ROSENBERG – The San Jose Clinic serves uninsured and underinsured patients in Houston.
While the clinic has been around for 100 years, it didn’t come to Rosenberg until after Hurricane Harvey. In the days after the hurricane, San Jose Clinic staff realized people in the Rosenberg area had a lot of undiagnosed diseases and needed help with healthcare.
Now, on the fifth anniversary, they’re expanding even more types of services in this area.
The clinic recently received a $1M grant from the George Foundation that will support general operating and the expansion of critical services to the Fort Bend County clinic, including charity dental services and chronic disease management.
The President and CEO, Maureen Sanders, said their average patient lives 100% below poverty, typically they’re females in their late forties and often work many jobs while supporting an entire family.
“Our average patient is going to have to come to see us more often because they’re dealing with all of those issues around living in poverty and having advanced health issues,” Sanders explained.
Rosa Zapata, 57, said she felt mistreated, misunderstood, and misdiagnosed for years. She went to a doctor when she was experiencing multiple health problems, but could never afford the tests she really needed to confirm her diagnosis until she went to the San Jose Clinic.
The San Jose Clinic is where she was diagnosed with Lupus for the first time. As awful as the disease may be, the Zapatas are thankful it could finally be managed.
She said her doctor at the San Jose Clinic in Rosenberg is helping her maintain kidney disease, a complication of Lupus, to try to prevent the need for dialysis. Plus, she has access to lab work and prescriptions there.
San Jose Clinic has thousands of patients like the Zapatas. There are 30,000 visits to the clinic every year and they don’t turn anyone away because of the inability to pay.
“There will always be individuals in the community that need what you can provide, and so, if you just keep the patient front and center then the overwhelming part of ‘how are we gonna fundraise...” said Maureen Sanders, President and CEO of the San Jose Clinic. “We feel like after 100 years we may not have it in writing but we figured out our sustainability.”
Patients of San Jose Clinic pay $20 to $40 for services or in some cases, less.
If you’re interested in becoming a patient, click here.
If you’re interested in donating to the clinic in Houston or Fort Bend, click here.
