2023 Highlights
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
Central Health’s community conversation in July 2023 at Austin Community College’s Eastview campus (home to ACC health professions programs) saw record attendance as the hospital district’s subject-matter experts presented the implementation strategy for the Healthcare Equity Plan.
OUTREACH
Jessica Ramirez receives her MAP Basic eligibility card on the spot at the Central Health Northeast Health Resource Center in Colony Park.
CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS
Austin Mayor Kirk Watson, CommUnityCare leadership, and residents of the Pathways at Chalmers affordable housing complex cut the ribbon on CUC’s new Chalmers clinic.
HEALTH COVERAGE
Year-round public awareness and outreach efforts are part of Central Health’s comprehensive playbook to get eligible Travis County residents covered. As MAP members, they can establish medical homes and work with provider teams dedicated to whole-person care, which keeps taxpayer money from being used ineffectively in hospitals and emergency rooms.
INVESTING IN TRAVIS COUNTY
Central Health and CommUnityCare staff and local volunteers signed a structural beam that’s now part of the Hornsby Bend Health and Wellness Center, which opened in October 2023. Leading up to that opening, Central Health and CommUnityCare worked to make sure patients were ready and able to take advantage of this new option available in what has been one of Travis County’s largest “healthcare deserts”.
IMPROVING PATIENT CARE
Central Health’s medical respite program provides short-term residential care that gives patients who are experiencing homelessness a safe place to rest, recover and heal, rather than being discharged back to the street. Respite patients can access basic clinical care, health education, and wraparound supportive services that can help sustain their health moving forward. The average length of stay is about 40 days, but patients are able to stay as long as necessary. Under the direction of Dr. Audrey Kuang, Central Health’s medical respite program began in March 2022 with 5 beds, and by the end of FY 2023 had 25 beds and had received more than 280 referrals from hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, and CommUnityCare clinics.
Under the direction of Dr. Audrey Kuang, Central Health’s medical respite program began in March 2022 with 5 beds, and by the end of FY 2023 had 25 beds and had received more than 280 referrals from hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, and CommUnityCare clinics.