Texas health centers awarded over $19 million in grants

Michael Garcia
·3 min read

TYLER, Texas (KETK) – The Texas Department of State Health Services has announced that they’ve awarded $19.3 million in grants to Federally Qualified Health Centers and similar organizations, including five in East Texas.

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This initial round of funding is a part of $40 million from the Texas general revenue fund to help expand Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), FQHC look-alikes and eligible nonprofit health centers.

“The FQHC Incubator funding has had a major impact on our health center by allowing us to open an entity-owned pharmacy. Having a pharmacy on site was a dream of our health center for many years,” said Kristi Barger, pharmacy manager for Matagorda Episcopal Health Outreach Program. “The pharmacy and its services affect the entire clinic system and provides a collaborative relationship between our providers and pharmacists. This new relationship benefits our patient population by improving medication compliance, wait times, affordability, and overall quality of care.”

When a health center is a Federally Qualified Health Center that means that the center gets reimbursement from Medicare and Medicaid, funding under Section 330 of the Public Health Service Act, serves an underserved community and provides comprehensive services, according to FQHC Associates.

The grants ranged from $500,000 to $1 million and will help 35 centers across Texas build new clinics, renovate existing facilities, purchase equipment and hire additional staff.

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“Having previously participated in the FQHC Incubator Program, support from DSHS has been vital to improving Lone Star Circle of Care’s capacity to provide comprehensive healthcare throughout Central Texas. With the FY2023 award, LSCC transitioned from our former Big Pink Bus mobile mammography unit to a new, more dependable vehicle,” said Lone Star Circle of Care Vice President for Advancement Kim Roberts. “This upgrade promises to enhance access to timely and affordable breast cancer screening for underserved women in our region.”

The following entities from across Texas received the grants:

  • Brazos Valley Community Action Agency, Inc. – College Station

  • Lone Star Family Health Center – Conroe

  • Navarro County Ambulatory Care Association – Corsicana

  • Health Services of North Texas, Inc. – Denton

  • United Medical Centers – Eagle Pass

  • Centro San Vicente – El Paso

  • Project Vida Health Center – El Paso

  • Cactus Health Services, Inc. – Fort Stockton

  • Lone Star Circle of Care – Georgetown

  • Carevide/Community Health Service Agency, Inc. of Hunt County – Greenville

  • East Texas Community Clinic, Inc. – Gun Barrel City

  • Bee Busy Wellness Center – Houston

  • The Harris Center for Mental Health and IDD – Houston

  • Legacy Community Health Services – Houston

  • Spring Branch Community Health Center – Houston

  • Stephen F. Austin Community Health Center, Inc. – Houston

  • Vecino/Houston Community Health Centers – Houston

  • Gateway Community Health Center – Laredo

  • South Plains Rural Health Services – Levelland

  • Health Center of Southeast Texas – Liberty

  • Community Healthcore/Sabine Valley Regional MHMR Center – Longview

  • Wellness Pointe/Longview Wellness Center, Inc. – Longview

  • Genesis PrimeCare/East Texas Border Health Clinic – Marshall

  • Midland Community Healthcare Services – Midland

  • Matagorda Episcopal Health Outreach Program (MEHOP)/Vibrance Health – North Bay City

  • Atascosa Health Center, Inc. – Pleasanton

  • AccessHealth/Fort Bend Family Health Center – Richmond

  • La Esperanza Clinic, Inc. – San Angelo

  • CentroMed/El Centro del Barrio – San Antonio

  • TOMAGWA HealthCare Ministries – Tomball

  • Tyler Family Circle of Care – Tyler

  • Community Health Development, Inc. – Uvalde

  • Waco Family Medicine/Heart of Texas Community Health Center, Inc. – Waco

  • Ellis County Coalition for Health Options – Waxahachie

  • North Central Texas Community Health Care Center, Inc. – Wichita Falls

To learn more about Texas’s grants for FQHCs or to apply visit the Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) Incubator Program online.

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