(Canyon)—It opened four years ago to meet the primary-care needs of the medically underserved in southeast Amarillo. It has done that and a great deal more.
The West Texas A&M University Health Partners Clinic now has more than 2,500 patients on file, and they come from throughout the city, not just the southeast quadrant.
"At first it was only patients from nearby, the local community, but that changed when word got out that we accept Medicare, Medicaid and insurance," Angela Phillips, clinic director and family nurse practitioner, said. "Now we serve patients from all over. In fact, we're bursting at the seams."
The Health Partners Clinic opened March 10, 2003, as part of a federal initiative known as "Healthy Neighborhoods." Since then, the clinic has become a true partner within the broader community.
The full-service health features three examination rooms and is staffed by five full-time employees: two nurse practitioners, a registered nurse, a business manager and a receptionist. West Texas A&M nursing faculty and students pitch in, too, as the clinic offers everything from care for acute and chronic illnesses to immunizations and pregnancy tests.
Besides clientele from the immediate neighborhood, Phillips and her staff provide services for a large refuge population through Catholic Family Services, and they assess children for Head Start, a program of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The clinic also contracts with both Child and Adult Protective Services to perform examinations required by law.
Athletic teams from a wide geographic area rely on the clinic for physical examinations, and the facility increasingly is involved in the Texas Vaccines for Children program of the Texas Department of State Health Services and Reach Out and Read, a national initiative to promote early literacy among children.
"When we established the Health Partners Clinic in Amarillo, our expectations were high; we knew it would have a positive impact on the community," Heidi Taylor, interim dean of WTAMU's College of Nursing and Health Sciences, said. "I think it's safe to say we've surpassed those expectations.
"Angela Phillips and her staff have raised the bar and broadened the role of the clinic in the community, and yet perhaps the best is still to come."
Phillips said she hopes to further expand the clinic's role through collaborations within the university. WTAMU's Communication Disorders Program, for example, might one day administer on-site evaluations to clinic clients. And nurse practitioners could examine athletes after they undergo the rigors of stress and ability testing at WTAMU's Human Performance Research Lab.
"We always want to be here to reach the people, especially the young and the elderly, who rely on us in this neighborhood," Phillips said. "That's why we're here, but there are other opportunities for community service that we cannot ignore. We think we can do more, so we will do more."
The Health Partners Clinic is able to up the ante thanks to the presence of WTAMU nursing students, who perform clinicals at the facility, and members of the nursing faculty, who deliver specialized clinics and seminars on everything from weight loss to foot care.
"This clinic is designed so that it can be utilized as a teaching facility," Dana Sparkman, a graduate student in the University's Family Nurse Practitioner Program, said. "Some places you work you have to get the patients in and out quickly, but here you get plenty of clinical time with patients. It's an ideal learning environment. You get to know the patients, and you have more time to help them."
Kendall Bunch, the clinic's business manager, said there remain misconceptions about the Health Partner's Clinic.
"Some still believe that only students work here, but they're here to learn under seasoned professionals and are basically assistants," she said. "And people don't realize we take insurance. But I think word is getting around. How else could we have more than 2,500 patients on file? And that number is growing." 