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JPS Health Network’s board of managers and CEO Dr. Karen Duncan, right, listen to a presentation about the hospital district’s financial reports Aug. 22, 2024. (Camilo Diaz | Fort Worth Report)
” data-medium-file=”https://fortworthreport.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/JPS-board_Aug22_CamiloDiaz0368-scaled.jpg?fit=300%2C200&ssl=1″ data-large-file=”https://fortworthreport.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/JPS-board_Aug22_CamiloDiaz0368-scaled.jpg?fit=780%2C520&ssl=1″ tabindex=”0″ role=”button”>Six years after voters approved hundreds of millions in bonds for new JPS Health Network facilities, Tarrant County’s hospital district now estimates the cost will eclipse its $1.5 billion budget. During the hospital district’s board meeting Aug. 22, board managers were informed of a projected budget of $2.1 billion — or about a 40% jump from the most recent estimate of $1.5 billion. JPS will now have to find an additional $600 million to support the cost. The hospital system’s master facility plan is supported by an $800 million bond package voters approved in 2018. The plan details new facilities, including a medical home, psychiatric emergency center, medical outpatient building, pavilion expansion and a new hospital.  The budget increase is due to labor costs, price of materials and inflation affecting the entire health care industry, said Cameron Geertsema, program manager with Broaddus & Associates. Broaddus & Associates is one half of the Broaddus-LeVis partnership with LeVis Consulting Group. The firms serve as the primary managers of JPS’ master facility plan. “When we started to move forward in this program through COVID to where we are today, the costs have increased,” Geertsema said. To alleviate costs associated with the new master facility plan budget, JPS also plans to combine its pavilion north expansion into the new hospital, which is set to be completed in 2029. Initially, the county hospital district estimated the entire project would cost $1.2 billion — funded from the $800 million bond package and the hospital’s own coffers. In 2022, that estimate rose to $1.5 billion. But progress slowed because of the COVID-19 pandemic, JPS president and CEO Dr. Karen Duncan previously told the Report.Dr. Karen Duncan, right, president and CEO of JPS Health Network, listens during a board meeting at John Peter Smith Hospital Aug. 22, 2024. (Camilo Diaz | Fort Worth Report)Because of financial changes and reprioritization, JPS has since removed three medical homes that were included in the original proposal from its master facility plan. The only medical home currently in the plan is set to open in southwest Fort Worth later this year.This will be the first JPS master facility plan project to be completed since the bond’s passage. The hospital district’s psychiatric emergency center is set to open in summer 2025. By the time of completion, JPS will have contributed over $1.32 billion of its own funds towards the master facility plan. The final project is expected to be completed in winter 2029.During the meeting, JPS board managers also heard a presentation on the fiscal year 2025 budget, which estimates the hospital district’s operating expenses will be $1.65 billion — an increase of $122 million from fiscal year 2024. The 2025 budget proposal comes a few days after Tarrant County commissioners voted 3-2 along party lines to lower the hospital district’s tax rate to $0.1875, which is less than its 2024 fiscal year rate at $0.1945.The court’s new tax rate is projected to bring in about $523 million ad valorem tax revenue for JPS, a decrease of $13 million from the 2024 fiscal year. During the Aug. 20 meeting, County Commissioner Alisa Simmons voiced concerns about how the decreased tax rate could affect bond projects currently under construction. “What happened to the medical home that’s supposed to be in Precinct 2? Is that ever going to be built? Was it taken off the table?” Simmons asked. “I can guarantee you that my mayors and city managers would like to see a Precinct 2 medical home. I can’t support (a lower tax rate) at this time.”JPS Health Network will present its 2025 budget to Tarrant County commissioners in early September. Commissioners will take final action on the Tarrant County Hospital District’s tax rate and budget Sept. 17. David Moreno is the health reporter for the Fort Worth Report. His position is supported by a grant from Texas Health Resources. Contact him at david.moreno@fortworthreport.org or @davidmreports.At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.