Houston — Harris County Public Health Director Leah Barton and Houston Health Department Director Dr. Tran briefed the committee on Oct. 20 on progress under the Feb. 2023 interlocal agreement and on possible next steps to expand collaboration, including longer‑term options that could require new taxing authority.

Barton, who said she and her new counterpart had jointly prepared materials for a Commissioners Court briefing on Oct. 30, emphasized the scale of existing collaboration. "I have learned so much about the collaboration that's already happening," Barton told the committee, citing shared community health assessment and improvement planning, joint emergency preparedness and coordination on public‑information messaging.

Both directors pointed to concrete shared activities: a combined community health assessment and community health improvement plan (CHA/CHIP) process timed to serve mutual reaccreditation needs; coordinated responses for mass events and public‑health emergencies such as vaccination logistics and wastewater surveillance; and quarterly or reestablished operational coordination across environmental health, laboratory services and clinical services.

Barton and Dr. Tran identified data tools and electronic medical record (EMR) systems as key next steps to deepen collaboration. Barton noted Harris County's updated Epic implementation and said an EMR upgrade at Houston Health could unlock patient‑level data linkages and referrals across jurisdictions. "If we're able to get that upgrade, you would see a lot of natural, data sharing that could happen through that," she said.

Both directors asked the committee and council for stable general‑fund support; they stated that heavy reliance on grants reduces stability for long‑term prevention programs. Barton described a longer‑term aspiration — a regional public‑health taxing authority or district — as a "pie‑in‑the‑sky" option that would require legislative action and broad regional buy‑in.

Public commenters urged the city to preserve public‑health jobs and services, expand maternal‑health access, and treat behavioral health and substance‑use care as core public‑health responsibilities. Laura Gallier, a District C resident who spoke during public comment, warned against cuts and urged reinvestment in mental health and substance‑use treatment. Another speaker, a social worker, urged deeper work to "decarcerate" mental‑health responses and recommended clinician leadership in public‑health agencies.

The committee asked for follow‑up materials on the CHA/CHIP timeline, a data‑sharing roadmap and cost estimates for EMR upgrades. Directors said they would return with a joint list of priority investments and potential funding sources.

Provenance: Joint presentation and Q&A on the Feb. 2023 interlocal agreement, community health assessment alignment, emergency response coordination and EMR/data‑sharing plans, followed by public comment.