O'Brien Clinic shut down indefinitely

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O'Brien Clinic shut down indefinitely

Next step: An alternate clinic site will be chosen Tuesday while building is

cleaned, again.

BY EMMA PEREZ-TREVIÑO

The Brownsville Herald

The doors at the Father ph O'Brien Health Clinic on Thursday closed

indefinitely while the building is cleaned of mold.

County Judge Gilberto Hinojosa announced the closing Thursday afternoon in a

prepared statement issued to The Herald.

County leaders voted last week to shut down the 6,500-square foot facility

and will decide Tuesday where to house the county-run operation while the

building is rid of what county health officials call a recurring mold

problem.

The action stems from a report delivered to county offices Dec. 4, alerting

officials of a significant mold presence. An environmental consulting firm

conducted tests throughout the building in October and November.

And though it's been nearly four months since mold was again spotted at the

clinic, the county decided to keep the facility open until testing had

concluded due to the critical nature of the services the clinic provides,

Hinojosa's statement reads.

" . While the report did indicate that a substantial amount of common molds

were present in the building, it did not show that any of the molds posed an

immediate health risk, " he wrote.

" These molds, however, were a nuisance to clinic employees and needed to be

removed, " he said, adding that the decision was made to temporarily close

the clinic due to the disruptive nature of the renovation process.

But, " moving is not a real simple task, " County Health Director Yvette

Salinas said, noting that staff was working to reschedule clients.

Asked if she was concerned about continued exposure to patients and

employees, Salinas said, " We are trying to be real careful as to what we are

going to move out and not move out. We don't want to take problems with us. "

Salinas said this week that mold first surfaced in the summer of 2000,

months after the building was completed. Right away, she said, the county

began an extensive clean-up effort.

" We genuinely thought it (mold) was gone, " Salinas said recently, adding

that the mold returned again the following summer.

" This has been something we have been monitoring very closely, " she said.

" It's not something that got ignored by anyone. "

The Brownsville Community Health Center, which also provided services at the

clinic, didn't wait for test results before closing down their operation at

the O'Brien clinic.

BCHC staff was pulled out of the building last summer after mold was

discovered again.

" We were concerned about our patients and staff, " a Gomez, executive

director at BCHC, said Thursday.

Gomez said that she decided to move BCHC staff out because the extent of the

mold problem, and possible health risks associated with it, were not clear.

" There was mold growing underneath the countertops in the lab area and mold

in the corners of the ceiling, " Gomez said.

" It's really sad when services have to stop because these things happen, but

they don't really know how to get rid of it, " Gomez said. " Supposedly it was

gone, but it's back. The risk is still there. "

And while some are aware of the clinics history of mold, the most recent

discovery and reports of health concerns from employees at the 2-year-old

facility surprised others, including County Commissioner Garza

Garza represents Precinct 3, including Port Isabel. He said he had heard

rumblings of possible problems at the clinic but was not fully aware of the

situation until recently. " And I officially read about it in the newspaper, "

he added.

" It kind of shocked everybody. It shocked me when I heard about it, " said

Joe Camacho, a member of the Rio Grande Valley Empowerment Zone.

The zone worked with the county, the Brownsville Community Health Clinic and

Valley Interfaith to obtain funding for construction of the approximately $1

million facility that sees more than 10,000 people per year.

The mold will have to be removed but officials have not yet determined the

cost or the extent of remediation that is required.

" It's a new building and many people need the health services, " said

Bodden of Port Isabel, a Valley Interfaith leader and Empowerment Zone board

member. She also said she was surprised to learn of the condition of the

building and that it was still operating last week. " We can't allow it to

remain like this, " Bodden said.

Camacho noted that a number of county buildings are reported to be

experiencing similar problems. " Somebody has got to know something, " he

said, expressing confidence that county officials will find a solution.