to read the full article - Community Health Development, Inc.

8A
UVALDE LEADER-NEWS
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2013
Annual luncheon honors local first-responders
Two local businesses
recently gave back to those
who serve our community
in honor of the September 11th anniversary.
Rushing-EstesKnowles Mortuary
served 117 guests when
they hosted the third
annual 9/11 luncheon
honoring local first
responders on Sept. 11 at
the business’ main office.
Those in attendance
included members of the
Uvalde Police Department, Uvalde County
Sheriff’s Office, Uvalde
Volunteer Fire Department, Uvalde EMS, Texas
Department of Public
Safety, U.S Marshals Service, Department of Homeland Security, Sabinal
Police Department, Reagan
Wells Fire Department, La
Pryor Fire Department,
Alamo Area Ambulance,
Utopia EMS, Southwest
Texas Junior College Police
Department, Zavala County
Sheriff’s Department, U.S
Immigration and Customs
agents, and Constable John
Simpson of Batesville.
‘We cant say enough
about what they do for
our community and
we can’t repay them for
that, but this is our way
of honoring them.’
David Gonzales
Guests were treated to a
free barbecue lunch, dessert and refreshments.
According to funeral
director David Gonzales,
the event began three years
ago as a way to honor local
first responders for their
community service.
“It gives us a good opportunity to service the people
that put their lives on the
line everyday,” Gonzales
said. “We cant say enough
about what they do for our
community and we can’t
repay them for that, but
this is our way of honoring them.”
Also with the goal of
giving back, the Uvalde
H-E-B grocery store
served 30 Uvalde Volunteer Firefighters during
its third annual Helping Heroes breakfast on
Sept. 13.
According to H-E-B
Administrative Assistant Dora Galindo, the
event, which was held at
the the Uvalde Volunteer Fire Department, is
a way for the store to give
back to the firefighters that
put their lives at risk on a
daily basis.
“We wanted to honor our
local firefighters for everything they do for our community,” Galindo said.
Firefighters were served
a free breakfast of tacos,
fruit, donuts and refreshments.
STEVE BALKE|LEADER-NEWS
Rushing-Estes-Knowles Mortuary staff (back) pose for a picture with Texas Department of Public Safety Troopers during the third-annual 9/11 luncheon held Sept. 11.
Flu vaccinations now
available from CHDI
Shots free of charge to certain adults, children
Flu vaccinations are now available at
Community Health Development, Inc.
Each of its three medical health centers
is now offering vaccinations designed to
protect against strains of the flu virus
expected to be in circulation this fall and
winter.
The vaccination is provided free of
charge to adults covered by Medicare
Part B and to children ages 6 months old
through 18 years old. For all others there
is a flat fee of $18 per person.
Community Health Development, Inc.
has three medical health center cam-
puses now offering the flu vaccination:
Our Health/Nuestro Centro de Salud,
830-278-7105, is located at 200 South Evans
St.
Rolling Hills Health, 830-232-6985, is
located at Highway 83 and Oakhill Drive
in Leakey and provides medical care to
patients from Real, Kerr, and Bandera
counties.
Canyon Health Center, 830-597-6424, is
located at 700 Frio St. in Camp Wood.
For more information about Community Health Development, Inc. visit www.
chdi4health.org.
In Loving Memory
Get Noticed.
Victor M. “Pellit” Cruz, Jr
September 22, 1980 – September 23, 2002
From time to time, through the years
The world has brought me down to
teach me about pain,
And has filled my eyes with tears, but there
came a day, that I could not understand and
that was the day I had to start living in this
world without you!
Happy Birthday, Son
Love you and miss you – Mom, Dad, Vincent & Sarah
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A portion of the
proceeds will be
donated back to
the community.
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2013
UVALDE LEADER-NEWS
9A
CHDI celebrates 30 years of medical service
KIM EAGLE
STAFF WRITER
Rachel Gonzales-Hanson, chief executive officer of Community Health
Development Inc., recently
gave a presentation to the
Uvalde Rotary Club about
CHDI and what it does for
the community.
The presentation was
part of CHDI’s 30th anniversary celebration.
“CHDI and other health
centers provide a local
solution to the national
problem of providing
affordable health care
by forming partnerships
between people on the federal level and people on
the community level,” said
Gonzales-Hanson. “CHDI
is a non-profit agency that
provides primary health
care with an integrated
approach.”
According to GonzalesHanson, health centers
like CHDI are important because they serve
people and communities
not served by others. The
services offered are open
to everyone, regardless of
ability to pay.
CHDI has two locations
in Uvalde, one in Leakey
and one in Camp Wood.
In 1984, CHDI operated
out of an 800 square foot
trailer with four employees. The organization was
contracted with the hospital for physician coverage.
In 1986, the first fulltime physician was hired
and in 1991 the organization began operating an
in-house pharmacy. In
2000, CHDI moved to South
Evans
Street and
soon after
began offering on-site
dental services. From
2009-2013
a capital
Rachel
Gonzales-Hanson improvement project was carried out to
make possible a new site
that now houses three
buildings that cost $7.2
million to erect.
Gonzales-Hanson said
that she hopes the final
payment for that project
will be made next month.
In addition to routine
medical care, CHDI makes
Neal’s Dining Room
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Mon. - Wed., Sept. 23-25 – 11 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Thursday, Sept. 26 – 11 a.m. - 2 p.m.
& 6 - 7:30 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 27 – 7-8 a.m., 11 a.m. - 2 p.m.
& 5:30 - 8:30 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 28 – 7 a.m. - 2 p.m.
& 5:30 - 8:30 p.m.
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www.nealsdiningroom.com
“This is not a duplicate
count. These are actual
people that we see,” said
Gonzales-Hanson. “If you
take into consideration
our service area is about
30,000 in population, we
are the medical and dental
home for over one-third
of the entire population of
this area.”
Of the 11,521 patients, 70
percent are insured and 76
percent are at or below 150
percent above poverty line.
“We are actually seeing
an increase in the working
poor,” said Gonzales-Hanson. “So we have people
who have jobs but have
lost their insurance or
people who have recently
lost their jobs and insurance.”
Today, CHDI operates
on a $7 million operating
budget provided by various sources.
“The biggest amount is
not from the federal government, or even from the
state,” said Gonzales-Hanson. “The biggest amount
is what people pay and
available many services
to the community, including dental care services,
specialty case referrals,
diagnostic lab and x-ray
services, on-site pharmacy,
disease screening, teaching kitchen, fitness center,
and insurance exchange
eligibility and registration.
“Yes, we provide a service to the community and
we are very honored to be
able to do that, but what’s
also important and something that people don’t
always understand, is that
we are an economic impact
in the communities where
we are located,” said Gonzales-Hanson.
According to information from the 2008-2009
fiscal year, the total budget
for CHDI was $6.1 million,
and that includes salary
for 93 jobs.
“That is a great investment in our community,”
said Gonzales-Hanson.
In 2012, CHDI provided
24,709 medical and 9,115
dental visits to 11,521
patients.
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(Formerly Star Loans)
111 W. Nopal • Uvalde •278-1655
what we get from thirdparty contracts.”
Nearly 41 percent of
budget costs are paid from
federal funds, 43 percent
from program income,
four percent by Uvalde
County and the City of
Uvalde, five percent from
other income, and seven
percent from in-kind.
“So if you want to talk
about how much of your
money as tax payers is
being spent... our total
cost per patient per year
is $530.23,” said GonzalesHanson.
“I hope that you feel your
money is well invested,”
said Gonzales-Hanson.
Gonzales-Hanson ended
her presentation by thanking the Rotary Club and
the city of Uvalde for supporting CHDI and all it
does for the community.
KEAGLE@UVALDELEADERNEWS.COM,
830-278-3335
Dr. roy ramirez, DC
• Auto, Work & Sports Injuries
• Massage Therapy
• Acupuncture
119 E. Leona • Uvalde
(830) 278-4880
Margie, Cookie and Dr. Roy Ramirez
Open Mon-Wed-Fri 9-12 & 2-6 p.m.
Most Insurance plus BCBS accepted.
IT’S NOT TOO LATE
JOIN US!
6th Annual Uvalde
Walk for Autism
Saturday, September 28 •
8 a.m. Onsite Registration 9 a.m. Opening Ceremony
Southwest Texas Junior College
1 Mile Walk • 5K Run • Kids Fun Run
Individual and team registration available
Contact Amy Garcia (830) 279-2551 or
Gina Stocks (830) 591-6866
Registration Forms available at
Uvalde Chamber of Commerce or
email a request to
ginastocks@sbcglobal.net or
cccagarcia@yahoo.com.