Haltom Clinic

Haltom Clinic Opens!

2008-05-14T11:20:00.000-07:00

From the Fort Worth Star-Telegram article by Terry Webster:

The second JPS Health Network clinic to serve economically disadvantaged children in the Birdville school district is opening.

Organizers say the clinic will treat children from the Birdville and Fort Worth school districts who have no access to healthcare.

About the clinic

It will treat students and their siblings, up to age 18, for a $5 office fee.

It caters to students who are underinsured or receive Medicaid but do not have a specified primary-care physician.

Services include checkups, sports physicals, and management of chronic illnesses such as asthma and diabetes.

Location: 2907 Layton Ave., Haltom City

Serving the poor

The location was chosen because nine schools from the Birdville and Fort Worth districts lie within a five-mile radius, organizers said. The average percentage of students receiving free and reduced-price meals at the schools, a common indicator of poverty, is 85 percent or above.

Partnerships

JPS has formed partnerships with schools throughout Tarrant County.

For this new clinic, the Richland Hills Church of Christ and NorthWood Church in Keller have partnered by raising money for renovations.

Other clinics

JPS operates several area clinics, including one in the Birdville district next to the Academy at Carrie F. Thomas in North Richland Hills, and others in the Grapevine-Colleyville, Hurst-Euless-Bedford, White Settlement, Fort Worth and Arlington districts.

The clinic near the Academy at Carrie F. Thomas opened in fall 2006 and has served more than 5,200 students.

Before work started....

Dedication day, May 8, 2008....the West Birdville 4th Grade Choir....

The West Birdville Dancers....

An inside look....

A kingdom seed has been planted in Haltom City. Thanks to all those who were willing to believe something like this could happen!

Clinic Dedication - May 8, 2008

2008-04-23T09:10:00.000-07:00

The dedication ceremonies for the new JPS clinic-Haltom City are scheduled for Thursday, May 8 at 10 AM. The public is invited to this event that we've been anticipating for about a year. The address is 2807 Layton Ave, Fort Worth, TX. 76117.

More Progress...

2008-04-22T18:56:00.000-07:00

Carpet's down and new outside paint going on.

A walk-through with some crazy visionaries...

2008-04-11T13:59:00.000-07:00

Today several of us met at the clinic in Haltom city. Those attending included folks from the BISD schools, JPS Hospital, the Northwood Church, the Richland Hills Church of Christ, along with several others.

I looked around and thought about this group. It's amazing how much good can happen in a short period of time. Just a few weeks ago, this clinic for children was a dream.

On a cold winter day, many in this same group gathered. We stared a four walls, concrete floors, and open air above us (the structure had no roof and served no purpose).

Could God help us restore a building so that it could be used to treat children with their medical needs?

We looked at each other, believing He could--which is exactly what's happening!

Granite Counter Tops Installed

2008-04-11T11:42:00.000-07:00

Why followers of Jesus care about a clinic?

2008-03-14T13:40:00.000-07:00

Because God tells us that we're supposed to....

"Speak up for the people who have no voice,
for the rights of all the down-and-outers.--Proverbs 31:8

Insulation and Sheetrock Go Up

2008-03-10T11:33:00.000-07:00

Next Stage: Heating and Air Conditioning

2008-03-05T09:10:00.000-08:00

Electricity Arrives

2008-03-01T08:13:00.000-08:00

Progress - Week of Feb. 11

2008-02-16T08:41:00.000-08:00

The framing is helping things take shape. I know it looks like just a bunch of lumber, but the reception office can be located.

The waiting room and various treatment rooms are also beginning to take shape.

Windows are providing light. And toward week's end, the wiring for electricity was being installed. If you squint, you can probably see some of the wire.

JPS Is Partner In The Clinic

2008-02-09T10:49:00.000-08:00

In addition to the cooperation of the churches and other concerned citizens, JPS is playing a key role in the Haltom Clinic. Here are portions of a Star-Telegram article about a BISD clinic in which we also looked to JPS for professional support. Article text:

The Birdville school district is seeing high demand for its JPS Health Network clinic at the Academy at Carrie F. Thomas elementary school.

The clinic, which opened in the fall, is operating above expectations. The clinic treated 3,276 children in 2006-07, according to a recent report on health services provided by the Birdville district.

Local and national officials say that schools must confront student healthcare head-on, because learning is interrupted when children are ill in class or absent.

"It's not their fault that they're sick and that their families do not have good finances," said Judy Beverly, Birdville coordinator of health services. "They still have the need to be healthy."

--Terry Webster, Star Telegram

Progress - Week of Feb. 4

2008-02-09T09:28:00.000-08:00

The prep on clinic proceeds with some....

...under-the-slab plumbing and the inside walls starting to go up....

....window spaces being cut into block (inside view)....

....windows coming (outside view).

Listen to Isaiah

2008-01-14T09:52:00.000-08:00

If you are generous with the hungry
and start giving yourselves to the down-and-out,
Your lives will begin to glow in the darkness,
your shadowed lives will be bathed in sunlight.
I will always show you where to go.
I'll give you a full life in the emptiest of places—
firm muscles, strong bones.
You'll be like a well-watered garden,
a gurgling spring that never runs dry.
You'll use the old rubble of past lives to build anew,
rebuild the foundations from out of your past.
You'll be known as those who can fix anything,
restore old ruins, rebuild and renovate,
make the community livable again (Isaiah 58:10-12, The Message).

Jesus Seeks the Sick

2008-01-14T08:10:00.000-08:00

When I think back to being a child in VBS or Sunday School, I remember learning about the story of Jesus. A big part of what I learned involved His encounters with the the sick or disabled: the blind men, the lepers, a soldier's servant with a life-threatening disease, a paralized man lowered through a roof, and so on.

Jesus restored people's health. It mattered to Him then. It still does. One important characteristic of walking in the way of Jesus is looking after the sick (Matthew 25:31-40).

This explains our efforts to open a new clinic. It will offer physicals, treatment for minor illnesses and injuries, and routine laboratory work for thousands of children each year.

The clinic will be open five days a week, except on school holidays. Through it, we believe Jesus will be honored and His story will continue.

Week One

2008-01-12T13:12:00.000-08:00

Now that the dust is stirring, a walk down memory lane....and the way we were....

New decking for roof...

New shingles. No more open air...

The indoor work begins...

Before Work Began

2008-01-12T10:57:00.000-08:00

Jesus led us to a building site, where we huddled inside four, simple walls. It was roofless. Totally gutted. A lone, broken building standing in the middle of neighborhoods marked by brokenness and need.

Just the sort of place Jesus seeks to restore.

Someone had scrawled a message on one wall. It was like God had prepared for our arrival. If we squinted our eyes, we could read:

The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me,
Because the LORD has anointed me
To bring good news to the afflicted;
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to captives
And freedom to prisoners (Isaiah 61:1).