NEWSROOM ARCHIVE
December 24, 2007
TCHD board approves funds to expand primary care at local clinic
The Travis County Healthcare District (TCHD) Board of Managers approved $96,000 to expand primary care services at El Buen Samaritano Episcopal Mission clinic during their regular meeting on Thursday, Dec. 20. With the expansion of services at the clinic, approximately 800 new patients will have access to medical care.
Acting upon its mission to enhance services at all clinics aiding underserved individuals in Travis County, the TCHD Board of managers approved up to $96,000 for a one-year contract with El Buen Samaritano, located at 7000 Woodhue Drive, to expand its primary care services. While most TCHD funding goes directly to the Federally Qualified Healthcare (FQHC) network, in recent years the District has expanded available services by contracting with People’s Community Clinic and Project Access, both local community based healthcare service providers. The new contract with El Buen Samaritano is similar in design, in that it expands the District’s primary care network, as well as being administratively similar with a defined scope of services, the required use of the Medicaider system for determining eligibility and the required use of current ancillary services and specialty care network. The District will pay $40 per encounter, with estimates predicting a total of 2,400 encounters for the year.
“We are very honored and excited to be part of the safety network that provides health care access to the uninsured and underserved in this community through the support of the Travis County Healthcare District funding,” El Buen Samaritano Executive Director Ed Gomez said.