County health centers increase hours, doctors

The Harris County Hospital District is expanding its community-based primary care services to help meet a growing demand. The Hospital District’sCommunity Health Program, which provides primary and some specialty care through a network of 12 community health centers, experienced a nearly 10 percent growth in patient visits during its last fiscal year.

The $9 million expansion project is expected to accommodate more than 3,000 new patient visits each week, and more than 160,000 annual appointment slots each year. The extra patient volume will be achieved through a combination of extended operating hours, and through the addition of more medical staff.

“We’re being responsive to the community’s needs,” said Alicia Reyes, CHP Administrator, of the expansion effort. “By having our doors open longer, we can accommodate patients when they need us.”

“This expansion provides access to persons who do not have a primary-care provider and a medical home. Some centers have space for more physicians and support staff, while those with limited room received extended service hours,” she said.

Six health centers will open on Saturdays and/or offer extended evening hours of service. Two other health centers are adding more primary-care physicians to increase patient volume but will maintain their current clinical schedule. Gulfgate, Northwest, Aldine, Strawberry, Settegast and Martin Luther King health centers will expand hours, while Acres Home and Baytown health centers will increase their number of physicians.

Aldine Health Center was the first to expand its hours under the new plan. On March 1, the center added a sixth day to its weekly schedule. Aldine will also add two more physicians in September to accommodate the need for additional appointments in the area.

People’s Health Center, in southwest Houston, was the first Hospital District Health Center to operate six days a week, and its proven success is the basis for the expansion. For more information or to make an appointment , call 713-526-HCHD (4243). The Hospital District is the public healthcare system for the nation’s third most populous county. It provides quality health care to Harris County residents through a system of three hospitals, 12 community health centers, a dental center, six school-based clinics and five mobile health units.