University Health System to consolidate clinic location

Move is in response to changing funding requirements & State cuts

In order to be eligible for the limited family planning funding currently available, and in response to $2.2 million in State funding cuts for preventive services, University Health System will move services from the Westend Clinic to more comprehensive health care facilities nearby. The change will take effect February 1, 2012 and will ultimately result in better access to primary care services.

The Westend Clinic in the Frank Garrett Center provides only family planning services. Patients currently being seen there will soon receive letters announcing the relocation of these services to the Robert B. Green Campus, 2.4 miles away or the Texas Diabetes Institute, 1.7 miles from their current clinic. Both of these locations offer preventive health, as well as primary and specialty care services.

"Assuring patients continue to have access to care near their homes is our highest priority with this transition," said University Health System’s senior vice president for Community Health and Clinical Preventive Programs Theresa De La Haya. "In addition to the services they receive today, in the new locations they will also be able to be treated for minor illnesses and receive routine check-ups." University Health System will work with individual patients, as needed, to assure transportation is not a barrier to service.

More than 95 percent of the care provided by University Health System happens outside the hospital, across its network of outpatient clinics throughout Bexar County. In 2012, keeping people well and out of the hospital will be an even greater focus as University Health System begins implementing regional medical homes for patients, with physician-led teams of healthcare professionals providing coordinated and comprehensive care for individuals and families.

This comprehensive approach is key to the prevention and management of chronic disease and, in 2012, providing access to primary care in the same locations where family planning services are offered will be a requirement for application for the limited funding available for these services. In the wake of a $2.2 million reduction in State funding for family planning services for the uninsured which took effect in September, and a total $15.5 million annual impact from cuts made during this year’s Texas Legislative Session, University Health System is working hard to improve efficiency and reduce expenses across the entire health system, without cutting services to patients or laying-off staff.