Board members of Travis County’s health care district, Central Health, and community members  wrestled Wednesday night with how to address the varied needs of residents in eastern Travis County at the second of two public hearings on Central Health’s fiscal year 2018-19 budget.

In the southeast, smaller, less dense communities have limited access to medical care due to both distance and lack of access to transportation, board member Maram Museitif said.

Conversely, some northeast areas such as Rundberg, have a higher population that stretches available resources thin, said JP Eichmiller, Central Health’s director of strategic communications, during a presentation of eastern Travis County health care expansion efforts.

The Rundberg area, which covers about 7 square miles and is home to an estimated 17,000 uninsured residents, has a gap in services that leaves 10,000 uninsured residents without access to care.

In comparison, Elroy, an area of Del Valle in southeast Travis County covers nearly 19 square miles, and has a gap in services for over 500 uninsured residents, according to the presentation.

Community members from southeast Travis County and the Del Valle area in particular said at both public hearings that more isolated areas of the county with less access to transportation have been in desperate need of health care access for years with little results.

Margarita Decierdo, a representative from the Colony Park neighborhood in Northeast Austin, said that area residents have long been organizing and communicating with local government agencies to improve access to transportation and other resources. Those efforts, she said, should not be overlooked or preclude them from receiving increased health care access.

“I ask that we do not go down the path of comparing one neighborhood against the other,” Decierdo said. “I think that is the error that has been committed countless times, to pit one against the other.”

Central Health CEO Mike Geeslin said that in addition to supporting the newly opened Northeast Health and Wellness Center based at Overton Elementary School in Colony Park and a temporary clinic in Del Valle, the 2018-19 budget addresses the varied needs of communities in eastern Travis County by offering both permanent and mobile health clinics.

However, Geeslin said progress has been slow due to land procurement issues. In the coming year, the health entity plans to adopt temporary solutions in more areas of need as well as plan for permanent solutions such as brick-and-mortar clinics.

View the full budget, including eastern Travis County plans, here.