Open Enrollment: Free assistance is available now!
Get health care coverage for 2024!
Vecino’s Health Center’s ACA-Certified Application Counselors are available to help you understand your healthcare coverage options and enroll in a plan that’s right for you.
Assistance is free, confidential, and available in Spanish or English. Our goal is to help you find and choose the plan that works for your family and budget.
Call today to schedule a free appointment for assistance with certified application counselors at Vecino Health Centers.
Don’t wait! Act by December 15 for coverage to start on January 1.
Sadly, gun violence is more often in the news than we would like. With the recent event at Robb Elementary in Uvalde, it can be a scary time for both adults and children.
Counting on the support of relatives, family, and community helpers can make difficult times more manageable.
Don’t hesitate to reach out to us if you are in distress or if you feel overwhelmed. The counseling staff is available to you through telehealth or on-site at both Airline and Denver Harbor Locations.
Call for a counseling appointment
Counselors are available for telehealth and in-person visits.
Denver Harbor Family Health Center
713-674-3326
Airline Children and Women’s Health Center
713-695-4013
Talking to Children About Violence: Tips for Parents and Teachers
Here are links to download some helpful tips for parents for teachers from the National Association of School Psychologists.
Left to right Tania Villanueva, QI/QA coordinator of Vecino Health Centers, Dr. Anna Torres, medical director of WellMed, and Dr. Enjoli Benitez, chief medical officer of Vecino Health Centers
Appreciation for Vecino’s response to COVID-19
We all know that a good breakfast is a healthy way to start the day. Thanks to WellMed, a program partner, many of the incredible staff at Vecino’s Denver Harbor Family Clinic,who are all on the frontlines in responding to the new coronavirus, recently enjoyed a healthy start to a busy day at the clinic.
Vecino staff members practicing social distancing while enjoying breakfast.
A token of appreciation and support for Vecino’s service to the community in response to COVID-19, the breakfast for Vecino staff was delivered by WellMed Medical Director, Dr. Anna Torres. WellMed, a network of doctors, specialists and professionals providing care for older adults, is one of Vecino’s value-based program partners.
Staying up to date in responding to COVID-19
New ways of responding to COVID-19 was the topic of conversation that followed in a meeting with Torres and Dr. Enjoli Benitez, chief medical officer of Vecino Health Centers.
WellMed Medical Management, is a network of doctors, specialists and professionals providing care for older adults with more than 18,000 doctor’s offices in Texas and Florida.
Information and resources for patients and community
We are closely following all updates and recommendations regarding COVID-19 at Vecino Health Centers. New procedures are in place to fulfill our role as the frontline of care to the patients of Houston, while maintaining the safety of our patients, staff and families.
If you are concerned you may have COVID-19, please call us
If you or someone in your family has symptoms of fever, new cough or new shortness of breath, stay calm and call your clinic:
We have an active screening process for all patients to determine who is at high risk for COVID-19*. To help prevent the spread of COVID-19, please don’t come into the clinic until after you’ve called.
The new coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak is changing rapidly and we are monitoring and preparing. We want you to be prepared, too.
Answers to Frequently Asked Questions
What are the symptoms of COVID-19?
Fever
Cough
Shortness of breath
It can take as little as two days or as long as 14 days for symptoms of COVID-19 to appear. Keep in mind that we’re also currently experiencing flu season and high pollen counts, so if you have symptoms there may be more common causes.
Do I need to be tested for COVID-19?
Not everyone who is sick needs to be tested. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that you should call your doctor if you are experiencing flu-like symptoms and have recently traveled to countries or regions where the coronavirus is spreading or have been in close contact with someone who has been diagnosed with COVID-19. If you are only experiencing mild symptoms and have not been in contact with someone who has been diagnosed with COVID-19 or traveled to one of the countries where infection has spread, you do not need to be tested.
What if I feel sick but don’t need the test?
Call your clinic or contact Houston Methodist Virtual Urgent Care. To help prevent the spread of COVID-19, please don’t come into the clinic or go to the emergency room. After discussing your symptoms, clinic staff will confirm whether or not you need to be tested and will advise you on how to treat your symptoms from home.
How do I keep my family safe from the coronavirus?
Stay home if you are sick
Wash your hands with soap and water regularly
Cover your cough and sneezes
Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth
Avoid close contact with sick individuals
Disinfect and clean commonly touched surfaces
Avoid nonessential travel to at-risk countries
Wash your hands with soap and water regularly to prevent contracting the coronavirus.
Nutrition educator Ana Hernandez brings a passion for healthy eating to Houston’s Denver Harbor community
Participants walking into a nutrition education class at Vecino’s Denver Harbor Family Clinic receive a warm welcome: an inviting display of fruits, vegetables and pantry staples lines a table at the front of the room, ready for use in hands-on learning activities. Colorful posters illustrate healthy eating and the five food groups.
But most importantly, participants are met each week by instructor Ana Hernandez, who spends time before each class catching up with families, swapping favorite recipe tips, and cheering on even the smallest successes.
Tight budgets and limited time make healthy eating a challenge
For a busy family on a tight budget, relying on prepackaged meals and fast food often seems like the only reasonable option. After all, food dollars stretch just so far, and working parents have very little time to shop and cook. Hernandez aims to change this misconception.
As a Nutrition Education Associate with Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, she shares her passion for eating with working families throughout Harris County, spreading the message that cooking meals from home is not only easy, but healthier and far less expensive than prepackaged options.
Making healthy eating fun, affordable and achievable
Through a partnership with Vecino Health Centers, Texas A&M Agrilife Extension brings the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program to the Denver Harbor community twice each year. For seven weeks in the spring and fall, Hernandez makes the prospect of healthy eating and basic exercise fun, affordable and achievable for participants.
The popular course, currently offered to Spanish-speaking patients and community members at Vecino’s Denver Harbor Family Clinic, gives participants the knowledge to understand balanced nutrition, read labels, and cook healthy meals with everyday ingredients. The program is also available in English.
“A lot of people in our community don’t know anything about how to cook for our families and how to have a healthy life,” says Hernandez. “We work with families to show them it’s not expensive to eat healthy and make better choices.”
A powerful impact on the health of a community
When it comes to the health of the community, courses like the one Hernandez’ teaches have a staggering impact. Studies show that every dollar spent on the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program reduces healthcare costs by ten dollars. For all of Harris County, where the program runs at schools, community centers, clinics, churches and jails, this equals a community-wide savings of more than eight-million dollars.
This partnership with Texas A&M Agrilife Extension is just one Vecino’s services aimed at helping patients prevent and manage chronic conditions such as diabetes and heart disease. It represents a continuing commitment to expand preventative care and improve the long-term health of the entire community.
Ana’s next nutrition class series starts on Thursday, September 19th at Vecino’s Denver Harbor Family Clinic.
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.
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.