The Atascosa Health Center (AHC) is a nonprofit 501(c) (3) Community Health Center. We provide quality, affordable and accessible medical, dental and behavioral health services for the indigent, uninsured or underinsured residents of Atascosa, Karnes and Wilson counties in Texas.
AHC was established in 1978 under the Neighborhood Health Center (NHC) Program in response to the lack of available, accessible, acceptable and accountable health care services to large segments of both urban and rural, and generally poor and minority populations.
The center aimed to provide health promotion and quality primary care health service to all residents of Atascosa County regardless of their ability to pay.
Judge Henry B. Coward was instrumental in bringing the initial model of the clinic to the county, under direction of the Southwest Migrant Council, San Antonio Texas. This 1976 effort was a very important first step in providing many of the county residents with access to basic health care services. The clinic, then administered through a large agency based in a metropolitan area some thirty miles north of the community, met with numerous challenges. The existing program offered no opportunity for priority setting, or control by local authorities, of funds awarded for the county’s medical services. In 1978, a group of local medical providers and citizens met to express their concerns about the model. AHC was established in 1978 under the Neighborhood Health Center (NHC) Program in response to the lack of available, accessible, acceptable and accountable health care services to large segments of both urban and rural, and generally poor and minority populations.
Following this meeting, Dr. Gerald Philips and Denise Beck, Chair of the Atascosa County Rural Health Initiative Program Board of Directors, submitted a competitive grant to the Department of Health, Education and Welfare (DHEW) which was then responsible for the Neighborhood Health Center Program. The grant focused on the establishment of a clinic that would be governed by a local Board of Directors consisting of medical providers, local elected officials and a consumer majority. These individuals, along with the 18 board members appointed by local elected officials, guided the formation of the Atascosa Health Center.
AHC has evolved through the years into a Joint Commission-certified true “Center of Excellence”, offering high quality primary medical and dental services to the low income, underinsured, and uninsured population of the community. AHC also has attracted insured and paying community residents who are drawn by the Center’s commitment to customer service and ability to meet the needs of the community at one site. The center is governed by 15 member Board of Directors, all of whom are area residents and a majority of whom use AHC services.
Since its inception the Atascosa Health Center has grown from a small migrant health clinic serving Atascosa County to a regional network of three highly integrated one-stop facilities that serve the tri-county region of Atascosa, Karnes and Wilson counties.
This longevity and growth has been possible because of the continual focus on the community’s involvement in the development of services responsive to the community needs.
