CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Although Amistad Community Health Center provides services to thousands of patients across Corpus Christi, they’re also providing outreach to communities like Robstown and Aransas Pass. Right now, they're working to expand their services to more rural areas lacking medical resources.
For two years, Laura Cross has been utilizing Amistad in Robstown as her primary care provider.
She moved from Corpus Christi several years ago and said access to the Robstown facility has been a game changer for her after experiencing symptoms of celiac disease.
“It saved my life basically, it's [Amistad] very convenient, it’s like 15 minutes away from my house," Cross said. "It’s really a god send to have a clinic like this so close. People don’t know what they can get and where to go to get it and who to talk to.”
Across the Coastal Bend, there are many people faced with challenges in receiving health care, whether it’s transportation, financial concerns, or even insurance. Texas Community Health News reports about 18% of Nueces County residents are uninsured. Amistad has opportunities to help with that.
“They want to make a connection with their provider. The problem is that sometimes they feel like they have to travel to do that," Family Medicine Physician Dr. Luis Fuentes, said. "There are providers here in town, but they’re not as numerous as they are in other places. For us, it was important for us to come in and be able to give the care that people are looking for.”
Fuentes has been practicing medicine in the Coastal Bend for nine years, but has working with Amistad for nearly five years. He specializes in holistic medicine and treating chronic conditions for his patients. He emphasized that Amistad also points patients in the right direction for other services like behavioral health and women's health.
“We're able to just be the place where they come and then we can connect them to get all their services done for them," Fuentes added.
He said he and his team are pushing to get the word out about Amistad Community Health Center and its mission to help all communities, so no one has to be without accessible health care.
"It’s the word of mouth that’s kind of happening. We are just very blessed and lucky to have those connections with people in the community," Fuentes said. "The tough part was getting people to realize those connections are there."
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