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In response to the critical need for affordable healthcare in many Greater Houston communities, CHRISTUS Foundation for HealthCare has introduced the Healthy Neighborhoods Initiative.

Through a synergistic relationship among three vital CHRISTUS Foundation ministries, the Healthy Neighborhoods Initiative provides a continuum of care to families for whom medical care is often deemed an unaffordable luxury until illnesses have progressed and emergency care is required.

CHRISTUS St. Mary's Clinic is the Program's Home Base

The hub of the Healthy Neighborhoods Initiative plan is the new CHRISTUS St. Mary’s Clinic, at Wayside Drive and I-45 South. Under the direction of Sister Rosanne Popp, M.D., this primary care clinic provides basic healthcare along with a full array of medical and diagnostic services.

CHRISTUS St. Mary’s Clinic is located in close proximity to many CHRISTUS School Based Clinics, as well as near routes frequented by the CHRISTUS Healthy Living Mobile Clinic. Together these three ministries are building on each other’s strengths for more comprehensive patient care.

CHRISTUS Mobile and School Based Clinics are Outposts for Care

Patients served by the CHRISTUS Healthy Living Mobile Clinic for maintenance of conditions such as diabetes and hypertension are also being referred to CHRISTUS St. Mary’s Clinic when the need for a primary physician arises. Conversely, a patient who has received care at St. Mary’s can be subsequently monitored via the Mobile Clinic, which visits a given neighborhood every three to six months.

Already serving more than 20,000 patients annually, the current CHRISTUS Healthy Living Mobile Clinic will soon be joined by a much-needed second mobile unit.

CHRISTUS School Based Clinics are part of this care continuum in similar fashion. Most of the nine Houston-area School Based Clinics are located in close proximity to St. Mary’s. While addressing immediate student-health needs on a day-to-day basis, health practitioners at School Based Clinics refer students to St. Mary’s for conditions that require close monitoring, such as diabetes or asthma.

Overseeing patient health throughout the Healthy Neighborhoods Initiative is efficient thanks to shared records among the participating CHRISTUS programs.