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Lagging behind The number of health care and social services facilities per 10,000 residents in most Tomball and Magnolia ZIP codes is below that in Texas and Harris and Montgomery counties, 2020 data shows. = NUMBER OF FACILITIES PER 10,000 PEOPLE
“direct primary care approach,” which means insurance is not needed. “I recognized that the lack of health care in the area led to patients having to drive many miles for a simple solution. By opening the clinic in this area, our patients are able to make quick trips to the clinic,” Kern said. Traveling for health care Although access to health care varies across the community, Robert Marmerstein, chief executive o cer of HCA Houston Healthcare Tom- ball, said HCA believes access has improved with new roads. “With the [Hwy.] 249 toll road extension open, travel times to Mag- nolia and beyond have dropped dra- matically. Consequently, access from these areas to our acute care facilities is easier than ever. … We now have access to HCA Houston Healthcare’s AirLife emergency medical transport services for acute emergencies or traumatic injuries that require more emergent transport,” Marmerstein said in an email. In addition, Simmons said TOMAGWA o ers in-home visits for immobile or very ill patients, a service that has been piloted during the pan- demic with hopes to make it a formal program in rural areas. TOMAGWA also rolled out a part- nership with Northwest Commu- nity Health, an ambulance provider in Tomball, earlier this year to pro- vide transportation at no cost for TOMAGWA patients to appointments within the service area. “We’re hoping as we continue to collect data on this relationship, we can work with Northwest EMS to secure even more funding for that so we can expand the number of patients we help,” Simmons said. Expansion plans Rachel Steele, executive director of city of Magnolia economic develop- ment, said in an interview the city has been unable to attract any large health care companies, but the city is concen- trating on growing its economic devel- opment program in the next eight to 10 months so it can attract more entities, such as health care facilities. How- ever, Steele said she believes it is just a matter of having more houses, which means more people and a greater need for health care. Marmerstein said in a statement that HCA is actively seeking opportunities
7 7375
31.8
HARRIS COUNTY
26.4
TEXAS
25.5
MONTGOMERY COUNTY
24.9
7 7354
Four out of ve local ZIP codes fall below state and county averages for facilities per 10,000 residents, according to 2020 data. ZIP 77375, which ranks above state and county averages, is home to Tomball’s hospital.
20
7 737 7
14.1
7 7355
10.3
7 7362
8
MAGNOLIA PHARMACY Additional services : testing, vaccinations, connecting patients to practitioners 18230 FM 1488, Magnolia 281-356-9089 www.magnoliapharmacy.com TOMAGWA HEALTHCARE MINISTRIES Additional services: family health, dental, lab and pharmacy services for uninsured/underinsured residents 455 School St., Ste. 30, Tomball 18230 FM 1488, Ste. 203, Magnolia 281-357-0747 www.tomagwa.org OLD RUGGED CROSS HEALTHCARE Additional services: general and family practice, telehealth, unlimited text plan to contact health care provider 23922 Nichols Sawmill Road, Hockley 832-521-3839 www.oldruggedcrosshealthcare.com FILLING THE GAP Clinics and pharmacies are helping provide health care where access is lacking, such as western Magnolia.
facilities has outpaced population growth in four of ve ZIP codes locally, the number of facilities per 10,000 people remains below the numbers statewide and in Harris and Montgomery counties. In addition to HCA Tomball, the region is home to a handful of urgent care and emergency clinics and med- ical o ces. However, most provide primary care services, causing chal- lenges for accessing specialty care, especially for those with chronic con- ditions, said Dr. Bettina Beech, Uni- versity of Houston’s chief population health o cer. “We’ve seen a plethora of urgent care services, which are sorely needed. But sometimes getting access to spe- cialty care can be challenging—even getting an appointment,” Beech said. Need for support services Patients in rural areas experience sev- eral challenges with the lack of larger hospitals, health care facilities and specialty care in scheduling appoint- ments, whether it is nding a provider accepting new patients, a ordable care, insurance access, specialty care or traveling long distances, Beech said.
To help serve the growing demand and provide more robust services, Simmons said TOMAGWA is pursu- ing a designation as a federally qual- i ed health care center, a process TOMAGWA began in 2020 that would allow the health center to receive fed- eral grant funds; the clinic is await- ing the release of state funds to help a ord the transition. “In the meantime, the community will struggle because our entire service area is a physician shortage area and a medically underserved area,” Sim- mons said. “Even people with insur- ance will have a hard time nding a primary care physician and then those specialists they need.” In Magnolia, Ho art said he has tried to address some of the chal- lenges of limited health care access by o ering services at the pharmacy. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the pharmacy o ered vaccines and test- ing for strep and hormone and thyroid levels. He said the pharmacy has been slowly rolling those services back out. In addition, Old Rugged Cross Health- care is a cash-pay health clinic in Hock- ley, owner Christy Kern said in an email. Kern said Old Rugged Cross uses a
SOURCES: MAGNOLIA PHARMACY, TOMAGWA HEALTHCARE MINISTRIES, OLD RUGGED CROSS HEALTHCARE COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
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COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER • COMMUNITYIMPACT.COM
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