THE HOLY FAMILY CLINIC
IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY CATHOLIC CHURCH
7539 Ave K, Houston, Texas 77012
The Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church Holy Family Clinic opened February 28,2001,
with a dedication ceremony on May 16, 2001. The clinic had a full time parish nurse for two
years. The clinic now operates with a parish nurse volunteer, other community volunteers and a
volunteer physician from the St. Bernadette Catholic Church. The clinic reports to a ten-member
board of directors. The board of directors is comprised of more than fifty percent of parishioners
and community members. The Holy Family Clinic Board of Directors report to the Immaculate
Heart of Mary Catholic Church. The clinic is a 501c3 non-profit organization and carries its own
insurance.
Mission
The mission of the Holy Family Clinic is to extend the healing mission of our Lord Jesus Christ
to the parishioners of Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish and their neighbors. This healing
ministry encompasses the entire scope of health and includes spiritual, physical, psychological
and social aspects of care.
Goals of the clinic:
1.
Providing care for acute illnesses when a provider is
available.
2.
Providing referrals to clinics and agencies for care of acute and
chronic illnesses, social services and other services as needed.
3.
Educating the community about health, healthy life styles,
and ways to access the health care system.
4.
Coordinate health fairs and other parish health activities.
5.
Providing referrals for spiritual counseling, hospice and
similar activities.
6.
Visiting parishioners in their homes and follow-up
with referrals from the parish office.
7.
Coordinating volunteers for the various health-related
ministries that will be developed through the parish nurse program.
8.
Developing relationships with groups providing similar or
complementary services to the community (e.g. Interfaith Ministries).
9.
Assuring social justice through advocacy endeavors.
Holy Family Clinic
This initiative is a direct response to our poor, underserved and uninsured parishioners and to the
many others in our immediate service area who for a variety of reasons lack a medical home or
have difficulty accessing health services. We have developed a Parish Nurse program in order to
have an experienced nurse coordinate health services for our community and to educate our
congregation about healthy living. The Parish Nurse is an advocate for those with health access
difficulties and the spiritual link for the church as we reach out to serve our community. The
role of the Parish Nurse bridges the bilingual professional nurse with that of coordinator of
volunteers and support groups. Aware of the multiple needs of our parishioners, we are currently
seeking to add a nurse practitioner to work with the Parish Nurse and volunteer Physicians. The
volunteer Physician is from the St. Bernadette Catholic Church in the Clear Lake area of
Houston. The Physician has many years of experience in family practice and occupational
medicine. St. Bernadette Catholic Church is a collaborating parish with Immaculate Heart of
Mary and has provided volunteer parish nurses, needed office and medical equipment, financial
support, and social advocacy support. The clinic is in operation only on Thursday 5 p.m.9:00p.m, with follow up as needed with dropping off medications to the patients, or follow up
with laboratory, X-ray, vision services, or diabetic education as needed.
Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church
The Holy Family Clinic is located on the campus of Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church.
Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church, founded in 1926 to serve the needs of Hispanic
Catholics in the Magnolia Park area of East Houston, also known as the Second Ward. The
Second Ward was one of the first Hispanic neighborhoods in Houston. The northern portion of
the community is industrial and currently houses the Houston Ship Channel and Enron Field.
The parish continues serving a poor working class neighborhood. Most parishioners are United
States citizens or legal residents of Mexican heritage. A significant number, however, are more
recent immigrants from Mexico and Central America. Many of these immigrants are without
documentation. The parish has more than 2,300 registered families and remains a very active
participant in Houston's East End. The parish is in an area designated as medically under served.
The target area for the Holy Family clinic is approximately a one-mile radius around the Holy
Family Clinic, primarily zip codes 77012 and 77011. Our boundaries are approximately west,
65th street; north/east, Buffalo Bayou/Ship Channel; south, Brays Bayou. The population for
census tracts 3110 and 3111 is 15, 686. The population is 96% Hispanic, with a 40.6% poverty
rate versus 11% for the United States. Of the children in the two neighboring elementary schools,
85% qualify for the free lunch program. To qualify for the free lunch program the family income
must be below 185% of the Federal Poverty Income Levels. The poverty income level for a
family of four is $17,050. 67% of the people in the neighborhood are without insurance or the
means to obtain health care, versus 15% for the U.S. 73% of the people in our neighborhood did
not complete high school or a GED program. Translation services are critical due to the 60%
limited English proficiency of the people in the neighborhood. This neighborhood has a federal
designation of being a "Medically Underserved Area."
A survey done in March 2001 of the parishioners of Immaculate Heart of Mary, 322 surveys
were reviewed. The top ten health concerns are Diabetes; Stress; need for Exercise classes;
Depression; Cholesterol; need for Weight Loss; Managing Special Diets; Dental Screenings;
Vision Screenings and Blood Pressure screenings.
Collaborators
The Holy Family Clinic has a close relationship with many organizations. These relationships
have benefited the community with information sharing, referrals and needed community service
hours. The Holy Family Clinic collaborates with the following organizations:
Magnolia Interfaith Health Alliance
Central Park Methodist Church
Broadway Baptist Church
Temple Bethel
Episcopal Church of the Redeemer
Rosa de Saron Pentecostal Church
El Bien Pastor Methodista
Iglesia Episcopal de Santa Cruz
Ministro Buena Vida
San Pablo Trinity Presbyterian
St. John Lutheran
Templo Evangelico Elim
Queen of Peace Catholic Church
Chicano Family Center
Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word
The Institute of Religion
Center for Faith and Health Initiatives
Open Door Mission
East End Healthy Children Collaborative
The Eastwood Interfaith Health Alliance
The Metropolitan Organization
Ministros Hispanos Contra El Crimen
CHRISTUS St. Joseph Hospital
Episcopal Health Charities
Shalom Zone Mobile Clinic
City of Houston Magnolia Clinic
As of August 2002, the Holy Family Clinic and Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church has worked very closely
with El Centro de Corazon, a social service and mental health organization in applying for a federally qualified
health center grant. A FQHC grant would provide up to $650,000.00 a year for five years to provide full service
health, dental and mental health services. This activity and relationship is on going.
Activities
Blood Pressure checks
CHIP enrollment
Blood Pressure/Glucose checks
Flu shots
Health Assessments
Back to School Immunizations
Diabetes Classes
Back to School Immunizations
Flu shots
February 2000
August 2000
October 2000
December 2000
April 2001
August 2001
Jan ‘02-April ‘02
August 2002
November 2002
16
2,000
119
243
80
40, 68 shots given
6 classes 25 participants for class
60, 120 shots given
200
Total patient interactions for 2001-1,230, does not include the numbers for the above mentioned
activities.
Total patient interactions for 2002- 2,494, does not include the numbers for the above mentioned
activities.
Phase One 2001
Phase One of the Holy Family Clinic not only includes the opening and daily operation of the
clinic, but setting up the infrastructure to maintain operation of the clinic. The following
activities are planned for Phase One: 1) Board Development, 2) Articles of Incorporation, 3)
Bylaws written and approved, 4) 501c3 Application, 5) Job Descriptions for Parish Nurse, Nurse
Practitioner, Medical Director, 6) Development of Volunteer Committee, 7) Set up of Vendors
for supplies and clinic services, 8) Regular schedule for volunteer Physicians, 9) Retreat for 5year plan, 10) Establishment of quarterly screening events, 11) Blessing Ceremony of the clinic.
Phase Two 2002
Phase Two will encompass expanding services and seeking grant monies. The following
activities are planned for Phase Two: 1) Establishing a vision station for the community, 2)
Starting the Community Garden Program, 3) Collaboration on first annual Parish Health
Ministry Catholic Conference, 4) Start of Housing Initiative, 5) Actively seek out grants, 6) Start
the Comenzando Bien Program for pregnant women, 7) Expanding the clinic hours and services.
Budget For Holy Family Clinic
Salaries & Benefits for Full Time Staff:
Parish Nurse
$40,000
Nurse Practitioner
$62,400
Need to put in 2-3% salary raise each year
Equipment:
Health Literature Rack (2)
Pagers (2)
Computer Upgrade
Cellular Phone
$200.00
$100.00
$1,000.00
$300.00
Supplies & Education:
Printed Health Materials
Alcohol wipes
Gloves
Thermometers
Glucometer Stripes
Bus Tokens
Continue Education
Clinic Signage
Health Fair Expenses
Grant writing fees
Office Supplies
$1,000.00
$100.00
$200.00
$300.00
$720.00
$200.00
$500.00
$2,000.00
$400.00
$3,000.00
$500.00
Pharmacy: $3,000.00
Voucher program to help cover cost of prescription medicine for those without insurance
coverage.
Utilities:
Electricity at 300.00 a month
Phone at 80.00 a month
Water at 30.00 a month
Insurance
Janitorial
$3,600.00 in-kind
$960.00 in-kind
$360.00 in-kind
$5,000.00
$240.00 in-kind
January 2003
Phase/Clinic Development Update:
In January of 2003, the Holy Family clinic did have to lay-off the full time parish nurse due to
the boards’ funding concerns. The Holy Family Clinic is presently working only as a volunteer
model, with clinic on Thursday night. The Thursday night clinic entails patients signing up to,
see the doctor for a variety of health concerns and ailments. The clients of the clinic mainly deal
with chronic diseases such as diabetes, obesity, hypertension (high blood pressure), and arthritis.
Presently we do not see children, or provide women services.
100% of the funds donated at this point go directly to patient needs, lab, medication, x-ray, eye
exams, glasses or any other identified needs. We do pay approximately $5,000.00 for medical
liability to run the clinic; the amount paid has varied over the past three years.
We have not held the vision station- a program to provide free or low cost glasses- on a regular
basis due to lack of having enough volunteers to assist in this clinic. The program entails doing a
basic eye exam, referral for a prescription for glasses. The client brings back the prescription, the
volunteers, fill out the order form, measure for glasses, and send out the order for glasses. The
client then returns for the glasses, this program would be ideal to have once a month. The clinic
would be willing to cover training to participate in this program with InFocus.
The clinic loses several opportunities in accessing grant funding due to time constraints to actual
write up and prepare the applications. Volunteers would be appreciated who could assist with
this activity.
The clinic postponed starting the Comenzando Bien Program – Healthy Start program, which is a
pre natal education program for Hispanic pregnant women due to being able to provide women
services at this time.
Expanding the clinic hours and services has not been accomplished due to lack of volunteer
physicians to see patients during other times in the week.
People are invited to tour or visit the clinic. Any questions or concerns should be directed to
Rosie Perez, RN, and President of the Clinic Board at 713-756-5055.