Central Health held its first public hearing of its fiscal year 2017-18 budget on Wednesday. Almost 20 community members spoke at the public hearing. Of all the speakers, community members were concerned about health services in Northeast Travis County, the way Central Health spends its funding on Dell Medical School and about women’s health in Texas. Here’s the three main topics brought up Wednesday evening.

1. There’s still a lack of services in Northeast Travis County, residents say

Community members expressed that given country-wide concerns about health care, Central Health should be extra attentive in funding indigent health care services. “Equal access to health care that’s quality is a problem across our country so that’s all the more reason why organizations like this one should be working extra hard to protect and help marginalized communities,” resident Henry Brown said. Many speakers Wednesday night expressed frustration that even with the recently announced new clinics in Northeast Travis County, there still isn’t a plan for a major clinic in the Del Valle area. “We follow the rules, we had meetings, we had tours,” one Del Valle resident said. “When is it going to be enough? When we will have a sustainable building that supports all of our communities?” A Dell Medical School student who lives along Cedar Creek in the Del Valle area connected the concerns about health care in the area with Hurricane Harvey. He said the area is lucky the hurricane wasn’t worse because if the creek near his home flooded, there wouldn’t be any nearby clinics to support his neighbors. “There’s a link between events like these and public health,” he said. “It limits access to care and creates situations where health is put at risk.”

2. Central Health does a successful job at protecting women’s health, women say

Several women in the Travis County area showed up to thank Central Health for its support of women’s health, particularly its support of Planned Parenthood. Courtney Harris, an Eastern Travis County resident, said she was thankful for the organization’s funding of contraceptives. “For me personally, having had access to contraception has allowed me to control and plan the size of my family,” she said. Another resident, Rebecca Anderson, thanked Central Health for supporting IUDs.

3. Central Health isn’t transparent enough about how it funds Dell Medical School, lawyers says

Two community members said they were frustrated with the lack of transparency with how exactly Central Health’s $35 million given to Dell Medical School was spent. Martha Ward said she was new to learning about Central Health but felt the County Commissioner’s Court gave Central Health a “free pass” to not report how its money is spent. She said she’s skeptical that Central Health is using its funds because she sees a lack of clinics in gentrified areas. Lawyer Fred Lewis said he was at a meeting with the County Commissioner’s Court on Tuesday. He said the court was displeased because the organization had not submitted an itemized list of expenditures. “How can y’all spend hundreds of millions of dollars and don’t know how it’s spent?” he said. He said at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter that residents don’t agree with how Central Health spends its money. He said it matters more that residents at least be able to see exactly how money is invested.