about past trauma, they don’t talk about neglect and unmet needs, it’s ‘hey, here’s some Xanax.’” 

Hodges added there was no, single easy answer when it comes to treating mental health because of all the personal factors at play.

The health care professionals chimed in on Medicaid expansion, a hotly discussed state political topic. 

“There’s a reason that Texas is leading the nation in hospital closures,” Serrano said.  While he didn’t advocate for Medicaid expansion, he said rural Texas hospitals have a problem.

“When you’re forcing hospitals to either treat Medicaid patients or raise taxes, we got a problem, we got a funding problem,” he continued.

Hodges said the biggest part of the population that needs help are those who make too much money for Medicaid but not enough to have proper insurance, which he sees quite a bit.

Serrano said staffing is the main need for reliable EMS services in rural Texas.

“Paramedics … there’s just not enough skilled professional in rural America to cover the need,” he said.

Lori Rice-Spearman, president of Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, said interface and connected technology is a major need in EMS services. 

She’s conducted assessments in the Permian Basin, some cross county EMS units were unable to speak with each other through their communication devices.

“It’s a real challenge, especially considering the accidents that are happening on those rigs,” she said.