History of Vecino Health Centers

With grant funding from the Rockwell Foundation and St. Luke’s Episcopal Health Charities, in 2001 the newly named “Houston Community Health Centers” has enough money to contract with a physician and open a clinic for six hours a week in the upstairs of a local church.

Hours expand as money is raised, with the clinic open for two days a week in October 2002 and finally 40 hours a week in 2003 when Robert Wood Johnson Foundation steps up with a three-year matching grant for $300,000 a year. In 2003 the clinic has two nurse practitioners and three medical assistants who provide 2,100 medical to approximately 700 patients to the cramped Sunday school classrooms on the church's second floor. Local donors match the funds from Robert Wood Johnson Foundation....

Realizing that finding a new location had become a priority, the organization turns to the small, family-run Frees Foundation for help. Nancy Frees Fountain, managing director of the foundation, suggested the vacant cantina building when it came up for auction on foreclosure. After a title search and structural and environmental inspections cleared the path to buy the building and land, the Frees Foundation provides $150,000 for the property, about $8,000 over the asking price. "We closed...

Aided by a $153,000 challenge grant from the Meadows Foundation, construction on the new site — including demolishing the building's interior, leaving the exterior walls — began in 2003. Other funds come from the Southwest Bank of Texas, Gateway to Care, Houston Endowment, Herzstein Charitable Foundation, Texas Department of Health and the Enrico and Sandra de Portanova Charitable Foundation for a total of about $500,000. Construction workers gutted the old cantina to build the...

After five years of planning, fund-raising and a few prayers, the Houston Community Health Center at 424 Hahlo — the site of a former cantina that once attracted drunks, brawls and prostitutes to the Denver Harbor residential neighborhood — opens in November...

Houston Methodist selects Denver Harbor Clinic to house its Family Residency Program. Plans are finalized for a new 9,360 square foot facility to accommodate the program director, three physicians and twelve residents annually. Six family medicine residents and one attending physician are integrated into the existing clinic staff in January 2006.

Operations begin at Airline Children's Clinic, providing pediatric care to patients from birth through age 18.

Vecino Health Centers and University of Texas Pediatric Department execute an agreement for the Pediatric Residency Program residents to do their rotations at Airline Children's Clinic.

Vecino Health Centers is launched as the umbrella brand uniting Denver Harbor Clinic and Airline Children's Clinic, with an eye toward additional community health centers and outreach programs in the future. The word "vecino" means "neighbor" in Spanish and captures the spirit or the...

The tight quarters and shortage of exam rooms at Airline Children's Clinic and Denver Harbor Family Clinic will be ending with upcoming expansions and renovations.  A $1 million federal grant to expand both facilities was recently awarded to Vecino by HRSA (Health Resources and Services Administration). Money from the grant are added to $1,360,726 raised from local donors and partners to fund the expansion. Airline Children's Clinic will double in size to accommodate approximately 3,000 new...

University of Houston College of Pharmacy and Vecino Health Centers are working together to improve the health outcomes of patients with diabetes and other conditions. Specialty care from UH's School of Pharmacy is a new service now available onsite to patients at Vecino's Denver Harbor Family Clinic. Dr. Bernadette Asias-Dinh and Dr. Katherine M. Smith, UH faculty members, are overseeing the program that assists patients with optimal medical and lifestyle management of diabetes and other...

East Aldine Management District awarded Vecino Health Centers the 2016 Strategic Partner in Public Health Award at its 5th annual banquet on December 13, 2016. The award recognizes the contributions Vecino is making to improve health and quality of life for residents in the district. Vecino is engaged in a number of outreach projects in the East Aldine district, including blood pressure screenings and educational sessions from physicians on topics of interest to residents, such as shingles...

Dr. Enjoli Benitez, a staff physician at Vecino Health Centers, was recently honored with a 2017 New Faculty Scholar award from the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine (STFM). She is one of ten academic family practitioners nationwide to receive the award . This honor is a catalyst for developing future leaders in academic family medicine. In addition to presenting during a session at STFM’s spring conference, honorees gain valuable mentorship and opportunities to further their...

Access to specialty care is a significant hurdle facing many patients of Vecino Health Centers, particularly those who are uninsured. A sheer lack of options means patients have difficulty getting timely appointments with specialists, and when they do, they find themselves stuck navigating a complex medical system. Add to this the difficulty of negotiating transportation and time off work to attend appointments at multiple locations, and the hurdles begin to seem insurmountable. Thanks to...

If you drive past Vecino's Airline Children’s Clinic this summer, you'll probably notice more activity than usual. That’s because construction is well under way on the clinic’s much-awaited expansion. The 5,200 square-foot building project aims to double Vecino’s capacity for providing high-quality pediatric services to working families in northeast Houston. The new facility it is on track for completion by 2018. Access to quality, affordable healthcare is a growing need in Houston, as...

Congressman Gene Green toured Airline Children’s Clinic on Thursday in honor of National Health Center Week. While there, he met with Vecino staff and patients and learned about the clinic’s major expansion project, which broke ground in February and is already well under way. Congressman Green is the Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Health for the 115th Congress. A longtime supporter of Vecino Health Centers, and a champion for health equity, he understands the impact National Health...

The Health Services and Resources Administration (HRSA) has awarded Vecino Health Centers a 2018 Health Center Quality Leader Award. The prestigious national award is given to health centers with the best (top 30%) overall clinical performance among all health centers nationally. "This achievement is a reflection of a commitment to quality by everyone in the organization," says Dr. Donald Briscoe, Medical Director of Vecino Health Centers. "We take pride in the great care we provide to our...

Capital Assistance for Hurricane Response and Recovery Efforts (CARE) funding strengthens Vecino’s readiness to respond to community needs during future crises HOUSTON – September 12, 2018 – Vecino Health Centers is the recipient of $328,338 in Capital Assistance for Hurricane Response and Recovery Efforts (CARE) funding, awarded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) this month. CARE funding seeks to help community health centers provide continued access to primary care...

Recognizing the need to support all aspects of healthy development, Vecino Health Centers is partnering with local nonprofit Making it Better to bring a weekly reading readiness program to Airline Children’s Clinic. Pediatrics team recognizes the need to support literacy for healthy development As the Director of Pediatrics at Vecino Health Centers, Dr. Juan Olivares spends his days attending to the health of his young patients. But it isn’t just their physical well-being that interests...

Dr. Nora Saavedra, a pediatrician at Vecino's Airline Children's Clinic, was recently recognized as the 2018 "Doctor of the Year" by Kids Developmental Clinic (KDC) - North Location. Each of KDC's four clinics chooses a physician for the annual award, and Dr. Saavedra is the first to be given this honor by the newly-opened KDC North. This will come as no surprise to Dr. Saavedra's colleagues, as well as her young patients and their families, who consistently give praise for her high level...

Stress that is left unchecked can contribute to many health problems, such as high blood pressure, heart disease, obesity, and diabetes. That's why Vecino is proud to be helping researchers from University of Houston on a project to learn more about stress and health. The research team is seeking Mexican immigrants or Mexican American immigrants between the ages of 21 and 35 for a new study on the effects of stress on health. Qualified participants will be asked to respond to an anonymous...

Dr. Enjoli Benitez succeeds longtime mentor Dr. Donald A. Briscoe in leadership role Houston - April 25, 2019 – Vecino Health Centers, a community health care provider, operating family and pediatric clinics and outreach services, today announced that Dr. Enjoli Benitez has been named Chief Medical Officer. Dr. Benitez succeeds longtime Medical Director Dr. Donald A. Briscoe who is stepping down at the end of April to pursue a new medical leadership opportunity.  Vecino Health Center's...

CEO Daniel Montez and Chief Medical Officer Dr. Enjoli Benitez cut the ribbon to open seven new exam rooms, a new large procedure room, and more! A community health center is much more than just a group of physician’s offices housed under one roof. It is a healthcare home and a gateway for working families to get the full range of services they need to thrive. The new expansion of Vecino’s Denver Harbor Family Clinic gives more families in Houston access to this type of integrated...

Through the leadership of Nurse Manager Gwen Davis, Vecino achieves Gold Status in the Target BP program, an initiative of the American Heart Association and American Medical Association   Dr. Eduardo Sanchez of the American Heart Association (center) presents Gwen "Peaches" Davis (left) and Eduardo Rivera (right) of Vecino Health Centers with the Gold Status recognition in the Target BP program With her background in cardiology and critical care, nurse manager Gwen “Peaches” Davis...

As COVID-19 continues to dominate our daily lives, the constant stress also takes a toll on mental health, especially for Hispanic/Latinos and African Americans.

Vecino Health Centers has been awarded a 2020 Health Center Quality Leader Award at the Gold Tier by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). Congratulations to the staff at Vecino's Denver Harbor Family Clinic and Vecino's Airline Children's Clinic on performing in the top 10% of health centers nationwide. "Gold Tier" status HRSA’s Health Center Quality Leader awards recognize the highest performing health centers nationwide, as...

Vecino is the only Federally Qualified Health Center in Houston and one of only eight health centers statewide to receive the quality leadership award at the gold-tier in 2022.