Photo courtesy TOMAGWAWith a surge of new clients in the past year, TOMAGWA HealthCare Ministries has reached a tipping point with its budget and is seeking donations to help continue funding its programs and services in the future.
Judy Deyo, executive director for TOMAGWA HealthCare Ministries, said the organization is largely funded through community donations and an influx of patients over the past year has started to put a significant strain on resources. Many of the recent patients seeking care at TOMAGWA have lost their jobs, taken on part-time work or were unable to secure insurance through the Affordable Care Act, Deyo said.
"Our main goal is to continue to see the people who walk in the door and provide care for them," Deyo said. "As long as that number continues to grow, we'd like to keep up with it."
The organization offers health services such as vision and dental care, lab exams, and chronic illness treatment to uninsured patients in the Tomball, Magnolia and Waller areas. It is also able to prescribe medications.
"Things over the last few years have changed [since] we started out as an acute care clinic primarily seeing people with sore throats and earaches," Deyo said. "In the past few years, we are diagnosing cancer and more serious illnesses and we find a place to arrange for care. We are seeing more of that kind of thing."
TOMAGWA charges $20 for patients who are able to pay for health services and $5 for each medication prescribed up to six and any afterward are free. TOMAGWA's cost of caring for each patient is $105. The organization, however, must finance a large portion of the gap in costs between what patients pay and the actual cost of treatment through its estimated $2 million budget, Deyo said.
The organization employs 20 staff members and more than 300 volunteers who aid in a variety of areas including medical and operational efforts. Raising an estimated $200,000 is the organization's goal to remain on track with budgeted funding for the year and to continue providing quality service to patients, Deyo said.
"It's not been this hard of a struggle before," Deyo said, in reference to finding ways to meet a high demand for service. "We've gone through some tight times—I guess I would equate it with a family that lives paycheck to paycheck. God is faithful, and He has continued to provide for us."
If TOMAGWA is not able to raise enough money to sustain its growing patient base, Deyo said the organization might place a moratorium on accepting new patients for a period of time. Deyo said she is hopeful the organization will receive enough donations to continue funding services and new patients through the fall without having to place a moratorium. In the coming months, grant money and multi-year donors could flood in to supplement the budget, she said.
Brad Bartlett, board president for Resale with a Purpose, said the nonprofit organization is planning to donate $5,000 of its proceeds to aid TOMAGWA HealthCare Ministries.
"We appreciate the small gifts as well as the large ones," Deyo said. "It's one of those things where a lot of people giving small amounts of money can add up. We're just really grateful for God's provision through people."
