As a University of Texas graduate and former Chairman of the UT Board of Regents, I want the best for the people of Austin and Central Texas. The best teachers and researchers, the best education and training, the best center for technology development and entrepreneurial activity and certainly the best health care for the people of Travis County.
This is why I support Proposition One. It will greatly expand the community of bio scientists and biomedical researchers who search for cures and it will provide a world-class medical education for a new generation of doctors, nurses, and other health professionals who will take those research discoveries directly to bedsides in Austin hospitals and clinics.
Proposition One will also strengthen the health environment of a growing city that supports wellness and healthy lifestyles, both for its adults and its children, and will provide for a crucial safety net for the thousands of uninsured and under-insured people across Central Texas. Having a teaching hospital in your community ensures more access to healthcare. In fact, nationwide, teaching hospitals provide 71 percent of charity care, though they make up only 22 percent of all U.S. hospitals.
There is also a major economic incentive to support Proposition One. Implementing this initiative will create an estimated 15,400 jobs in the Austin area. Ray Perryman, an influential and respected economist with a global reputation, calls this a once-in-a-generation opportunity that can positively redefine the future of Austin. Not incidentally, those new jobs will be in health-related fields, which every employment indicator says are the most secure career choices now and in the near future, as a large aging population begins to require more medical attention.
I live and work in Dallas now, but I spent three decades in Austin and it will always be close to my heart. A medical school and teaching hospital will help both UT and the city it calls home grow in reputation on a national scale.
But I also have personal reasons for supporting Proposition One. This isnt just about UT Austin though the UT System Board of Regents believes its important enough that the System is investing $290 million in it over the next decade and UT Austin will also make a multimillion investment. Its about what this partnership will mean for the people of Austin and those across Central Texas who come here for their health care.
Some of my Austin friends have had to travel to other cities in Texas to receive the level of treatment they needed. I have seen the benefits and impact of a local medical school like UT Southwestern Medical Center and its collaborative relationship with Dallas hospitals. A new medical school and teaching hospital in Austin will create greater medical expertise in Travis County and provide exceptional health care that will keep Austinites at home, where they prefer to be for diagnosis, treatment, and recovery. People shouldnt have to wait for months for an appointment with a specialist or travel far from home to get the help they need and that happens far too often now.
Leaders in the UT System and UT Austin and members of the UT System Board of Regents have been working diligently for eight years to make this medical school possible. I served on the Board of Regents from 2003 to 2010 and have seen the dedication to this mission firsthand. Senator Kirk Watson has been tireless and admirable in his vision and leadership. I applaud him and the many supporters at UT, Seton, and the Austin community for taking this crucial step forward to improve health care and medical education in Central Texas. The time is now to make this noble vision a reality.
Critics of Proposition One have misrepresented the tax increase to win an argument. Even with the nickel increase that Proposition 1 calls for, Central Healths tax rate will only be 4.5 percent of the property taxes paid by homeowners. It will boost the average bill by just nine dollars a month. For those nine dollars, the citizens of Austin and Travis County have an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to give themselves and their children and grandchildren the ultimate gift of outstanding health care in the city they love.
For$9 dollars a month, you will add another dimension of excellence to Austin and at the same time comfort the sick and save lives. Its a proposition worth supporting
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Huffines: Medical school will benefit Austin and Texas
