Health care nonprofit Lone Star Circle of Care took another step toward sustainability last week when it received $426,984 in grant funding from St. Davids Foundation.
The funding is one month of its annual grant request and will help defray expenses related to care for uninsured residents of Williamson County, interim CEO Rhonda Mundhenk said in a statement to Community Impact Newspaper.
The grant funding comes on the heels of the foundations $1 million offering for operations in June.
St. Davids requested and received a sustainability plan from LSCC.
LSCC had a consultant verify its financial projections, and the conclusion is that LSCC has a viable plan going forward, Mundhenk wrote.
The nonprofit, which provides care to uninsured and underinsured patients in Bell, Travis and Williamson counties, had a funding shortfall earlier this year because of failed strategic gambles. LSCC laid off 185 of its roughly 660 employees, closed clinics in Austin, consolidated services in Round Rock, closed school-engaged clinics throughout Central Texas, shrunk dental services and stopped offering optometry services.
LSCC has done a tremendous amount of work in the last two months, Mundhenk wrote. Our operating expenses are much more closely in line with revenue. We are coming out of restructuring and believe weve done the work needed to be well on the road to sustainability.
There have been no further layoffs or closures, she added.
On July 19, Mundhenk and Chief Medical Officer Kathleen Butler published an open letter to patients apologizing for any inconvenience stemming from the financial crisis.
Please know that our staff is working quickly to absorb and account for the recent changes, they wrote. Please be patient with us should you encounter longer than usual hold times when you call to request an appointment.We are answering and responding to your calls as quickly as possible and are working on solutions to decrease wait times moving forward.
Mundhenk and Butler wrote that LSCC is exploring ways to expand dental services and bring back optometry services in the future.
Every decision we make moving forward is made with you, our patients, in mind, they wrote. We look forward to seeing you at your next visit and continuing to provide you, your family, friends and the community with excellent service for generations to come.
Read the full letter here: https://www.lscctx.org/open-letter-to-patients/
