Milam County Historical Commission
Milam County, Texas
Milam County, Texas
History Dates Back to 1914 for Hospital in Milam County
by Jay Ermis - Telegram Staff Writer
Temple Daily Telegram - 2013-07-26
CAMERON - The history of Cameron hospitals dates back to 1914, when the first hospital was built and owned by doctors W.R. Newton Sr. and Edgar Rischar.
They named the hospital Cameron Hospital.
Rischar entered into an agreement with the Catholic Sisters of Charity Order, which changed the name to St. Edward’s Hospital, and operated it until November 1989 when the Sisters felt their mission was complete, according to a sketch of the hospital’s history pinned to a bulletin board near the hospital entrance.
The current hospital was built in 1970-71 and the professional building was completed within five years to house doctors, dentists and a pharmacy.
After the Sisters of Charity left, the hospital was closed for a few months while the community arranged to provide services to Milam County.
“When it was closed, we had a public meeting,” said Mark Humble, who was made president at the time and has continued to serve in that capacity. “As a result of a public meeting, we created a non-profit corporation.
“We raised $500,000 in local contributions to buy the hospital. We had a bond issue and a sales tax increase in order to raise $600,000 in operating capital.”
The named was changed to Central Texas Hospital when it reopened in 1989.
“We operated the hospital between six and nine years until we lost all of our operating capital,” Humble said. Central Texas Hospital was operated under the community board until mid-1998.
“A company from Nashville, Tenn., came in as we were about to have to close the doors and offered to lease the hospital,” Humble said. We made a lease agreement with it. We had two choices, either close or lease, and we leased.”
The company leased it from the board to operate it as a for-profit hospital, which ended the 0.5 percent sales tax on sales made in Cameron.
“They created a Delaware corporation called Cameron Hospital Inc. to operate as tenant,” Humble said. “Dr. (Tariq) Mahmood sometime later bought the corporate stock of Cameron Hospital Inc. and Cameron Hospital Inc. operated under that lease for about 15 years.”
Mahmood took over the management and operation of the hospital in 1999.
Mahmood, 61, of Cedar Hill was recently indicted by a Tyler federal grand jury for allegedly submitting more than $1.1 million in fraudulent health care charges to Medicare and Medicaid, using Medicare and Medicaid provider numbers from several of the hospitals he operated.
The Central Texas Hospital group learned late last week Mahmood was planning to close the hospital. In order to keep the hospital open, the group filed a petition and request for equitable relief and request for a temporary injunction against Mahmood.
The Central Texas Hospital board, which owns the facility, contracted with Little River Health Care of Rockdale to operate the hospital after State District Judge John Youngblood appointed Milam County Sheriff David Greene and his designee as a master in chancery as requested by Central Texas Hospital in its original petition and request for equitable relief.
Youngblood, of the 20th Judicial District, granted Central Texas Hospital board’s request for a temporary restraining order and master of chancery ruling July 19 against Mahmood and Cameron Hospital Inc.
“The hospital has never been closed,” interim hospital administrator Troy Zinn said. “There are no plans to close it, but to keep it open.”
Little River Health Care hired at least 25 former employees of Central Texas Hospital to fill positions, Zinn said.
“The employees who were here and working, some of them, we hired as Little River employees,” Zinn said. “Same employees, just a different company. They filled positions they were in at the time.”
Employees were hired to fill jobs in the emergency room, radiology, lab, housekeeping, dietary, pharmacy and maintenance.
jermis@tdtnews.com
.
by Jay Ermis - Telegram Staff Writer
Temple Daily Telegram - 2013-07-26
CAMERON - The history of Cameron hospitals dates back to 1914, when the first hospital was built and owned by doctors W.R. Newton Sr. and Edgar Rischar.
They named the hospital Cameron Hospital.
Rischar entered into an agreement with the Catholic Sisters of Charity Order, which changed the name to St. Edward’s Hospital, and operated it until November 1989 when the Sisters felt their mission was complete, according to a sketch of the hospital’s history pinned to a bulletin board near the hospital entrance.
The current hospital was built in 1970-71 and the professional building was completed within five years to house doctors, dentists and a pharmacy.
After the Sisters of Charity left, the hospital was closed for a few months while the community arranged to provide services to Milam County.
“When it was closed, we had a public meeting,” said Mark Humble, who was made president at the time and has continued to serve in that capacity. “As a result of a public meeting, we created a non-profit corporation.
“We raised $500,000 in local contributions to buy the hospital. We had a bond issue and a sales tax increase in order to raise $600,000 in operating capital.”
The named was changed to Central Texas Hospital when it reopened in 1989.
“We operated the hospital between six and nine years until we lost all of our operating capital,” Humble said. Central Texas Hospital was operated under the community board until mid-1998.
“A company from Nashville, Tenn., came in as we were about to have to close the doors and offered to lease the hospital,” Humble said. We made a lease agreement with it. We had two choices, either close or lease, and we leased.”
The company leased it from the board to operate it as a for-profit hospital, which ended the 0.5 percent sales tax on sales made in Cameron.
“They created a Delaware corporation called Cameron Hospital Inc. to operate as tenant,” Humble said. “Dr. (Tariq) Mahmood sometime later bought the corporate stock of Cameron Hospital Inc. and Cameron Hospital Inc. operated under that lease for about 15 years.”
Mahmood took over the management and operation of the hospital in 1999.
Mahmood, 61, of Cedar Hill was recently indicted by a Tyler federal grand jury for allegedly submitting more than $1.1 million in fraudulent health care charges to Medicare and Medicaid, using Medicare and Medicaid provider numbers from several of the hospitals he operated.
The Central Texas Hospital group learned late last week Mahmood was planning to close the hospital. In order to keep the hospital open, the group filed a petition and request for equitable relief and request for a temporary injunction against Mahmood.
The Central Texas Hospital board, which owns the facility, contracted with Little River Health Care of Rockdale to operate the hospital after State District Judge John Youngblood appointed Milam County Sheriff David Greene and his designee as a master in chancery as requested by Central Texas Hospital in its original petition and request for equitable relief.
Youngblood, of the 20th Judicial District, granted Central Texas Hospital board’s request for a temporary restraining order and master of chancery ruling July 19 against Mahmood and Cameron Hospital Inc.
“The hospital has never been closed,” interim hospital administrator Troy Zinn said. “There are no plans to close it, but to keep it open.”
Little River Health Care hired at least 25 former employees of Central Texas Hospital to fill positions, Zinn said.
“The employees who were here and working, some of them, we hired as Little River employees,” Zinn said. “Same employees, just a different company. They filled positions they were in at the time.”
Employees were hired to fill jobs in the emergency room, radiology, lab, housekeeping, dietary, pharmacy and maintenance.
jermis@tdtnews.com
.
All credit for this article goes to
Jay Ermisand the
Temple Daily Telegram
Jay Ermisand the
Temple Daily Telegram