CommUnityCare receives more than $300,000 for new “medical home” for SE Travis County
November 8, 2013
Austin, TX – Today, U.S. Congressman Lloyd Doggett (D), a senior member of the House Ways and Means Committee, announced that $316,667 in federal funds is available to Central Texas Community Health Centers (CommUnityCare) in Travis County from the Department of Health and Human Services under the Affordable Care Act. CommUnityCare will use the funds to assist with the repurposing of a 68,000 square foot building that was formerly the Veteran’s Administration Outpatient Clinic as the new Southeast Health and Wellness Center. Slated to open in fall of 2014, the center will house primary and specialty health care services under one roof, and will have the capacity to serve 20,000 patient visits.
“These funds are just the start and lay the foundation for a new medical home for thousands of our neighbors,” said Rep. Doggett. “When southeast Travis County is experiencing so many challenges due to the flood, this good news of the first new money to begin this project comes at the right time.”
“The Southeast Health and Wellness Center is a new health center model intended to be the home for the widest range of health and wellness services we can possibly provide. This grant is critical to providing those services for our community and particularly southeast Travis County; one of the most medically underserved areas in the county,” Central Health President & CEO Patricia A. Young Brown said.
“CommUnityCare is excited about receiving this grant and is working to expand and deliver care in this new model. We are committed to providing quality care to those that need it. We hope to serve an additional 20,000 visits with this grant. It will allow us to increase access to services for all our patients,” CommUnityCare CEO George Miller said.
These New Access Point grants, which are administered by HHS’s Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), support community health centers and continue improving access to health care services across the county. CommUnityCare will use funds through February 28, 2014, and will have a option of additional funding, based on HRSA’s evaluation of the completed work and projected need.
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