An East Austin clinic opened its door to patients Monday, expanding access to heart, lung and kidney care for low-income residents of Travis County.
The Rosewood-Zaragosa clinic at Webberville and Pleasant Valley Road first opened back in 1982 as a neighborhood health center. Now, Travis County’s public hospital district Central Health has renovated the historic clinic, which will offer cardiology, nephrology, pulmonology, psychiatry and palliative care. There is also an onsite pharmacy, along with a dietician and behavioral health counseling.
The clinic’s opening is a milestone in Central Health’s plan to broaden its direct care offerings. The organization has traditionally funded health care for the county’s poor residents through partnering hospitals and clinics.
“In a little more than a year and a half we have gone from offering no specialty care services to 19,” said Central Health President and CEO Patrick Lee in a community letter. “This rapid expansion underscores our unwavering commitment to enhancing our patients’ healthcare experience and delivering top-notch diagnostic services.”
Central Health’s shift to offering direct care is part of the organization’s ambitious Healthcare Equity Plan, a $682 million effort to add more clinics and services over seven years. Central Health is tapping into its sizable contingency reserves fund to help finance this vision.
Services at Rosewood-Zaragosa are available to members of Central Health’s Medical Access Program, which accepts low-income Travis County residents who lack access to Medicaid, Medicare and traditional insurance. Central Health leadership projects the clinic will administer between 25,000 and 40,000 annual visits and will reduce wait times for MAP patients.
