The Texas Health Community Resource Center, located at the Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Allen campus, opened May 15.
The specifics
The resource center is an initiative of the Texas Health Community Hope program and is being funded through the Texas Health Resources Foundation. The center provides a variety of services for eligible Collin County residents, such as:
- Healthcare for chronic health conditions such as diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and congestive heart failure
- Bloodwork
- Educational resources
- Support groups
- Nutrition counseling
“Providing healthcare without recognizing and addressing the underlying non-medical drivers of health—like economic stability, housing and nutrition security—is akin to putting a bandage on an infected wound and hoping things will get better,” said David Tesmer, chief community and public policy officer for Texas Health, in the release.
Eligibility requirements to access services at the center include:
- Being a Collin county resident
- Being between ages 18-64
- Having an unmanaged chronic condition
- Making less than or equal to 250% of the federal poverty level or meeting Texas Health’s charity care guidelines
- Lacking health insurance or having insurance with a high deductible
Despite being one of the fastest-growing counties in Texas, 10% of Collin County residents lacked healthcare coverage in 2023, the release states, amounting to over 100,000 individuals.
Being without health insurance or without affordable health insurance can put individuals at higher risk for adverse health effects, said Catherine Oliveros, vice president of Community Health Improvement for Texas Health, in the release.
Other common barriers to healthcare in the area include a lack of low-cost and free healthcare services available as well as a lack of transportation, which was identified through community focus groups and listening sessions held while developing Texas Health’s Community Health Needs Assessment. The assessment, which is conducted every three years, concluded that, despite pockets for affluence and existing community resources, access to healthcare and chronic disease management is still a “top need” in Collin County, Marsha Ingle, senior director of Community Health Improvement for Texas Health, said in an emailed statement.
These and other barriers to healthcare may contribute to individuals living with a chronic condition choosing to “avoid or delay seeking treatment,” Texas Health Allen President Amanda Thrash said in the release.
“The services and support provided at the Community Resource Center aims to reach communities earlier so we can prevent these poor health outcomes and residents can live healthier, happier lives,” Thrash said.
Quote of note
“The challenges of managing chronic disease and accessing healthcare are not isolated to a single neighborhood or ZIP code in Collin County,” Ingle said. “Chronic disease is a concern across the nation and Collin County is not exempt from that as we are seeing increasing rates of diabetes, heart disease and high cholesterol.”
Get involved
The appointment-based center is open 8 a.m.- 4 p.m. Monday-Friday. To determine eligibility or make an appointment at the center, visit www.texashealth.org/communityresourcecenter.
