Chamber hears of Healthcare services

Texas Children’s Health Plan has a clinic at 700 N. Sam Houston Parkway West. You can call for an appointment

GREENSPOINT – The Houston Intercontinental Chamber held their monthly luncheon at the Greenspoint Club last Tuesday, with the subject of the program “Doing business with the Healthcare Industry.”

The presenter at the meeting was Tangula Taylor, representing Texas Childrens Hospital and Texas Childrens Health Plan.

Ms. Taylor spoke about the new clinic in Greenspoint for children and women, The Center for Children and Women. This clinic enrolls families as “members” and provides services for them in the fields of pediatrics, vision care, obstetrics and pregnancy care, x-rays and labs, nurses, social workers, untrasound and sonograms, behavioral health, on-site pharmacy, dental care, and speech therapy.

The Center is specifically aimed at underserved populations who qualify in the CHIP and Medicaid programs of the state and federal government.

The Center uses a “coordinated care” model, so that a patient presents themselves and gets services in several fields, in one visit, coordinated among several nurses and doctors. There are about 9000 members in the Texas Children’s Health Plan, and the centers provide 4000 visits per month to their members. Taylor emphasized that the Center focuses on quality care and procedures, and is not interested in high numbers of patient visits or the so-called ‘Medicare Mill.’

Patients can reach the clinic with a new bus route, METRO #56, she said, or you can call and arrange transportation otherwise. Medicaide provides some transportation, and other sources are available through the clinic. Hours are seven days a week, and most days starts at 7 a.m. and end wither at 7 p.m. or 11 p.m. You can make an appointment, or come as a “walk-in.”

The Center for Children and Women actually has two locations, one in Greenspoint at 700 N. Sam Houston Parkway West, and one in the old Westwood Mall Building, at 9700 Bissonnet in Southwest Houston. This latter location is set to open in November of this year, Ms. Taylor said.

Taylor said that the Center can provide so many complete services because they partner with three organizations: Texas Children’s Hospital, Baylor College of Medicine, and UT School of Dentistry.

The Center also has a number of educational classes, including Car Seat Safety, Becoming a Mom, Breastfeeding, Keeping Fit, and New Parent Classes.

Ms. Taylor said that for those families that don’t qualify under CHIP and Medicaid guidelines, there is also available a charity care program, where patients may receive healthcare services free or at discounted rates.

At the request of the Chamber, Taylor also noted how to reach their vendor department, with a phone number.

The Chamber meeting was run by Jeff Kelly, chamber business development representative, in the absence of Chamber president Reggie Gray, who was in New York City meeting with a trade representative from Malta, during the United Nations sessions.