Nearly four years ago, the Del Valle community was promised a health center that would offer dentistry, primary care, mental health services and a pharmacy. This clinic, a collaboration between Central Health and CommUnityCare, would expand access to health care and serve low-income residents in Eastern Travis County.
Construction workers broke ground on the Del Valle Health and Wellness Center back in 2022, and it was planned to open by the end of last year. But the center is still not open.
“It's been really hard to build things ever since COVID," said Mike Clark-Madison, PR manager for the Central Health system. "And when you're building things that require a lot of specialized stuff, like a health clinic, it's been even harder to do that."
He said he's confident the clinic will open in December.
The idea for a clinic came about after years of the community asking for more resources. Del Valle is considered a health and food desert. There is a small health center, but it only offers family medicine and pediatrics. The area still lacks a pharmacy and maternal care. There are no other doctor offices nearby.
Patricia Grimmer has watched the new building stand empty for a while.
She's tired of waiting.
“Our whole life we've lived here in Del Valle and we've been promised all these things," Grimmer, 47, said. "God knows we've paid ... to get those things here."
The distance to access a pharmacy was difficult enough. Then came motherhood.
“I had a baby at 21. I had a baby at 28, a baby at 29 and then a baby again at 39. All four of those births, I had to go into Austin," Grimmer said. "That was 28 miles from our house."
Tara Trower, CommUnityCare Health Center's chief strategy officer, said CommUnityCare is anxious to offer more services.
“The needs are very, very great and they're continuing to grow," she said. "We work with Central Health and the Del Valle school system to really create a safety net system where lower-income individuals can come and receive the primary care that they need."
Nearly 85,000 people live within the boundaries of the Del Valle Independent School District — 20,000 more than just 10 years ago. The construction of a Tesla factory in the area, coupled with rising housing costs in Central Austin, have driven significant growth in the area.
Grimmer’s family, and the other families in Del Valle, continue to wait. She said she's thought about moving, but that's easier said than done.
“'It's coming.' We've always heard this our whole lives. For 20 years, we've been hearing, ‘Oh, don't worry. You're going to get that in your area,'" Grimmer said. "We're ready to move out of this area."
Clark-Madison said Central Health appreciates residents' patience.
“We just got to cross our fingers and get across the finish line," he said.
