Health For All is a nonprofit, volunteer-based, community supported primary health care clinic that was founded in 1987. Through generous community support, we provide free doctor visits, pharmaceuticals, eye exams, foot exams, lab tests, X-rays, smoking cessation, diabetes management, coumadin education and counseling services care to low income adults in the Brazos Valley who do not have health insurance or qualify for government programs such as Medicaid, Medicare or County Indigent funds.
Health for All treats about 4000 patients each year utilizing a team of volunteer medical professionals. We are able to deliver services at a very low cost thanks to a small staff and a large number of dedicted volunteers and community partners. By providing an alternative to expensive emergency room visits by the uninsured, Health For All saves Brazos Valley hospitals and taxpayers millions of dollars each year.
Our Mission
To provide free community-centered primary and preventive health care for low income, medically uninsured individuals in the Brazos Valley.
Our Goal
To improve community health and reduce the cost of indigent health care by providing an alternative to the emergency room for low income, medically uninsured patients.
Our Values
Health For All seeks to:
- Create a patient friendly environment
- Treat every individual with dignity and respect
- Deliver high quality care
- Achieve measurable positive outcomes
- Ensure effective utilization of resources
- Provide a meaningful experience for patients, volunteers & staff
The Need
Texas has the highest uninsured rate in the nation, with 25% of our population living without health insurance. In the Brazos Valley alone, approximately 60,000 people are uninsured.
The uninsured are much less likely to seek preventative health care or receive treatment for symptoms that can have serious health consequences if not treated, and are more likely to die from curable health problems.
It costs Texas taxpayers, employers and insured individuals about $9.2 billion per year to subsidize health care for the uninsured. Approximately $1,600 of each annual health insurance premium is due to the cost of emergency care for the uninsured.
Health For All saves our community over $116,000 per month ($6,000,000 per year) by providing primary health care at a much lower cost than is possible through hospital emergency rooms.
Our Patients
Health For All serves the “Working Poor”
Our patients are between the ages of 18 and 64 because this is the age range that is not automatically elegible for existing government programs. 80% of our patients earn less than $1,500/month. Over 60% of our patients are female and most are single parents. We serve patients from over 20 counties, but over 90% live in the Brazos Valley.
History
Health For All opened in 1987 in a donated motel room and served as a place where the low income, uninsured members of our community could receive free basic medical care .
The need for this service in our community was realized immediately and the clinic grew and advanced through five locations to its present professionally equipped site.
Health For All has gone from providing the most basic of medical care for a few patients per week to providing a wide range of free health care services for hundreds of patients per month.