AustinTalks (http://austintalks.org/tag/health-care/)
A groundbreaking will be held at 5713 W. Chicago Ave. at 11 a.m. Nov. 15. The store is expected to open in the last half of 2024. Also this week, the Austin Community Food Co-op is holding another virtual session about their work to bring another grocery store to Austin.
JourneyCare, the city and state’s largest nonprofit offering palliative, supportive and hospice care, wants to empower West Side residents to be proactive in making end-of-life decisions. “Talking about death is difficult,” Deborah McDonald said. “Nobody wants to think about that impending moment. Being well-informed is what it’s all about.”
At a community meeting hosted last weekend by state Rep. La Shawn Ford, community members discussed concerns they have about e-learning and the opioid crisis, which is hitting the West Side even harder this year than in 2019.
The hospital – which remains the largest private employer in Austin, with 624 people on staff – received an A rating for its fall report, after receiving average ratings of C’s and D’s. The Leapfrog Group, a national nonprofit based in Washington, grades hospitals across the country on factors like in-patient care, infections and practices to prevent error. Hospitals voluntarily participate, and Leapfrog releases reports twice a year.
PCC Parkside Family Health Center is the 12th PCC health clinic and represents $1.7 million in investment, said Robert J. Urso, president and CEO of PCC Community Wellness Center. “We’re grateful for the privilege to serve this community and deepen our commitment to the West Side.”
Patients of the PCC Community Wellness Center can get free legal services thanks to a new partnership PCC has formed with the Lawyers’ Committee for Better Housing.
The new funding plan could leave safety-net hospitals like Loretto in a difficult position. About 600 people are employed at the hospital.
Speaking at Sunday services at Third Unitarian Church, Loretto Hospital President and CEO George Miller Jr. decried the great disparities between those with health insurance and those with none. “This country is rich enough for everyone to get health care,” he said.
George N. Miller Jr. is the first African American to lead the West Side hospital. He is the former CEO and president of CommUnityCare Health Centers in Texas. Miller replaces Dr. Sonia Mehta, who had run the Austin hospital since 2012.
Enrollment for 2018 coverage under the federal Affordable Care Act begins Nov. 1 and runs through Dec. 15. Enrollment for Medicare began in mid-October and ends Dec. 7.