Neighborhood Health Centers: Primary Care and More, Close to Home

Northside NHC 2019

By Kaley Johnson

Cook Children’s operates seven Neighborhood Health Centers around the Fort Worth area, with two more set to open in the next 18 months. The centers provide unique services in the community, particularly for underserved children and families.

The main mission of the Neighborhood Health Centers is to provide holistic health care and primary medical care to underserved communities, explained Vida Amin, M.D., Medical Advisor for the Neighborhood Health Centers. The centers are strategically placed in areas where residents have less access to health care due to lack of transportation, low socioeconomic status or other factors.

In 2023, the Neighborhood Health Centers saw 125,761 patient visits across the seven locations; over 50% of those patients were on Cook Children’s Health Plan and the rest were on a variety of other government insurance plans.

“Healthcare should be available to children across the board,” Dr. Amin said. “We are ensuring that we are not only taking care of the child's health but also ensuring that we’re helping the families as well, to support their child.”

That support extends beyond basic medical care. Christina Reed, LMSW, has been the Neighborhood Health Centers’ Operations Director for five years. She explained the vast support system the Neighborhood Health Centers provide for families in each area. Patients of the Neighborhood Health Centers have access to dieticians, referral coordinators, speech therapists, behavioral health therapists, community health workers, and even dental services, all within their medical home. These teams work seamlessly with community and Cook Children’s partners to assess and address patient needs in a timely and holistic manner.

“Whether it’s transportation needs or maneuvering through school issues, the NHC providers and staff are part of the child’s support system, working to help the child and their family be successful beyond basic medical care,” said Veronica Tolley, Vice President of Primary and Specialty Services. 

This holistic approach to care emphasizes the importance of going beyond “basic” medical care to set families up for healthy lives. Dr. Amin understands the significance of health care access firsthand; she and her family visited health centers after her family immigrated to the U.S. when she was young.

“For children, if you can intervene in health, it can make such a massive impact on the trajectory of a child’s life,” she said. “It’s not just with the patient, but with the family and how to support their child.”

In order to set patients up for better health in the future, the Neighborhood Health Centers emphasize health care education and health screenings for patients. Staff members screen patients for adolescent depression, post-partum depression, cholesterol levels, food insecurity, and common illnesses to identify areas where families might need more support. Immunization is also an important piece of the centers’ care; in 2021 to 2023, nearly half of the visits at the health centers were for patients receiving vaccines.

Staff also work with families to overcome barriers to future healthcare access. A large part of that support system involves partnerships. For example, the Neighborhood Health Centers collaborate with the Cook Children’s Homeless Initiative to provide primary care services to children staying in local shelters.

“It brings me a tremendous amount of pride in what we do,” Christina said. “The way we collaborate with the Cook system and our communities; it is absolutely the most impactful work that I’ve been a part of.”

We look forward to sharing more in future stories about the special people working in the Neighborhood Health Centers who live the mission every day in keeping our Cook Children’s Promise!