SPRING BRANCH, Texas – Born, raised, and educated in Houston, Dr. Marlen Trujillo has dedicated the past 25 years to improving public health by serving her community. The type of care she now provides is something that goes far beyond an exam room.
“They were walking into the ER with not enough care. No prenatal care. No previous medical history,” said Dr. Trujillo, CEO of Spring Branch Community Health Center.
Trujillo said improving access to prenatal care for disadvantaged women from underserved Houston neighborhoods is what fuels her passion as an advocate who’s committed to helping others. It’s a mission she first embarked on decades ago. First, as a University of Houston undergrad who volunteered countless hours of her time, for years, at a local health clinic to meet the growing demand for women’s health services.
“There was a group of us who decided to address health inequities in Spring Branch. There wasn’t enough clinics. There wasn’t enough services addressing the prenatal needs of our community,” Trujillo said.
In 2004, she led the charge to open the Spring Branch Community Health Center as a charity clinic with zero funding. The clinic relied solely on money generously donated from churches and local faith leaders. Housed in a small shopping center, it had only four exam rooms. The vast majority of her patients are Hispanic.
“We provided prenatal care to the women that walked in for free. They didn’t have any health insurance, any doctors. So we provided the care. Also the prenatal vitamins, ultrasounds, all of those wrap-around services they needed,” Trujillo said.
It wasn’t until a year later that the clinic received an award to become a federally qualified health center. Under Trujillo’s watch, as the Chief Executive Officer, they’ve added more clinics in recent years. There are now eight along with two mobile health centers.
“We have added social services, we’ve added case management. we’ve added housing and we’ve also added a homeless project that we’re able to provide residents with additional housing services. And we also added our mental health program,” Trujillo said.
It’s that kind of dedication that garnered her recognition from Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner for her outstanding contributions to Houston’s Hispanic Community.
“I am thrilled, excited and honored to represent the Hispanic community, but most importantly, to represent the community health center that I run,” Trujillo said.
Dr. Trujillo is passionate about health care and education. She enjoys mentoring first-generation Hispanic students, and in 2020, she founded the Spring Branch Leadership Institute to serve high school students interested in careers in health care.