Midtown Houston's San Jose Clinic

According to the American Hospital Association Texas has the highest number of uninsured adults amongst all of the states. The Census Bureau figures, show Houston with the highest rate among the nation's top 10 metropolitan areas. Midtown Houston is home to an organization that has been stepping up to challenge this health crisis for over 80 years, the San Jose Clinic.

Studies from the past 25 years indicate that being uninsured is hazardous to your health. The uninsured are more likely to have high infant mortality rates, and are more likely to develop high blood pressure and hypertension.

A Safety Net For All

Most people in Houston have heard of "Art with a Heart", but it's how they provide health care with a heart, at the San Jose, that sets them apart from other area clinics. These Midtown Houston angels of mercy are servants leaders in the local health care field.

The Clinic has delivered some of the best forward thinking approaches in the state of Texas toward the health crisis. They have championed offering low cost services to the rising tide of uninsured and under-insured Houstonians. The best estimates show 1 in 3 people in this city of medicine miracles have little or no health care coverage, San Jose Clinic has become part of the fabric in their safety net.

Our Human Capital At Risk

Even when the uninsured see doctors, they often can't afford drugs. They die sooner. They have more complications, and they are more disabled. It's easy to understand why millions depend on San Jose and other clinics in the Houston area for their survival.

What's hard to understand, is why our elected officials in Austin would neglect the future human capital of the state, by forfeiting more than $900 million in federal money under the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) during the past six years because they wouldn't put up 28 cents for each 72 cents in federal aid.

Filling in The Gap

Midtown Houston's San Jose Clinic does a lot more than just provide a safe, dignified setting for people who don't qualify for Medicare, Medicaid or county health services and cannot afford to purchase private insurance. They try to fill the gap between primary and hospital care with their own specialists, but the wait can still take months.

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LIVE WORDS

What’s all this stuff I keep hearing about a problem in Midtown with the number of homeless people that gather in our area. Let’s talk facts instead of emotions.
As many as 14,000 people in Houston are homeless and despite popular belief most of them aren’t hanging out in Midtown. According to a recent survey after losing their jobs 59% of the people become homeless, it’s no secret that anyone can miss one or more paychecks and find themselves in the same situation.
Homelessness must be addressed on a larger platform than the” not in my neighborhood” mentality that seems to imply that we value our property values more than we value people. If we can put a man on the moon then surely we can put a homeless person in a house.
We should be asking the power brokers and elected officials to make ending homelessness a priority. Why settle for a transfer of the homeless population when what this city needs is a transformation of the of the homelessness situation.
Familiarizing ourselves with the real issues surrounding homelessness and becoming an advocate for change can make a real difference in the lives of our friends, family members and others who may experience these circumstances.
Or have we become a city where we would rather spend millions on Green spaces and public art and forget about the thousands of people that are sleeping on the streets.

Visit the homeless guy blog and read the journal of a homeless man who blogs from the public library in Nashville, Ten. and get a real idea of what’s happening in our cities, our country, our society to people living in challenging situations.

photos from flickr

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