On Tuesday, April 23, 2013, the Tejano Center for Community Concerns, Inc., in partnership with THE Baylor College of Medicine, opened the Baylor College of Medicine Teen Health Clinic at our facilities located at 2950 Broadway Street, in Southeast Houston.  Among the dignitaries in attendance were Harris County Judge Ed Emmett and his wife Gwen, Harris County District Clerk Chris Daniel, State District Judge Michael McSpadden, and United States Immigration Judge Clarease Yates.  Top Baylor College of Medicine brass included Dr. Paul Klotman, President of Baylor College of Medicine, Dr. Peggy Smith, Director of the Baylor College of Medicine Teen Health Clinic, and Dr. Dolores Lamb, Director of the Baylor College of Medicine Center for Reproductive Medicine.  This clinic, funded by Community Health Choice, the Simmons Foundation, and Baylor College of Medicine, will provide basic health-care services, including physicals, immunizations, a pharmacy, and even mental health care services, to those students attending our Raul Yzaguirre Charter School for Success.  Many of our students come from families which, even despite the hard-working efforts of their parents to provide for the needs of their children, are simply unable to afford health insurance.  This clinic is a major step in the ongoing efforts of my colleagues and me at the Tejano Center to provide an optimum learning environment for our children so that they can concentrate on learning, instead of wondering why their tummies might always hurt or why they might always have that runny nose or why they might always have that headache.  The services offered at this clinic are more in depth than those offered by a nurse in a regular school setting and, in that regard, are unique.  In that regard, Baylor College of Medicine and the Tejano Center are also planning on extending these services to our younger children in the surrounding communities who have yet to begin their schooling, especially to ensure that they have had all of their required immunizations.

Our beautiful clinic at the TejanoCenter is the eighth clinic opened by Baylor College of Medicine, which is planning on opening its next teen clinic in the neighborhood represented by Harris County Commissioner El Franco Lee.  As is quite evident, Baylor College of Medicine is a roaring freight train when it comes to health care for our children, and it is rolling along fast and strong!

These clinics, and the hard work that goes into creating them, reflect the ongoing efforts of individuals who truly care about those less fortunate than them, and who want to do something about it.  Simply stated, it is the right thing to do.  As an aside, however, I must admit that efforts such as these remind me of something President Ronald Reagan once said many years ago:

“We also believe that Americans, often acting through voluntary organizations, should have the opportunity to solve many of the social problems of their communities.  This spirit of freely helping others is uniquely American and should be encouraged in every way by government.”  (The New Republican Party, February 6, 1977)

Our children … Our families … Education in an environment most conducive to learning … That are what this is all about.

I think President Reagan would be PROUD.

I know I AM.