Lone Star Family Health Center, a nonprofit health center with clinics in Conroe, Spring and Willis, broke ground on its new clinic in Grangerland, near southeast Conroe, on July 17.

The Grangerland clinic is being built on land owned by Conroe ISD at Ben Milam Elementary School, where nearly 80 percent of students qualify for free or reduced-fee lunch, according to the school district’s 2015-16 Academic Performance Report.

“Our mission is to provide affordable health care to those who face barriers, whether that be barriers with transportation, cultural competency or income level,” CEO Karen Harwell said. “We try to help our patients overcome as many of those areas as possible.”

The 1,568-square-foot clinic will have two exam rooms and offer prenatal care, vaccinations, well-woman exams, geriatric care, cancer screening and diabetes care.

The clinic is situated in a medically underserved area, meaning the neighborhood lacks access to a doctor’s office or clinic in a 10-mile radius, said Ashley Hamlin, Lone Star’s communications and outreach manager. The location is within a mile of Grangerland Intermediate School, Moorhead Junior High School and Caney Creek High School.

LSFHC is a Federally Qualified Health Center, which means it receives grants from the U.S. Health Resources & Services Administration to offer affordable health care to the uninsured. However, unlike other Lone Star clinics, the Grangerland clinic will not receive federal financial support. 

The clinic will cost almost $580,000 in the first year alone in leasing, construction and annual operating expenses, Hamlin said.

To offset the operating cost of the clinic, the Simmons Foundation is donating $100,000 over two years to pay for one community health worker’s salary at the clinic. The foundation partners with nonprofits to help vulnerable populations.

The clinic also received a $20,000 Montgomery County Community Development block grant for equipment, LSFHC officials said.

The facility opens in September and will operate three days a week for limited hours. It will accept most insurance plans, including Medicaid, Medicare and the plans offered under the Affordable Care Act. Fees for uninsured patients are determined in a process that takes into account a patient’s income level and other factors.

Hamlin said the health center hopes the clinic will ignite a movement to bring more health resources to Grangerland and other underserved areas.

“It is a bigger impact than us putting a doctor out there so the community can get regular health checkups,” Hamlin said. “It is an investment in the community. They need this, and they deserve this.”