A clinic in Dallas has received a grant of almost $6 million from the U.S Department of Health and Human Services. Los Barrios Unidos Community Clinic runs six locations and sees more than 400 patients a day.
The clinic charges on a sliding scale for people who do not have insurance or are low income.
"Tens of thousands of individuals and families have trusted us with their care," said Chief Executive Officer Leonor Marquez. "They consider LBU Community Clinic their home, their family doctor."
Marquez says the grant of $5,927,523 will let the clinic hire doctors and nurses and also buy medication "to keep people healthy, to keep people productive and at work." LBU first opened in 1971.
Congressman Marc Veasey presented the check to the clinic Wednesday.
"LBU is a pillar of communities across the district I represent and across North Texas as a whole," he said. "People, especially people who are low income, really do rely on LBU to help them access the essential healthcare services their lives depend on."
Veasey is a Democrat whose district includes West Dallas, Cedar Hill, Grand Prairie, Irving and stretching into parts of Arlington, Fort Worth and Tarrant County. He says his district has one of the highest rates of uninsured constituents in the country.
"This funding is going to help LBU continue to tackle the most pressing health problems our communities face like rising rates of diabetes, maternal mortality and continuing to fight against the effects of COVID-19," he says. "Access to healthcare is a huge part of the district I represent."
Veasey said Republicans controlling the U.S. House have passed a "hyper-partisan" debt ceiling measure he says would cut access to Medicaid from people and lead to increased medical debt.
Republicans have proposed a package that would require adult Medicaid recipients to work, perform community service or join an employment program. The program would apply to people ages 19 to 55 but would not apply to pregnant women, parents or people considered physically or mentally unfit to work. The requirement would also not apply to people enrolled in classes or substance abuse treatment.
Republicans have said the program would provide incentives to work, and assistance programs are meant to be temporary.
At the clinic, Chief Medical Officer Sharon Davis says the grant will help provide treatment so people can work.
"We make preventive care more affordable," she said. "We never turn anybody away based on a cost, and that is more cost effective. We are keeping you healthy so now, you're not getting these costly illnesses that are chronic. We are keeping you out of the emergency room."
Davis said LBU also has integrated behavioral health.
"COVID has put a huge stress on children, on adults, on everyone," she said. "We grieved as a nation for a while. We had a lot of losses, and our community was hit hard. We're coming out of that now, so we want to be around. If a person is too depressed to even come to the clinic, then they don't want to take their medication for diabetes, they don't want to show up for their visit, so we take care of the whole patient, including behavioral health."
City Councilman Omar Narvaez said the grant for this clinic joins other investments in local infrastructure. Last month, Dallas Fire Rescue opened a replacement for a 70 year old fire station in the same area. A new station is now being built near 635 and Belt Line in Northwest Dallas.
"It's exciting times here in District 6," he said. "A lot of the seeds that have been planted over the last six years, we've been watering and fertilizing, and now we're seeing those plants sprout. Some of them are starting to bloom."
Narvaez said the city is working through "distrust" that led to many in his district losing faith in local government.
"Police substations, libraries, parks, all those amenities people desperately need in their neighborhood are infrastructure," he said. "Without those things, neighborhoods don't thrive. By investing in those in an area that has been divested for decades, things are getting better. We're starting to see that influx of great opportunities, new businesses, new companies, new residents. West Dallas is the hottest place to be right now."
Related
LISTEN on the Audacy App
Tell your Smart Speaker to “PLAY 1080 KRLD”
Sign Up and Follow NewsRadio 1080 KRLD
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram