The 115-bed mental health hospital is estimated to cost $115 million and would allow residents to avoid traveling out of the county to similar facilities, according to a report from the Pearland Chamber of Commerce.
The initiative has been spearheaded over the past several months by different local entities passing resolutions supporting the measure and calling on the Texas Legislature to lend a hand, Community Impact previously reported.
The Pearland Chamber of Commerce and other stakeholders are working with lawmakers to see the facility fully funded in the next legislative session, which began Jan. 14, chamber President Jim Johnson said. Those stakeholders include Alvin and Pearland ISDs, Community Health Network and Gulf Coast Center.
The background
From 2010 to 2020, Brazoria County’s population more than doubled, partially contributing to a higher number of people reporting mental health crises, according to the Pearland chamber’s report.
Johnson said he believes police departments and hospitals in the county are facing an urgent challenge as the number of mental health and substance use cases continues to rise, threatening to overwhelm their resources and capabilities.
“Without proper mental health facilities, the burden lies on our emergency rooms and our law enforcement,” he said. “Though they are great at that, it puts pressure on those areas.”
In 2023, there were 164,086 psychiatric outpatient service visits in Brazoria County—a 29.4% increase over five years—and the number is expected to grow by nearly 50% over the next decade, according to the report.
Companies such as Community Health Network, which is a system of health networks providing care in Brazoria, Galveston and Harris counties, are trying to combat the trend. CHN is adding more staff and service lines each year to its crisis team, said Ezreal Garcia, vice president of government affairs and public relations.
These local realities mirror statewide trends, which show that reported depression and mood disorders jumped by 29% from 2018 to 2023, and anxiety disorder visits surged by 80%, the report shows.
The coalition also hopes to expand outpatient care in Brazoria County, per the chamber’s website.
“As much as an inpatient crisis center will benefit our residents and businesses in Brazoria County, there are other solutions that we are working on to ensure that we not only have the inpatient care, but the outpatient and the preventive care for those mental health [patients],” Johnson said.
Another point of view
Since October 2023, Gulf Coast Center has partnered with SUN Behavioral Health Houston, a psychiatric hospital in Houston with 148 beds. The hospital has reserved 18 beds for patients without health insurance from the Gulf Coast region, which includes Brazoria County, said Mikki Kalina, director of business development at SUN Behavioral Health Houston.
Between April and November, Kalina estimated that SUN Behavioral Health Houston admitted around 500 patients from the Gulf Coast Region, although not all those patients used the reserved beds if they had health insurance.
Because SUN Behavioral Health offers inpatient care, medical professionals are on-site 24/7 to support patients experiencing a mental health crisis or substance abuse disorder with around-the-clock care, which outpatient care is not equipped to do, Kalina said.
“I grew up in Brazoria County, and the reason I got into this business is because there were no resources,” Kalina said. “So now it’s great to be able to bring those resources.”
The growth of the county, as well as cities within it, is also spurring more need, data shows. Manvel Mayor Dan Davis said this remains true for his city, which grew 41% in the past five years, according to U.S. Census data released in December.
However, a lack of services paired with that growth is causing many to have to look outside the county for help in areas related to mental health, Davis said.
A hospital, he said, would fill a “much-needed gap in our region’s health care system.”
“A local facility would not only benefit Manvel but also ensure that individuals throughout Brazoria County can get the help they need closer to home,” Davis said.
The conditions
Between 2014 and 2023, the county saw a 57% climb in poor mental health days and a 90% rise in fatal opioid overdoses, according to the chamber’s report. Additionally, binge drinking rates nearly doubled during the same period.
In 2022, the opioid overdose rate in Brazoria County was 11.6 per 100,000—slightly higher than the state’s rate of 10.3 but lower than the national rate of 24.4. Each year, around 45 people die from opioid overdoses in the county, which has two opioid treatment programs—one in Pearland and one in Lake Jackson—according to the report.
Texas has historically trailed behind national drug trends, so this number is expected to rise over the next decade, according to the report.
Brazoria County has the 12th fastest-growing suicide rate in Texas, according to the report.
What parents should know
Local school districts have seen a rise in students reporting mental health concerns.
Pearland ISD reported over 1,400 student visits related to depression, self-harm and suicidal ideation during the 2023-24 school year, according to the chamber’s report. Those figures include:
- 299 visits to address depression'
- 427 visits related to self-harm
- 686 visits related to suicidal ideation
- 23 visits concerning suicide attempts
From 2007 to 2021, rates of suicide for Americans age 10 to 24 increased by 62%—up from 6.8 to 11 deaths per 100,000 people—and suicide became the second leading cause of death for that age group in 2021, the Pearland Chamber’s report shows.
Because outpatient care is only designed to address or prevent crises, an inpatient facility such as the proposed mental health hospital would be equipped to address “the crisis at hand,” Garcia said.
“A dedicated facility would offer critical support and would ensure that students and families have access to timely, professional care, which is vital for academic success, personal growth and overall community health,” Pearland ISD Superintendent Larry Berger said.
Looking ahead
Beyond health concerns, officials expect mental health and substance use disorders to cost the county millions of dollars each year if left unaddressed, according to the report.
“Untreated mental health conditions and substance use disorders impose a heavy economic burden on the local economy,” Johnson said. “Decrease in absentee work environment or even school participation due to untreated [mental illness] could cost us lots of money as people [are] unable to work or continue to be productive members of society.”
Health care spending in Texas is almost twice as high for adults with mental illness as it is for adults without mental illness, and missed work days caused by untreated mental health issues will cost local businesses millions each year, according to the report.
Roughly 16% of Brazoria County’s workforce is in the service industry, which often does not offer health care benefits, especially mental health care, according to the report.
