The $123M Plan to Transform Healthcare in the Permian Basin

Speaker A: Hi everyone. Welcome back to Fueling Tomorrow. I'm your host, Erin Bailey. And today we are joined by Russell Myers, who's the CEO for the Beacon Alliance. And Russell, thank you so much for joining us today.

Speaker B: Thank you very much for, um, having me. I'm glad to be here.

Speaker A: We're so excited to learn all about the new things in healthcare for the Permian Basin. But let's take it from the beginning. You've had quite the career in healthcare. So talk to me about. Did you always know you wanted to get started in healthcare?

Speaker B: No. There's a story there.

Speaker A: Um, tell us the story and then take us through the path of how you got to where you are today.

Speaker B: Do so. Um, it starts with my relationship with my wife. We are, we go back to the sixth grade and really have been pretty much continuously together since the eighth grade. And we got married pretty young. Uh, we were 21. And one of the ways, the, one of the reasons we were able to get married young was she was about to become a nurse, uh, and she was going to support us while I finished school. And you're like, great. She did. So her first nursing job, uh, was at one of the big hospitals in the Texas Medical center in Houston. And I didn't know anything about healthcare, had never been exposed to it, frankly. First person in my family to get an advanced education of any kind. So healthcare, um, was new to me and to her. And her first experience was terrible. You know, she was, she was a new registered nurse, you know, baby nurse, left alone on a 45, 48 bed patient unit, lots of critical patients. And it was pretty common in those days. This is the early 80s, long ago. Um, and it just was a mess. And while I didn't know a lot about anything and I didn't really have a career path, I thought this is something that could use some help, some change.

Speaker A: Yeah.

Speaker B: And so I was finishing up my undergrad and sought out a graduate program in healthcare administration and just took off.

Speaker A: Wow. So what were you originally going to school for?

Speaker B: Uh, I. Well, my undergrad degree is in economics, which obviously is not applicable to much of anything except grad school degree.

Speaker A: Yeah.

Speaker B: And so I needed a grad school path and this is the one I found.

Speaker A: Wow.

Speaker B: Turned out, turned out to be great. And I got my start early on at Methodist in Houston there in the Texas Medical center, which is a great place to start. They were doing a little bit of everything, a real world class institution. And I was there for a few years and then, uh, on to lots of other Things we could go on and on about that, but I've had multiple different career stops.

Speaker A: And what brought you to the Permian Basin?

Speaker B: Uh, I was recruited here to be the CEO of Midland Memorial Hospital. Uh, that was after 12 years with HCA, which was the biggest for profit healthcare company in the country. Uh, and there's a lot of good that came of that. Um, but I realized that healthcare for me at least was a nonprofit, community oriented uh, enterprise. And uh, when your first duty is to the shareholders like it is in any corporate environment, you can't really do, um, unless you're Diamondback, you can't really do all the great things in the community that really brought you to healthcare in the first place. Brought me to healthcare. And so I was looking for something different, something really community oriented. Midland Memorial's longtime CEO was retiring. They were searching. Um, we, we met up in uh, on a wanted a uh, help wanted ad. And they brought me here to be the CEO. That was in 2002.

Speaker A: Had you been to the Permian Basin before?

Speaker B: Never. I grew up in Houston, lived my whole life on the Gulf coast. Knew Midland was in Texas and that's about it. I never heard no. So it wasn't. I didn't come here because it was Midland. It was, it was a great job opportunity and obviously it's a different place from where I grew up, but came pretty quickly to love it.

Speaker A: And you quickly planted roots here and have been here for quite some time. So talk to me about how you got to the CEO uh, of the Beacon Alliance.

Speaker B: Well, I spent right at 20 years as CEO of Midland Memorial and was fortunate that the board worked with me and my number two person, Steve Bowerman, to plan his succession into my role over the course of about 18 months. And so, uh, as we came to the end of that, uh, I was working uh, on a behavioral health idea, you know, we had not been able to achieve. But we can talk a lot more about that if you want to. But um, so I stayed around to finish the behavioral health development. And around that same time I spoke with Chairman Don Evans who was getting the. He uh, was chairman of Permian Strategic Partnership. Had um, this idea for what became Permian Basin Medical center or the Beacon. Um, but the idea was that Midland is booming. It's going to continue to be the most important energy producing region of any place in the world really. Certainly in the U.S. uh, but it had some shortcomings. Uh, our education wasn't what we wanted it to be and our infrastructure was inadequate to serve the Oil field and healthcare was not good enough, uh, to attract and retain the kinds of people it would take to drive the energy industry into its long 50 to 100 year, you know, path forward. And so they were thinking about what could the industry do to make a difference, to make those things better. Uh, and the healthcare part of it, you know, uh, was certainly interesting and attractive to me. Don asked me to come on and give some shape to this new idea, uh, to do something bigger in healthcare. And so I said yes, I was available. So it, uh, turned out to be, uh, a pretty good decision. That's been three years now.

Speaker A: Wow.

Speaker B: For me, the idea came up a couple years before that, but I've been involved for three.

Speaker A: And, um, if someone came up to you. Because to a lot of people the Beacon alliance is new. Well, it is only three years old,

Speaker B: so it's new to everyone still. Yeah.

Speaker A: But if someone knows nothing about it, if you could describe it in a few sentences, what would you tell them?

Speaker B: I can. I think I can. M. So it's, um, as I said, you know, with the. It really grew out of the Permian Strategic Partnership Initiative, which was trying to make Midland a better place and a more attractive place for come to live people to come and live and work and plant roots and stay. Um, this is the health care arm of that effort. Uh, and it exists really, I think, to do two things. One is to develop what has become about a 400 acre property, most of which was donated by Diamondback affiliate Rattler, uh, midstream. Tremendous gift. Um, this is north, uh, of the Midland Airport, just south of the UTPB campus and the Wagner Noel Performing Arts Center. Great big piece of surface that Diamondback, uh, owned and didn't need. They need what's under the ground, not necessarily what's on top. Right. Uh, and so they. They were gracious enough to donate it toward this effort, um, and developing that site into something that is a sort of a planned community, but it's centered around, uh, enhancements in healthcare. Things we can do, um, together as a region that maybe the individual cities of Midland or Odessa or others around the region can't do on their own. That would make health care better for the whole region. That's job one. The other part is a regional outreach effort, uh, recognizing that most of the Permian Basin, at least. At least its geography is very rural. A lot of small towns, you know, a lot of, uh, uh, oil and gas resources around the region for sure, but centered in really small towns with very little capability. Health care wise uh, and with a need to tie to a regional provider network so that the people in those towns can get the best care possible, even when they live in remote areas. Uh, and so we're doing outreach in areas like, uh, health improvement in small communities, helping people understand their health status and get treatment for chronic disease, oftentimes that they don't even know they have. Diabetes around the region is really difficult and a lot of people are pre diabetic and don't know it. And so we're trying to get.

Speaker A: How do you get in front of them like that?

Speaker B: I'll tell you about that. Uh, and then another part of that is outreach, uh, to the, uh, 911 community. EMS providers around the region all struggle one way or another with resources, with manpower, workforce, uh, but they're all depended upon by many times the oil field industry. You've got a guy out on a remote rig, he gets hurt, somebody's got to show up in an ambulance and take him to the hospital. And making sure that the region has the resources it needs to do that well, is another piece of our mission. So it's regional outreach to the rural communities and it's development of this regional center to enhance really more, um, specialty healthcare. Um, on the Beacon site you asked how we get to how we find those diabetics. Right. This is a great story. Everything ties back to Don Evans. This is another tie back to Don Evans. You probably know that that Don was the secretary of commerce under.

Speaker A: Yes, he's been a guest on the podcast.

Speaker B: Well, you know him well. So under President Bush, um, one of President George W. Bush's great signature achievements was pepfar. Uh, I don't know if Don, Don can't go too far without talking about it.

Speaker A: So you may have talked about to talk about the psp.

Speaker B: Yes, it's, it's challeng that far is a great achievement. And what that is is the president's, uh, effort to reach into, uh, Africa, to rural Africa, uh, with AIDS prevention and treatment. Um, remember when President Bush was president, AIDS was still relatively new. Uh, treatment for it was beginning to succeed, but wasn't available widely and in the underserved, uh, poor areas of the world, especially in Africa. AIDS was rampant. It was horrible epidemic disease and it was unchecked. And so the president had the idea, we're going to take some American resources, go to Africa and help people get the care and treatment and the education they need, um, to combat this horrible death sentence. It's not so much a death sentence anymore, but it was then yes. Um, and so the person that he tapped to lead that was a career military doctor named Deborah Birx. B I R X. Uh, you may remember, Dr. Birx, you and I spent a lot of time together during COVID Uh, Dr. Birx was, uh, front and center in a lot of the press conferences that President Trump held during the COVID crisis. Um, kind of number two person at the CDC to Dr. Fauci. Dr. Birx was the lady with the scarves. She was great, uh, camera presence. She's a fascinating and charismatic character. Career, um, military. She's an immunologist. Uh, and she was the leader of PEPFAR and credited with saving, you know, over 20 million lives in Africa.

Speaker A: Just, wow.

Speaker B: Amazing achievement. Not as well known as it ought to be, perhaps. So fast forward to the post presidency. Uh, the, the Bush center in Dallas has been established, in short, President Bush's library. Don's very active there, chairs their board. Uh, so he and the president are very close. They're really, really good friends. And Dr. Birx, um, wasn't really retired, but she was continually bugging the president about what she learned in Africa and how it could apply to rural America. You know, a lot of similarities. Rural Africa underserved by providers, plagued by ignorance with regard to health, health care. Um, both things very true at rural America. Uh, and so she thought, you know, we learned so much there in doing the maximum amount of good with the minimum amount of resources. Let's bring that home and apply it in rural America. And wouldn't that be great? Uh, and the president finally had heard enough of that and called Don and said, do it. I give you Dr. Birx and let you work with her to do something in west Texas. And so we did. Uh, and so she's gotten this project started with Texas Tech, and they're actually going to individual communities, surveying people, asking them about their health status, but also testing them, testing their blood sugar and taking their weight and their blood pressure and doing a basic physical exam, uh, to get a baseline for what their actual health is. Many of these are people who work hard, don't have time to go to the doctor, may not have good access to a provider, and oftentimes have chronic disease they don't even know about.

Speaker A: Do you. They find that they're receptive to this.

Speaker B: They, you know, they have been. Uh, the first place they went was Crane.

Speaker A: Okay.

Speaker B: Very receptive to their, to their efforts. But it appears to me, uh, Dr. Birx is. She will be a great guest for you by the way. Um, but it appears to me that the secret to their success in getting people to open up to them was one on one in person communication. They went and knocked on doors as people, you know, can we, can we give you a health questionnaire?

Speaker A: It's a lot easier to trust someone when you can talk to them face to face.

Speaker B: Yeah. And she is so charismatic. She did a lot of this herself

Speaker A: and she won't let them say no.

Speaker B: No. She's hard to say no to. So that's, that's been the secret. She's, she's developed a team now and they're, they're in several other places, um, and intend to spread this all over the Permian basin. Wow. And then the, the end game here is not to put more doctors in those towns. We're not, we're being realistic about it. We're not going to get a lot more healthcare access. What we can do is use technology and give them self management tools. They can monitor their own blood sugar, see what their diet does that affects it, monitor their weight and their blood pressure. And she's collecting the data because it's all wi fi enabled.

Speaker A: Mhm.

Speaker B: And then showing the results potentially to the federal government to get some funding to scale this up and do it maybe all over America. But it's, it's very early, but it's really exciting. They've had great results and if so fascinating what they found.

Speaker A: I know, that's so nice. If someone is listening from one of those remote communities and they're like, wow, how do I get involved with this? Where do they go?

Speaker B: Well, they can, they can read a little bit about it on our website, the Beacon permian.com. um, but really now, it's still a pretty small effort. It's just waiver. Dr. Burks is going, that's where that's going to be. So if you happen to be in that town, she's been in Balmire, she's working on Pecos now. Uh, she intends to get to Hobbs in the relatively near future. Um, but we have to figure out how to scale it up and we haven't really done that yet.

Speaker A: Baby step.

Speaker B: It's just she's an itinerant preacher on the wonders of managing your own health to avoid the healthcare system. Really.

Speaker A: And the Beacon was formed from a collaboration of multiple different sectors. Healthcare, education, community, industry. When you were working together, at what point were you sitting there and now and thinking, okay, this is actually going to work, we can actually get this off the ground.

Speaker B: That's you Know, I think the biggest moment there was the behavioral Health Center. Um, it's, it's act. The, it's at the Beacon. The Permian Basin Behavioral Health center just opened. Took, took their first patient this week.

Speaker A: Yay.

Speaker B: Very exciting project. Uh, and um, that's a long standing need in the, in the community, as most people probably recognize that behavioral health services have been in really short supply throughout the region for forever. And this is another Covid result. We all became much more aware of mental health concerns during COVID Yes. Because we were living together, Right. Everybody was confined to home. Their routines were, uh, disrupted. Uh, and those underlying mental health issues that, that have always been here. Somewhere between one in three and one in five of us has some kind of diagnosable mental health concern. They become really apparent, you know, when you're, when you can't. Can't get away.

Speaker A: Yeah.

Speaker B: And so the, uh, federal government put a significant amount of money into what was called arpa, the American Rescue Plan act, if I remember right, or recovery plan. Um, and that included money that could be used on behavioral health initiatives. The state of Texas had a big allocation from the federal government. And in 21, we went to the legislature and asked for some of that money to finally address the long standing behavioral health concerns here. Uh, and we got a yes. We asked for $90 million. We got 40. And that was pretty good. In this community, uh, we can raise money for things that matter, as this know, we all know. And um, so that was a great seed for what would become what we hoped would become a hundred bed, um, behavioral health center. Um, 21. The money came from the legislature. We went out and raised the rest of the money pretty easily. Nothing's easy here, but people really stepped right up and supported it because they were aware of the concern. Uh, and then in 23, the next session, uh, the lieutenant governor calls us and says, we're excited about this. We want you to double the size and we'll give you the money. We'll give you the money to do it. And this time the state gave us more money and it was almost enough to pay for doubling the size. Uh, so we got to a 200 bed hospital.

Speaker A: Wow.

Speaker B: And Diamondback was in the early stages of making the land available. Uh, and it was an obvious fit. It was at what could eventually be the Beacon. It was free, you know, it was a donation. Um, so it was the perfect. It was right between Middle and Odessa, so it's centrally located. Um, so we said yes. And that became really the anchor for this whole thing that's what made it real to me. This is something tangible we're going to do. We've got funded, we've got a plan and this is the start of something really big.

Speaker A: And with your time at Memorial Herman Memorial Herman thinking Houston made it there, but Midland Memorial, you were already thinking about something to address behavioral health.

Speaker B: So for a long time. Yeah.

Speaker A: So getting to work on this and see it come to fruition, what is that like for you?

Speaker B: Well, it's, you know, I'm at the end of my career and it's kind of a nice culmination to what I've been able to do or be a part of at least. We started you know, in earnest back in 2015 at Ah, Midland Memorial. Really getting serious about understanding our mental health needs. When I first came, one of the early things that I did in the early 2000s was Redefine the mission of the hospital. And what we said was it's leading healthcare for greater Midland and the unique place that Midland Memorial occupies, the only hospital in a county of 180,000 or more people. They had a really high level of responsibility for healthcare here. Not just for running the best hospital that we could, but the whole continuum of care. Because if we didn't, if we didn't own that, if we didn't feel responsible for it, who was going to. And so we defined our mission that way. And for all that time since we defined the mission until we started doing something about it, it was a great big hole in that responsibility. It was an area we didn't address. We knew the need was there, we didn't know how to address it. We had never addressed it. So it was a way we could step up and finally fill that hole and create the last piece of the continuum of air here. Uh, and so yeah, getting to do something about that, convincing people that it was worthy of funding and, and their time and effort was uh, pretty great and I'm really proud of it. I've great chance to work with a lot of good and generous people, uh, to make it happen. We're really fortunate. This is a really unique place and uh, it's going to be a real show place for the state of Texas. And I think maybe the best part about it, I don't know that it's well known but this facility, while it has a lot of funding from the state, it's not a state hospital. They just gave us the money and said go do it. But it's a partnership between Midland County Hospital District and Hector County Hospital. MHM Midland and Odessa, which is pretty rare.

Speaker A: I know we're starting to bridge that gap.

Speaker B: Yeah, that's right. And it's really tangible and it's, and it was founded not only for these communities but really to serve the whole region. And I think it's going to do that. Might take a few months for us to get all the way ramped up but it's, I think it's going to make a huge difference in the lives of people across the whole region.

Speaker A: Healthcare has always been a topic of conversation as the communities grow. Just like education with behavioral health specifically, people who have never dealt with it can't really understand why that need is so great. So what do you tell people who like, who think that's in their mind but also that 200 bed facility really does have a greater purpose. Purpose to serve the communities here.

Speaker B: We've spent, we really started. I mentioned 2015. One of our early projects was to raise people's awareness, uh, you know, to really communicate a lot about what's going on in behavioral health and you know, how to understand what your role is in it and communicate the idea that, you know, all of our families, everybody, uh, everybody knows somebody who's got a mental health concern. It may not be diagnosed. There's a really good chance of not being treated because we don't have a lot of treatment available yet. But we have to continue that. We have to be really visible. Uh, I think one of the plans for the hospital when it's fully up and going is to have one number, hopefully the national 988 number which, which was established a few years ago. You just, if you think you have a mental health concern, you pick up that phone and call 988 just like you might call 911. You'll get somebody on the other end who can steer, you can understand enough of your needs to steer you to somebody who can help you. We hope to be that hub. One of the things we'll advertise, uh, about the hospital, one of the things we'll really emphasize the most is it has a walk in center, it's got a crisis center where if you or your family member think on any level that you have a concern, show up and we'll help you sort it out 24 hours a day. Uh, now we're not there yet. We're close but we're not quite there. But that's, that's going to be our message. This is the place if you don't know what to do. If you've got any Inkling that you or your child or your parents might have a concern that relates to their mental health. Call us and let us help you sort it out.

Speaker A: And with the Beacon alliance, the Permian Basin Behavioral Health center was the first project that kicked it all off. Going from that. Another big part of it like you touched on is education. And in every area it's sometimes we have the facilities. But how do you staff it? So how are you guys partnering with different educational partners to make that happen?

Speaker B: That's been one of the really, uh, heartwarming and encouraging parts of this whole process. We, we knew from the beginning that because behavioral health is so limited here, there is not a workforce. We're not going to recruit our people.

Speaker A: It's not just a regular nurse, right?

Speaker B: No, it's. Well, every nursing job is really specialized these days. But it's not just nurses either. There's a, there's a category of staff that really maybe are the most important called a behavioral health tech. This is the person who is at the patient's elbow day in and day out, you know, in the public space when they're, when they're, you know, getting therapy or watching TV or hanging out during the day, uh, going to meals with them, going to activities with them, um, organizing playtime and that sort of thing. All the aspects of their day to day lives are managed by behavioral health techs. Well, I didn't even know. We don't have any of those. That's why you don't know.

Speaker A: Yeah.

Speaker B: Uh, but early on, um, one of. Another great thing that Tom Craddock helped us do was, was get a little bit of money from the state to start up a behavioral health. Behavioral health tech program. So Dr. Stephanie Caples, who works with me closely and uh, was uh, essential to the planning of this hospital, uh, one of her early duties was to work with Midland College to build a curriculum to train people to be behavioral health techs. They've already graduated a couple of classes. We'll be hiring some of their people. Uh, but that's a really, uh, important need, uh, that we didn't have any people to do. Uh, and we got some state money and the work of the college, uh, to make it happen. Um, another area where we've had a real challenge is in counseling. Counseling and social work. Master's level preparation for those folks. They're licensed in the state of Texas, but it's really hard to get from your master's degree, the completion of your coursework to a license, uh, 3,000 hours worth of clinical time. Um, post graduation before you can get a license. And for somebody who might have been going to school part time, trying to advance their education and their career, really hard to have a year and a half's worth of unpaid work before you can get your license.

Speaker A: Especially, yeah, especially in today's society really.

Speaker B: And most, most people who would employ them, most entities were small nonprofits who were doing their best to get some counseling resources out there. Didn't have a lot of extra money, didn't have big margins. You know, they depended on grants and, and you know, minimal amounts of, of third party reimbursement. So for those people to get a job in a place where they could get their hours was really hard. So UTPB has a really good program, but they had a backlog within their pipeline of students was pretty good, but they would finish their coursework or get close to finishing and then not get licenses because they couldn't get clinical work. Uh, we changed that, uh, two ways. Um, PSP and the Scarborough foundation stepped up to scholarship people in the master's programs, uh, in counseling and social work. Uh, pretty significant investment there at utpb. Um, and then we had um, several funders step up to provide postgraduate fellowship funding. And so once again another more of Stephanie Capel's work. Stephanie ah, created with Texas Tech a fellowship program so that postgraduate, um, these new counselors and social workers could go to work and primary care offices, um, we can go down that rabbit trail if you want to, but primary care doctors see patients with mental health concerns every day. Right? It's so, it's widespread in the population. They're caring for everybody and they have these patients they have no resources for who are in their practices and oftentimes can't comply with the medical regimen that their doctor wants them to because their mental health concerns are unmanaged. You're a diabetic and you need to watch your blood sugar level, but your mind is foggy and you're struggling with an untreated mental health concern. You're not going to be healthy.

Speaker A: Mhm.

Speaker B: So we're placing these new grads in primary care offices where they can get experience and serve that population that's there in those offices, uh, and in need of some additional mental health service. Uh, and so we've had funding from all different sources, a lot of creative people working on these things, all intended to build our workforce, not just for the hospital, but really for the whole region. We need outpatient practices too. Uh, most people will never get to a behavioral health hospital. Uh, Especially if we can make resources available to them early in their disease process, just like with any other disease. Right. If you, you see your primary care doc and you do preventive work and you're less likely to have an emergency hospital visit. Same thing is true in mental health. And more counselors we can get out into the communities, the more accessible we can make psychiatrists, the better off people are going to be and the less likely to get into a crisis and need a hospital.

Speaker A: Yes.

Speaker B: Um, so, you know, we're, we're hopeful that all those things come together and dramatically change the health status of people with mental health concerns.

Speaker A: Do you think there will be a point with what doctor, Dr. Birx is doing where she's doing the screenings for initial concerns with diabetes and things like that. Do you think it's though it will get to a point where now these students will join her with that effort?

Speaker B: Uh, conceivably, yeah. Um, you know, a lot of the effort she's making now uses current students and we just have a new crop starting for this summer that uh, they're getting some field work. I mean not all of them are public health or social work students, but they're getting some direct interaction with people in need out in the field and it might help shape them into future healthcare careers. And I hope so. Yeah, it's all different aspects.

Speaker A: And we hope they stay in Midland.

Speaker B: Uh, yeah. Or at least in the region. Right. They don't be in Midland, but the region has a huge, you know, a whole wide range of needs and we need more people to plant roots here and stay and serve West Texas and southeastern New Mexico.

Speaker A: Yes, the whole Permian Basin.

Speaker B: The whole Permian, yep.

Speaker A: When you think about all these different things that is going on for the health center, what will, at what point will it be fully staffed and what comes next for the Beacon after that?

Speaker B: Two good questions. Uh, Behavioral Health center is, um, has a multi month ramp up process planned, um, and has a wide variety, wide variety of services they're going to provide. And I think it's going to take them probably until the end of this year, this calendar year, um, to have everything live. Um, some of that is licensing some Medicare certification takes two to three months, which we won't be able to take. Medicare patients and frankly most of our managed care payers with whom we would contract won't activate a contract until your Medicare certification is in place. So a lot of dominoes have to fall and at the same time they'll be ramping up the staff and ramping up their capability. So I would think that by the beginning of 27, pretty much all services will be available and all 200 beds will be open.

Speaker A: That's pretty quick when you think about it.

Speaker B: Yeah.

Speaker A: Maybe not in your mind.

Speaker B: I've been building that. We've been building the place for three years. You know, we wanted to open and be 100%. Yes, but just doesn't work that way. And we, and, but it gives us a chance to do it really well, you know, and, and take the time it requires to, to do this thing that we haven't done here.

Speaker A: Mhm.

Speaker B: You know, anybody's memory, you've touched on that.

Speaker A: It was a very long process over three years to get to where we are today. What do you think it. For you personally, what has it been like? This is a first for Midland. It's a first for a lot of you that are working together to make this happen. There have been quite a few hurdles, but talk about that.

Speaker B: Well, it's, you know, it's just really encouraging that we can do this. Uh, you know, I think that the fact that Midland and Odessa are doing it together is a, is a real, it's a sign of great things ahead, you know, and we've, we've worked really well together. And um, that's, that is grounds for, for a lot of good things to come in the future. And of course, you know, the communities are growing together. It's inevitable.

Speaker A: Yes.

Speaker B: Odessa's growing east and Midland's growing west and they're going to meet in the middle. There's no getting around it. Uh, but uh, it's, that's, that's a really encouraging thing. And there's more really good stuff ahead. Behavioral health, from my perspective, is kind of done. Our challenge now is to determine what is the next thing we need to do. Um, our real overall objective with the Beacon has been from the beginning to enhance, uh, and add to what we can do now. Um, there are hospitals all over the region really, but certainly in Midland and Odessa, they're doing really good work, uh, every day and they have a lot to be proud of, but they can't do everything. Uh, and as a, as a growing community that's really focused on getting young people to come here and put their roots down and stay. We've got to do all the stuff that they could get in other communities that are competing for their time. Right. Um, I grew up in Houston. Um, we recruit a lot from, from the Gulf coast without question, and it's hard to compete with everything that's there in a city like that. But we have to uh, in order to get the workforce here and keep them. So the next big step in healthcare is going to be to try to enhance uh what, what we are able to do here and to do it well. Um, specialty health care. Um, doing a broader range especially of pediatric care. That's a, that's a real concern for you know our average age here has plummeted.

Speaker A: Yes. Yeah.

Speaker B: In the last. The time I've been here it's tough. And we were talking about my daughter earlier. I've got a four year old granddaughter here and she's got thousands of friends.

Speaker A: Yeah.

Speaker B: There's so many kids here I just can't believe it. But I came uh, in early 2000s. Uh the average age here was in the mid-50s.

Speaker A: Wow.

Speaker B: Low 30s today. And so we're a dramatically different town. And pediatric care, the availability of basic pediatric care and especially specialty pediatric care is going to be more and more important to the people who want to live and work here.

Speaker A: Mhm.

Speaker B: As your family grows you got to be able to take care of them. And so that's going to be a focus area. I don't know exactly what order things will come in. We're doing some studying right now. We've got a regional healthcare study going on that we'll have reports on in a few weeks. Uh and that's going to somewhat inform our next round of efforts. You know where do we focus our attention? Uh and it very well might be pediatric. Wouldn't surprise me at all because the need is so great and it's so important to the community that's growing here. We've got, we've gotten really young.

Speaker A: Yes. And with the land that is. Was donated there's obviously more room there. Besides just the Behavioral Health center are ah the plans for whatever comes in addition to that to be in that same vicinity.

Speaker B: We. Yes. Uh, well to the extent that you know whatever makes sense to put will. I mean there may be other things that belong in other places but we've got 400 acres to work with out there. Uh and the Behavioral Health center takes up. It was an initial 50 acre grant. Only about half of that is the property and the rest of it is, is going to become a part of this great park that will be a

Speaker A: part of for the people that haven't

Speaker B: been in beautiful and it's going to be even better. It needs a little bit of development but it's got really uh, good opportunity. And so that site there's plenty of room There not only for a variety of different healthcare buildings and providers. Uh, we've got what we call an innovation corridor planned. We don't know exactly who's going there yet, but we're hoping that something innovative. That something innovative will go there. That's right. And that will attract people who uh, want to build new things and bring research and development to the region. You know, that, that integrates with the health care we're delivering here, uh, and maybe with the oil and gas industry. I mean there's, there's a lot of parallels, conceivably a lot of really creative people doing technology development in oil and gas and some of that may be translatable to health care. We, we'd like to explore that. But also the other thing that, that we are confident will happen in that region is, is, um, places to live, residential areas of different flavors, um, entertainment venues. There's already, you know, the region's best entertainment venue is arguably the Wagner. Noel Performing Arts center is right in the middle of our development. Uh, we think we can build upon that. We'd like to see hospitality there, you know, perhaps a hotel. There's, there's not really a great hotel anywhere near the airport. And we're probably as close to the airport as you're going to get. There's a lot of potential for multifaceted development on that site. And we're just now determining what do we pursue next. There's more things than we can do in the immediate term. We have to prioritize. The first priority, uh, which you'll begin to see uh, right after the first of the year, is road building, uh, the major arteries that will serve that 400 acre property and the park. Okay, I'm really excited about the park.

Speaker A: There's, there's, uh, is it going to have like a playground and a green space?

Speaker B: All the things it is. So, so running diagonally across the property is a system of playas, natural depressions in the earth that carry water, that hold water, uh, when it rains, but dry up between rains and, and the ecosystem there is fascinating. You know, it's, it's got its own plant life and animal life that are attracted to, to that kind of environment. Uh, we're early in the design of the park now, but we're trying to respect that natural environment, uh, take advantage of the plants that are native to this area and the water flow that happens in the playa, believe it or not. Yeah, I know water does actually flow occasionally. Uh, we're trying to integrate with what UTPB does on their corner of that, of that area and make it one big integrated park space. Uh, and what we want to do with it is tell the story of the Permian Basin. Uh, and it's, it's too soon to know exactly how we'll do this, but the early ideas have had anything from the prehistoric era and showing, you know, what, what the creatures look like who lived in the Permian Sea. You know, this was all underwater.

Speaker A: That's wild.

Speaker B: Yeah, the Permian is, was a sea. And so this is, they're uh, underwater creatures that, that actually died and decayed and became, you know, the reservoirs of oil and gas that we all benefit from today. And starting with that prehistoric time, moving through the development of the short grass prairies that are, that are um, endemic to this, to this region, uh, and the settlement, settlement of those prairies, uh, over the years and then the development of ranching and then oil and gas and then something about where the future is taking us all incorporated into a story that will proceed through this 80 or so acre park. And we're still figuring out what kind of amenities go in the park. We want to incorporate as much shade as we can. Yes, uh, as many different varieties of native plants as we can. We want the playas to be rehabilitated so that they're, they're uh, clean. Uh, and we've got a plan for dealing with runoff which isn't always clean, um, you know, cleaning the water and making the habitat good for the native animals and birds that are here. And there's just a lot about it that could be really exciting. I don't know exactly what all goes in it yet, but it's going to

Speaker A: be fun to develop and it's going to be so great for the patients and their families that are in these facilities. There is nothing better. My family has spent a lot of time in medical hospitals, but there's nothing better than getting outside and enjoying green spaces to help with all things mental health and just to get out of a hospital room.

Speaker B: We, I think we really believe that we incorporated a lot of outdoor space into the behavioral Health center is really important part of the recovery process. Uh, and throughout the, the, the development, we hope that virtually everything we build will have at least close access to the park. Uh, for exactly those reasons. It's, it's a really healthy health, um, growing, health, improving, uh, kind of environment. And we want to celebrate what's beautiful about our environment. I mean it's not a lot of trees and it's nothing like what I grew up in. On the Gulf Coast. But there's a lot of beauty here, and we want to take advantage of that and celebrate it, make it as good as we can.

Speaker A: And m. Very cool to tell a story while you're doing it.

Speaker B: Yeah, I'm excited about that. There's still a lot of work to do and a lot of ideas to incorporate, but we're, we have funding. Um, the state of Texas funded, uh, three major roads, a lot of utility infrastructure, and the park.

Speaker A: Wow.

Speaker B: $123 million in the last session. Um, I think because the legislature recognizes that this region is. There's nothing more important in the state of Texas economy than the Permian Basin. And investing in the Permian Basin is good business for Texas. Uh, and what we're doing is really intended to advance the basin to make it a more successful and sustainable economic engine for the state. So it was pretty easy for people to see this energy. And we've been really blessed that we've had substantial state funding and of course, unbelievable private funding. Well, but the parks and the roads are. I think we're going to be fully funded by that state appropriation. Really exciting.

Speaker A: That's remarkable.

Speaker B: Frees up the private money to do to build the healthcare facilities.

Speaker A: Yes.

Speaker B: The other things that are ahead of us.

Speaker A: And you've been in healthcare in the Permian for more than 20 years. We've talked about it a lot. But is. Was there ever a point when you first got here that you thought the Permian Basin could be where it is now?

Speaker B: That's. That's a good question. You know, I, I always thought we could be better, you know, from. From day one. There's always room for growth, Plenty of room for growth. I, uh, don't know that I really envisioned the, the, the effort that the companies here have made to come together to set aside their competitive instincts for the good of the region and work together on things where they could work together. They're not colluding on their business. They're trying to make the communities better, uh, together. And I don't know that I had a vision that that could happen, and it's incredible that it has. I'm, um, um, thrilled to get to work with people like Travis Dice, who were among the architects of, of those ideas. Uh, but it took that for us to, to take this next leap forward, and we're, you know, we're. It's going to be years before we really have realized the vision completely. But, but it required that kind of cooperative spirit, the idea that Midland and Odessa can cooperate and do things together that benefit the whole region. Um, those are. Those are big steps forward that I'm not sure I was ever, uh, you know, enough of a visionary to believe that that stuff could happen. I'm really grateful that it has, and we're really blessed.

Speaker A: And what do you think the collaboration of those entities and those people says about our communities?

Speaker B: Well, I think more than anything else, it says that we are able to recognize what we need. And we're not afraid to do what it takes to make it happen. And that's not true everywhere by a long shot. I still remember one of the early impressions I had of Midland. Um, I came here from Montgomery county in north of Houston. That's where my last job was. Uh, and I was involved with the United Way there. And I, uh. We had pretty active United Way, pretty rich, uh, community. Three times the size of Midland County. Uh, and our United Way in those early days was raising about a million and a half dollars a year. And we're pretty proud of that. We got to Midland, and we were routinely raising over $3 million a year in a community a third the size. And nobody was satisfied with that. That was enough. And there was a foundation, uh, or some sort of philanthropic entity felt like on every corner. And I thought, this is a. This is an extraordinarily giving and generous and committed community. And I should have been smart enough to recognize that we could. We could make that into something that really made the community better. And it wouldn't happen without that kind of. That kind of spirit, that kind of pioneer mentality that says, you know, we're out here and we can't really, uh, help. We can't expect anybody else to do things for us. We need to put our own resources together and do them ourselves. You know, that's. This is what we get. And we'll continue to be blessed by that for many, many years.

Speaker A: I know, and I'm from the Houston area too. It is so hard for coming from outside the area to realize how if Midland was all on its own, it could still get everything done. Even Odessa, the Permian as a whole.

Speaker B: It's amazing. It really is. And we're so far out here that we kind of have to. Yeah, a lot of ways. Um, so we're really fortunate to be here. And I didn't. You know, I told you before I didn't know anything about Midland. I'd never been here before. But it's a really extraordinary place.

Speaker A: Do you call Midland home now?

Speaker B: Uh, not really, no. I mean, it's been home for a long time, but I still have, I still have living parents and my wife and I both have siblings all in Houston. Uh, our kids, our son is there already. Our daughter probably will be there one day. I think Houston's still home. We probably end up retiring there. But this is as good a second home as I could imagine.

Speaker A: Yeah. It'll always hold a special place in your heart.

Speaker B: Absolutely will.

Speaker A: Yeah.

Speaker B: I can't this. The best part of my career, the best part of my professional life has been here. And uh, I'm um, always going to be proud of it and hope to see uh, it continue to grow and do good things after I'm gone.

Speaker A: And if you could leave West Texans with one message about the future of healthcare, what would it be?

Speaker B: I think it's unlimited, honestly. And I think, you know, it's only limited by your imagination and your willingness to support it. Um, a lot of the things that we need to do are not really self supporting. Um, so they need the community to step up with, with the financial resources to make things happen. People do that here. I don't have to tell them how to do that, but that will be necessary to do all the things we want to do. But they're all doable and I hope that people won't. None of it will be easy, it'll take a lot of work. Um, but it's worthwhile to do it and I hope people will stick with it because it's all doable.

Speaker A: Is there anything else that you'd like our listeners to know?

Speaker B: Thank you for supporting us for paying attention to what's happening. You're going to hear a lot more about the Beacon in the days ahead.

Speaker A: Mhm.

Speaker B: My board is always after me to make us more visible and we haven't had a whole lot to say yet. We've been building.

Speaker A: Great story to tell.

Speaker B: It's been building the groundwork, you know, and, but we've got a lot of great stories going forward and you'll see us become much more visible in the days to come and I hope you like what you see.

Speaker A: Russell, thank you so much for sharing your time with us today.

Speaker B: Thank you too.

Speaker A: Appreciate it everyone. On, um, behalf of Russell and myself. That does it for this episode of Fueling Tomorrow. We'll chat next time.