Gov. Abbott Extends Disaster Declaration, Suspends Elective Surgeries In 11 TSAs Including Hays County, Ramps Up Nursing Home, Houston Testing, Federal Resources

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ON Thursday, the Governor issued a proclamation suspending all elective surgeries once again in several service areas that are currently being hit hard with new COVID cases and include Hays County.

The new order includes hospitals in all counties located within 11 Trauma Service Areas (TSAs – see below) in Texas. Previously, Governor Abbott suspended elective surgeries at hospitals in the counties of Bexar, Cameron, Dallas, Harris, Hidalgo, Nueces, Travis, and Webb.

“The State of Texas continues to implement strategies to help ensure ample supply of hospital beds for COVID-19 patients,” said Governor Abbott. “By expanding this directive to include the counties within these 11 TSAs, we are freeing up more resources to address upticks in COVID-19 related cases. The State of Texas will continue to do everything we can to mitigate the spread of this virus and support our hospitals and health care professionals as they care for their fellow Texans. We must all come together and continue to practice social distancing, wear a face-covering in public, and stay home when possible.”

Under his Proclamation, the Governor directs all hospitals in these counties to postpone surgeries and procedures that are not immediately, medically necessary to correct a serious medical condition or to preserve the life of a patient who without the immediate performance of the surgery or procedure would be at risk for serious adverse medical consequences or death, as determined by the patient’s physician.

Through the proclamation, the Governor can add or subtract from the list of counties included in his original Executive Order and subsequent Proclamations to address surges in hospitalizations that may arise in other parts of the state.

The following counties are included in the Governor’s Proclamation:

• All counties within TSA J—Andrews, Brewster, Crane, Ector, Glasscock, Howard, Jeff Davis, Loving, Martin, Midland, Pecos, Presidio, Reeves, Terrell, Upton, Ward, and Winkler counties;
• All counties within TSA K—Coke, Concho, Crockett, Irion, Kimble, Mason, McCulloch, Menard, Reagan, Runnels, Schleicher, Sterling, Sutton, and Tom Green counties;
• All counties within TSA M—Bosque, Falls, Hill, Limestone, and McLennan counties;
• All counties within TSA O that are not already covered by Executive Order GA-27—Bastrop, Blanco, Burnet, Caldwell, Fayette, Hays, Lee, Llano, San Saba, and Williamson counties;
• All counties within TSA P that are not already covered by Executive Order GA-27—Atascosa, Bandera, Comal, Dimmit, Edwards, Frio, Gillespie, Gonzales, Guadalupe, Karnes, Kendall, Kerr, Kinney, La Salle, Maverick, Medina, Real, Uvalde, Val Verde, Wilson, and Zavala counties;
• All counties within TSA Q that are not already covered by Executive Order GA-27—Austin, Colorado, Fort Bend, Matagorda, Montgomery, Walker, Waller, and Wharton counties;
• All counties within TSA R—Brazoria, Chambers, Galveston, Hardin, Jasper, Jefferson, Liberty, Newton, and Orange counties;
• All counties within TSA S—Calhoun, DeWitt, Goliad, Jackson, Lavaca, and Victoria counties;
• All counties within TSA T that are not already covered by Executive Order GA-27—Jim Hogg and Zapata counties;
• All counties within TSA U that are not already covered by Executive Order GA-27—Aransas, Bee, Brooks, Duval, Jim Wells, Kenedy, Kleberg, Live Oak, McMullen, Refugio, and San Patricio counties; and
• All counties within TSA V that are not already covered by Executive Order GA-27—Starr and Willacy counties.

Texas is divided into twenty-two regions called trauma service areas (TSAs), provided for the formation of a regional advisory council (RAC) in each region to develop and implement a regional trauma system plan, delineated the trauma facility designation process, and provided for the development of a state trauma registry. For more information about TSAs, visit the Texas Department of State Health Services website.

Governor Abbott Extends Statewide COVID-19 Disaster Declaration

AUSTIN – Governor Greg Abbott today issued a proclamation extending his Disaster Declaration for all Texas counties in response to COVID-19. Originally issued on March 13th, the Disaster Declaration provides the state a number of resources to effectively serve Texans as the Lone Star State continues to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.

“Extending this Disaster Declaration helps ensure that Texas has the resources and flexibility needed to effectively respond to COVID-19,” said Governor Abbott. “To further mitigate the spread of the virus and overcome this challenge, Texans should continue to do their part by wearing a mask, social distancing, and staying home if possible.”

View the Governor’s proclamation.

Governor Abbott, Omnicare Announce COVID-19 Testing For Patients, Staff At Assisted Living Facilities, Nursing Homes

AUSTIN – Governor Greg Abbott today announced that Omnicare, a CVS Health company, is partnering with the State of Texas to provide COVID-19 point-of-care testing for assisted living facilities and nursing homes throughout the state. This partnership will provide on-site same-day testing and results for both facility staff and their residents.

“This partnership with Omnicare and CVS Health will increase COVID-19 testing in our assisted living facilities and nursing homes and help us protect vulnerable Texans from COVID-19,” said Governor Abbott. “Our collaboration with public and private entities is crucial to ramping up testing in Texas and mitigating the spread of this virus—especially among our most vulnerable populations.”

“At Omnicare, we are continuously exploring solutions to directly address availability and access to COVID-19 testing for the long-term-care industry,” said Jim Love, Omnicare President. “We recognize the disproportionate impact the COVID-19 pandemic has had on these critically important healthcare facilities and their highly vulnerable patient population, and we are determined to be part of the solution as demand for testing continues to grow in this sector.”

These test sites help enable a goal of processing up to 100,000 tests in the first month alone. Testing in assisted living facilities began yesterday, July 9th.

State testing teams completed testing of all nursing home staff and residents in June at the direction of Governor Abbott. Omnicare will begin testing in nursing homes next week.

Governor Abbott Announces Additional Federal Resources Activated To Combat COVID-19 In The Houston Region

AUSTIN – Governor Greg Abbott has been working with Vice President Mike Pence and members of the Trump Administration to ensure the medical needs of Texans will be met as the State responds to COVID-19.

He announced tonight that additional federal resources have been activated and are being sent to the Houston region to combat COVID-19.

The additional resources include an Urban Area Medical Task Force from the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) that will arrive in the region on Monday and a Disaster Medical Assistance Team from U.S. Health and Human Services that has just been deployed.

These resources add to a DOD Urban Area Medical Task Force that just began operating in Bexar County as well as seven federal assessment teams operating in Dallas, Houston, Austin, San Antonio, McAllen, Laredo, and El Paso this past week.

The Governor continues daily collaboration with Texas’ federal partners to expand resources for any regions to respond to COVID-19.

“Texas is grateful to the federal government as well as the President and Vice President for working swiftly to provide additional resources to the state as we work to mitigate COVID-19 and care for our fellow Texans,” said Governor Abbott. “We will continue to work with our local and federal partners to ensure all resources and needs are met throughout the state.”