Georgetown City Council OKs $10K toward feasibility study for inpatient hospice facility

Georgetown City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to contribute up to $10,000 to a study that will explore the feasibility of building an inpatient residential hospice facility in the Georgetown area that would provide patients with end-of-life care.

Council members approved a contract between the city and the Georgetown Health Foundation to fund the study, which would include up to two phases. The first phase will assess the city’s demand for inpatient hospital beds. The study’s second phase would focus on how much a facility would cost and how it could be built should enough demand exist.

According to city documents, partners in the study also include Baylor Scott & White Health and Hospice Austin, which operates the Christopher House inpatient hospice facility in East Austin.

District 4 Council Member Steve Fought, who is part of a group of Georgetown-area residents and health care officials that have called for the feasibility study, said Tuesday that collaboration between the study's partners, particularly Hospice Austin, has been a key component in developing the proposal.

“This is something that would be suitable for all of Georgetown and the Georgetown area … The question is: Is it feasible?” Fought said.

Fought, who brought the proposal before the council, said council members should receive an initial round of recommendations from the study within six to eight weeks.

Completing both components of the study could cost up to $30,000, according to city documents, with the first phase estimated to cost as much as $20,000 to complete.

Georgetown’s portion of the funding will come from the council’s discretionary fund, according to the city.