Vecino Health Centers is transforming the way women and families engage in health care

Vecino’s Healthy Women → Healthy Families Initiative is taking a comprehensive, community-centered approach to tackling the most challenging health issues facing families in northeast Houston.

The health of families and communities begins with women and girls

The research is clear: the health of women and girls determines the health and well-being of the community. Health outcomes extend far beyond clinics and exam rooms. Health is centered in our homes, schools, neighborhoods, and places of work and worship. When we focus on a woman’s health and the health of her family, we transform the community as a whole.

Families in northeast Houston have some of the lowest life expectancies in the country. Rates of maternal and infant mortality and morbidity are high and engagement in prenatal care is low. The new initiative seeks to reverse these trends by reimagining the way women and their families engage with healthcare services at Vecino.

An integrated approach to tackle unacceptably high rates of maternal and infant mortality and morbidity

Vecino Health Centers has long understood that healthcare is most effective when it is patient-centered and community-centered. The Healthy Women → Healthy Families Initiative takes this approach a step further.

 Instead of focusing on standalone appointments that treat a single health issue, patients engage in care through a lifespan approach. Services are delivered as a bundle of care by a coordinated, multidisciplinary team.

There are many factors that affect health. The health of families and the communities in which they live have a significant impact on the health of women. With this in mind, Vecino is implementing a broad approach to women’s health care through the initiative. Specialty care for women now includes care for all members of the family unit. Vecino’s community outreach efforts are also expanding through the Initiative to include health forums and screenings and additional partnerships with community-based organizations.

Designed by a multidisciplinary team of healthcare professionals

The model for the Healthy Women → Healthy Families Initiative was designed by a multidisciplinary team of medical, behavioral health, and social service experts at Vecino. It integrates the following four components:

  • Women’s health: Women’s specialty care is delivered as a bundle of comprehensive services. These services focus on all aspects of wellbeing, including the non-medical factors in a woman’s life that affect her physical and mental health.
  • Prenatal and postnatal health: A multidisciplinary team is delivering Vecino’s specialty maternity care. This includes the broad spectrum of prenatal care, from pre-conception and family planning through breastfeeding consultation and postpartum care.
  • Family health: Specialty care for women encompasses care for all members of the family unit. This includes pediatric care, wellness exams for adults and children, behavioral health services, and substance abuse treatment.
  • Community health: Vecino is expanding its partnership with schools and community-based organizations to promote the overall well-being of the community and neighborhoods where patients live, study, and work. Community health workers are engaging members of the community through health forums, health fairs, and screenings.

Follow the progress of the Healthy Women → Healthy Families Initiative

The first phases of the Healthy Women → Healthy Families Initiative are well underway. Additional components are set to roll out over the next year.

To learn more about the initiative or find out how you can support Vecino Health Centers as it champions the health of women and families, contact us to receive updates or to partner with Vecino. Contact the team.

Join the Initiative as a patient

For more information about the initiative or to make a health care appointment, please contact Alix CaDavid by phone at 713-343-5512 or by email.

Vecino Health Centers receives $2.6 million gift from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott

Vecino Health Centers receives $2.6 million gift from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott

Houston — Dec. 11, 2023 — Vecino Health Centers, a private, nonprofit health care provider, today announced the receipt of a $2.6 million gift from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott through Yield Giving. The substantial one-time grant comes with no restrictions on its use, providing a significant boost to community-based health care in Houston.

“We appreciate this extraordinary and unrestricted support,” said Daniel Montez, CEO of Vecino Health Centers. “These funds will expedite our advancements in delivering high-quality community-based health care in the most cost-effective ways possible.”

Unrestricted funds are crucial to Vecino Health Centers’ and other nonprofit organizations’ financial stability and operational flexibility. These funds are not earmarked for specific programs or purposes and can be used at the discretion of the organization’s leadership. Vecino Health Centers plans to use this gift to implement initiatives for financial self-sustainability and future growth. 

“This donation will fortify the organization and enhance its long-term sustainability,” said David Webster, board chair of Vecino Health Centers and executive vice president of Bank of Houston. “It signifies a vote of confidence to the entire staff, and we are immensely grateful.”

A Federally Qualified Health Center, Vecino Health Centers operates under the principle that everyone deserves access to quality health care services. The organization provides health care services to nearly 12,000 patients from working families in northeast Houston through its two centers: Denver Harbor Family Health Center and Airline Children & Women’s Health Center. It extends its impact through behavioral health outreach initiatives conducted in association with local schools.

About Vecino Health Centers

Established in 1999, Vecino Health Centers is a private, nonprofit health care provider committed to delivering quality health services to Houston families. With a focus on efficiency and excellence, Vecino Health Centers is at the forefront of health services in northeast Houston, providing primary care, behavioral health and community health outreach programs. For more information, please visit vecinohealthcenters.org.



Vecino brings The Reading Express to Airline Children’s Clinic

Vecino’s Airline Children’s clinic is a host site for The Reading Express, a new county-wide program to help children gain important literacy skills before they start kindergarten.

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 him. He also spends a lot of time talking with parents about their children’s learning development and progress in school. So much time, in fact, that he decided he needed to do more to help.

“Many parents of our patients aren’t fluent in English, and they often haven’t had the benefit of a good education themselves,” says Dr. Olivares. “They don’t have the tools to help prepare their children for success in school. As medical professionals, we have a responsibility to help change this.”

As part of this commitment, Vecino’s Airline Children’s Clinic recently became one of the host sites for The Reading Express Mobile Classroom, a new county-wide program aimed to help under-served children gain important early literacy skills.

The Reading Express is a dynamic school on wheels for children ages two months to four years, along with their parents or caregivers. It is staffed by early childhood specialists.

Mobile literacy programs helps build a strong foundation for healthy development

Research shows that starting kindergarten ready to read is the single most powerful predictor of whether a child can read on level by the end of third grade. And yet, sixty percent of Houston area children enter kindergarten without the skills needed to learn to read, putting them at a disadvantage even before they start school.

Programs like The Reading Express aim to change this, giving all children access to engaging literacy activities from a young age and helping build a strong foundation on which those children can develop and thrive.

Staffed by early childhood specialists from Making it Better, The Reading Express is a dynamic “school on wheels” open to all children ages two months to four years, along with their parents. The program involves interactive activities such as reading exploration, nursery rhymes, songs, art and play. Parents are also empowered and taught new ways to take an active role as their child’s first teacher, extending the learning well beyond the weekly sessions.

Open at Airline Children’s Clinic on Thursdays from 9:30 to 11 am

The Reading Express program is at Vecino’s Airline Children’s Clinic every Thursday morning from 9:30 to 11 am. Advance sign-up is not required. Every child receives a free book each week he or she participates.  If you know a child who would benefit from The Reading Express, contact Making it Better.

Vecino Health Centers receives Health Center Quality Leader award!

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 patients and communities and we are committed to continue to find ways to become even better.”

HRSA awards recognize the highest performing health centers nationwide. Of the 1,400 community health centers in the nation, Vecino is one of just 373 centers receiving the Quality Leader recognition in 2018.

Congratulations to all staff and board members for your work that made this recognition possible. And thank you to our communities and patients for entrusting Vecino’s Airline Children’s Clinic and Denver Harbor Family Clinic with your family health care.

About Vecino Health Centers

Vecino Health Centers is a private nonprofit organization committed to making quality healthcare accessible to Houston’s working families. Established in 2001, Vecino is a Federally Qualified Health Center operating two locations in Houston: Denver Harbor Family Clinic and Airline Children’s Clinic. Through a unique partnership, Denver Harbor Family Clinic is home of Houston Methodist Family Medicine Residency Program.

Houston Methodist’s dysplasia services move to Vecino’s Denver Harbor Family Health Center

Houston Methodist dysplasia services makes a permanent move to Denver Harbor Family Clinic

Houston Methodist Hospital’s dysplasia services makes a permanent home at Denver Harbor Family Clinic, adding to an increasingly robust specialty care program available at Vecino Health Centers.

The Raymond H. Kaufman Dysplasia Clinic, which treats women experiencing abnormal pap smears, was previously housed at Houston Methodist facilities. When the hospital needed to free up space for other services, it approached Vecino about taking on the project.

Early diagnosis and treatment of causes related to abnormal pap smears greatly improves a patient’s health outcomes.

“We are committed to meeting this important medical need in our community,” says Dr. Donald Briscoe, medical director at Vecino Health Centers. “Women from working families need access to high-quality, specialized services during what can be a frightening and complex time in their medical journey.”

Dysplasia clinic adds to a growing program of specialty care

For Houston’s working families, accessing specialty medical services outside their primary doctor’s office can be difficult. Limited appointment times often conflict with inflexible work schedules, and finding transportation across town is time-consuming and expensive. Cost is also a factor for many patients, especially those uninsured.

To meet this need, Vecino Health Centers continues to expand its in-house specialty services, giving patients access to high-quality, bilingual care right in their neighborhoods.

“We hope to remove the barriers to care that often cause patients to delay treatment,” says Dr. Briscoe. “By offering specialty services within a patient’s primary care home, the medical system becomes more welcoming and a little less complex.”

Expanded services are made possible through strong medical partnerships

A strong, existing partnership between Vecino and Houston Methodist will allow the transition of the dysplasia clinic to take place without interrupting care.  Services will continue at previous levels, with staffing by Dr. Michael Pirics and Dr. Konrad Harms, attending gynecologists at Houston Methodist, as well as Houston Methodist OB residents. Houston Methodist is providing the specialty equipment necessary to operate the clinic.

The clinic takes place weekly. Patients can be referred by Vecino physicians, as well as by area clinics and Federally Qualified Health Centers that don’t have the necessary personnel or specialty equipment.

Vecino also offers specialty services in cardiac care through a Houston Methodist partnership, as well as diabetes and high blood pressure management through a partnership with the University of Houston. On-site breast examinations are available through a partnership with The Rose.

Vecino medical residents have the opportunity to participate in all of the in-house specialty clinics, providing important educational opportunities and strengthening the level of training available to the next generation of local physicians.

Vecino leads the way in implementing state-of-the-art Epic medical records system in community health centers

As medical costs continue to rise, Vecino Health Centers is at the forefront of a countywide move toward a more streamlined, collaborative approach to patient care.

Working through the Harris Health System (HHS), implementation of the Epic electronic medical records system began at Vecino’s clinics in the fall of 2015. With this move, Vecino become one of the first Federally Qualified Community Health Centers (FQHC) in Houston to transition to the state-of-the-art system. The change is proving so successful that another Houston-area FQHC is set to follow Vecino’s lead and implement Epic in early 2018.

Investing in the future of Houston healthcare

When Vecino leadership approached HHS about implementing Epic, we understood the significant investment in time and resources. Vecino Health Centers invested a total of $225,000 in the new system. The process took several years of planning, pilot projects and efforts to modify Epic to meet the needs of an FQHC.  But despite these challenges, we knew the importance of making this change.

“It was a risk, especially back in 2015 when very few healthcare providers had made the move,” says Vecino CEO Daniel Montez. “But we knew it would eventually become a necessary part of medical care, and we are committed to providing our patients with the best possible health outcomes.”

Shared medical records streamline care for patients in Houston’s healthcare system
By moving to the Epic system, Vecino medical staff can now access shared patient records from all nearly all area hospitals, as well as Harris Health System’s network of specialists. When medical providers communicate effectively, and have access to a patient’s comprehensive record, costs decline and care improves. Now, when a Vecino patient visits an HHS emergency room, his or her primary care provider is notified in Epic and can follow up to provide wraparound care. Likewise, if a patient needs to visit an HHS specialist, the referral process is simplified.