Houston – On the San Jose website, the clinic describes its history from beginning in 1922, in response to the rising rate of infant mortality in the Mexican community of Houston to serve the needs of the poor.
They promised to care for their skin, eyes, dental, and pre-natal needs.
Would they have guessed, 100 years later that the San Jose Clinic would still be around and serving so, so many more?
These days, the clinic is part of the Texas Medical Center, located on Fannin downtown and a few years ago opened a site in Rosenburg.
They serve about 3,000 patients a year.
“They provide everything from dental to general to orthopedic services, they provide medications for people,” said chair of the centennial celebration Katherine Parsley.
Johanna Villamizar manages medical services at the midtown clinic. She says she loves her job because the patients she serves never take healthcare for granted.
“I think that makes me happy, when my patients are happy. That makes me happy every day,” she said.
Parsley said the money they’re raising for the centennial celebration will help ensure those patients always get the care they need, even a hundred years from now.
“Those persons who don’t have insurance or maybe can’t get care at other places can come here. They get exceptional medical care, and they can get back to work and get back to serving their community,” Parsley said.
The clinic continues to run on donations and volunteerism.
Many doctors, medical workers, and translators volunteer their time to help patients.
Click here to see how you can help: Home | San José Clinic (sanjoseclinic.org)