The Live Oak Community Health Clinic is growing and has plans to offer more services to its patients, according to a presentation given at the Hays County Commissioners Court meeting Tuesday morning.
“The partnership we have with the county is so crucial to keeping that care going,” said Anthony Stahl, CEO of Central Texas Medical Center, which manages the county health clinic through its relationship with Live Oak Health Partners.
Live Oak Health Partners Physician Practice Administrator Brent Hastings spoke to the commissioners about recent growth at the clinic and future services as the clinic seeks to fulfill its mission of “extending the healing ministry of Christ and not turning away a single patient because of their income.”
Hastings said that on the patient satisfaction survey, the question that means the most to administrators is how likely a patient is to recommend the clinic to someone else. On that question, Dr. Stephen Richardson and the clinic rank in the 96th percentile nationwide.
“I’ve never seen numbers like this,” Hastings said. “I’ve worked in healthcare for 11 years.”
Hastings said that in 2017, the clinic saw 975 new patients, with a total of almost 6,700 encounters. In 2018, the clinic saw 1,060 new patients with 8,949 total encounters — an increase of 33 percent over the previous year.
Hastings highlighted some of the community outreach initiatives the clinic has engaged in, including diabetes testing and other medical tests offered in Redwood, at the Hays County Food Bank and at the Southside Community Center. Diabetes testing and management has become an important part of the clinic’s mission, he said, because diabetes is so common among indigent patients.
“We’ve actually bought an A1C machine where we can test patients to see their hemoglobin levels and be able to manage those patients,” he said.
The clinic also offers a prescription assistance program that helped more than 2,000 patients in the past two years, Hastings said, explaining that qualifying patients might be able to get prescription drugs for free through the program.
The clinic also offers an “ER Navigation” program, which means that qualifying emergency room patients can get follow-up care at the clinic.
“Those patients who enter the ER will receive a free voucher, the ones who qualify, to come to our community clinic,” Hastings said.
With the increased traffic at the clinic, Hastings said, a full-time nurse practitioner is needed. There has been a nurse practitioner there three days a week, but a full time nurse practitioner will be starting on Jan. 21.
“This is really something that I’m excited about that CTMC and even the community has supported,” he said.
The clinic is looking to add a “Spiritual Wholeness Screening” program for patients to address needs on another level, Hastings said. The screening will consist of three questions, he said: “Do you have someone who loves and cares for you? Do you have a source of joy in your life? And do you have a sense of peace today?”
If a patient answers no to any of those questions, the clinic will offer to set the patient up with a spiritual adviser if desired.
“It’s not religious-based,” Hastings said. “Of course we are a Christian organization, but it is not only relevant to that religion.”
The clinic is also working with Texas State University on a rideshare program for patients who might have limited access to transportation, Hastings said.
Precinct 1 Commissioner Debbie Gonzales Ingalsbe and Precinct 3 Commissioner Lon Shell expressed gratitude for the partnership with CTMC and Live Oak Health Partners in managing the community clinic.
“I was a little nervous and wondered if we were going to go in the right direction,” Ingalsbe said. “And we certainly have.”
