Texas Gulf Coast Project Access

In November of 2005, Gateway to Care launched the Provider Health Network (PHN) which was based on a national model called Project Access; said model aims to connect people to medical specialists with the objective of improving clinical outcomes and reducing healthcare costs by providing specialty care and in appropriate settings.

Today, the Texas Gulf Coast Project Access (TGCPA) includes two programs:

1) Provider Health Network (PHN) and

2) “Surgical Saturdays” (SSD).

The goals of the PHN and SSD programs are to navigate and coordinate eligible clients to specialty care pro bono services as we highlight the ‘Medical Missions at Home’ opportunities available to medical professionals in the Houston/Harris County/Texas Gulf Coast Region.

Provider Health Network

Our mission is to improve access to health care for uninsured individuals through clinical navigation and donated specialty services. The PHN is comprised of volunteer healthcare providers: physicians, ancillary healthcare providers, hospitals and community organizations who donate – at no charge – specialty care to low income, uninsured persons in Harris and neighboring counties.

The Provider Health Network (PHN) facilitates access to adequate pro bono specialty health care services for uninsured residents Monday through Friday.

Working with our community health partners, PHN assists uninsured patients in overcoming individual barriers to specialty care. Our Clinical Navigators have extensive knowledge of community programs and resources, health education, and healthcare utilization that is invaluable to our community.

The Provider Health Network’s RN Patient Care Coordinator works closely with the navigator and volunteer physicians to give the patients the specialty care navigation they need. We also relieve the specialty provider of the burden of coordinating the many other healthcare services needed for the procedure. This coordination includes prescription medications, labs, radiology, and other services at no or very low cost.

Through the generosity of our network of over 250 area volunteer physicians, ancillary healthcare providers, hospitals and community organizations, over $21.6M worth of health care services have been donated to needy patients enrolled in the program.

Surgical Saturdays

Surgical Saturdays, an extension of the Monday – Friday Provider Health Network, offers pro bono specialty care navigation-coordination and surgeries to eligible individuals on designated Saturdays.

The first Texas Gulf Coast Project Access’ inaugural ‘Surgical Saturdays’ event was held April 25 with collaborative partners Memorial Hermann, Southwest Surgical Associates – Dr.Rick Ngo, Memorial Pathology Consultants, United Surgical Partners International, Greater Houston Anesthesiology, U.S. Anesthesia Partners and a host of neighborhood primary care clinics.

What are the Benefits and Why do Doctors Participate?

The Texas Gulf Coast Project Access programs are a resource for physicians already caring for low-income, uninsured patients in their practices. We help overcome cultural, logistical and financial barriers for patients. We insist that all patients have a ‘Health Home’ for general primary care needs. The TGCPA program removes the ‘hassle factor’ for physicians wanting to volunteer. For instance;

  • See patients in your own office or volunteer in an area clinic.
  • Free up staff time spent on finding resources for the uninsured.
  • Securing referrals to other specialists.
  • Obtaining pharmaceuticals.
  • Performing financial screening.
  • Gateway to Care follows a model of care that works! The Project Access model has been successful in more than 90 communities in the United States.
  • By spreading the workload fairly, no single practice or physician is overburdened.
  • Doctors and office practices agree to donate medical care slots to eligible PHN/SSD patients.
  • Volunteer doctors/practices specify how many patients per month they would agree to see (most providers agree to assist 1-2 patients per month).
  • Donated care is tracked and publicly recognized as a community benefit.
  • Patients enrolled in the TGCPA programs have access to full continuum of care, i.e…labs, pathology, diagnostics, out-patient and in-patient hospital-based care, prescription drugs and pharmacy assistance programs, when appropriate.

The Texas Gulf Coast Project Access programs are made possible by the generosity of our many collaborative partners…..’in the public good.’ For more information or to join, contact Dick Nye at [email protected].