PediPlace, a Lewisville-based nonprofit pediatric clinic, plans to open its second school clinic sometime in January, the CEO said.
The Denton ISD school board voted 6-1 last month to renovate space for the clinic inside Fred Moore High School so that the growing number of uninsured students and students covered by public health care benefits have access to care within the district’s footprint. The clinic provides both primary care — which includes annual physicals and vaccinations — and management of chronic conditions. PediPlace also offers mental health screenings and counseling.
“We're thrilled,” said Larry Robins, the CEO of PediPlace. “This is a concept that we have been exploring with Denton ISD for many years, doing a considerable amount of due diligence along the way to ascertain mutual need of both the district and PediPlace patients.”
At the beginning of the 2024-25 school year, the Denton PediPlace clinic will be open for 16 to 24 hours a week. Clinic leaders expect to expand to 32 hours a week in the second year.
The clinic expands PediPlace’s reach in Denton County, though the clinic has been seeing local students for some time at its Lewisville location. PediPlace has been serving two groups of children for the last 29 years: uninsured children and children on Medicare or Child Healthcare Insurance Program benefits, which are taxpayer-funded programs.
In 2016, PediPlace opened a satellite clinic at Central Elementary School in Lewisville ISD. Robins said the Denton ISD clinic will operate as the Lewisville ISD location does.
PediPlace currently sees about 1,100 patients who live in Denton ISD zip codes. Robins said while some of those children aren’t in school yet, they likely will be.
“The number of children that we are seeing from Denton itself has grown over 20% this year compared to last year,” Robins said. “I do not anticipate that that growth rate is sustainable, but a growth rate of even 5% year over year is indicative of considerable need within the area.”
Given that Denton ISD voters recently approved $1.2 billion in bonds to build three new elementary schools, among other needs, all signs are pointing to PediPlace seeing surging demand for their services.
PediPlace and Denton: By the numbers
PediPlace in Lewisville had 3,944 visits in the 2022-23 school year.
1,144 patients were children from the Denton ISD area.
12% of Denton ISD students have no medical insurance.
Of the Denton ISD students seen at PediPlace, 88% are on Medicaid or CHIP.
The Lewisville clinic had a 20% increase in school nurse referrals from Denton ISD.
The partnership earned broad support from community partners. Courtney Douangdara, deputy director of community services for the city of Denton, said the City Council approved a nonprofit capacity support grant to help fund the clinic for three years.
The City Council committed $230,781 from American Rescue Fund allocations for the initiative. PediPlace was among 20 nonprofits to get grants approved during the Aug. 15 council meeting.
“This is one-time funding,” Douangdara said. “And the city does not have any current plans to fund the clinic in the future.”
Blue Cross Blue Shield gave $25,000 in a grant to the initiative as part of a $3 million grant campaign divided among 101 nonprofits. The grant is intended for preventive care for patients from birth to 15 months.
The Cross Timbers Rotary Club is also donating $11,500 for medical supplies through a matching gift from the club’s district. Nicole Smith Woodard, president of club, said Rotary leadership approached PediPlace with the grant.
“They could use it at any of their locations,” Woodard said. “It’s a worthwhile nonprofit, and we wanted our dollars to benefit their work.”
Robins said PediPlace has a goal to see young patients who are sick the same day their families call to make an appointment, whether they are a new or established patient.
“We are generally 75% successful in meeting that goal,” Robins said. “We strive to get to a much higher number than that. And if it's not the next day, it would be the day after.”
For parents trying to establish care for their children who aren’t sick, Robins said the clinic tries to serve them quickly.
Robins said families with no insurance or with Medicaid or CHIP benefits simply have less access to primary care.
“If you have insurance, you have a very wide gamut of places that you can call and say, ‘I have this wrong. Can you schedule me?’ If the answer is no, you go to the next place on the list, and your list is reasonably long.
“If you're a patient that is uninsured, not only do you have to find a place that has an appointment, but you also have to find the place that’s affordable,” he said. “And if your child receives Medicaid or CHIP benefits, you have a very narrow, short list of places that accept Medicaid or CHIP. Your choices are severely limited.”
Robins said he sees the partnership as a move toward better health care for low-income families with children in the district.
“The school board's action to endorse this proposal, we think, elevates the health quality and health care quality of Denton ISD students. PediPlace is glad to be in a position to be able to provide a mechanism to increase access to quality health care for kids that wouldn't otherwise happen.”