Press Release

Legacy Community Health Celebrates National Health Center Week by Expanding Access to Care for Women, Children, and Families

Posted on by Ashley Guidry
Collage featuring Legacy Community Health branding and staff assisting patients in various clinic settings.
03
Aug

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media Contacts:

Sandra Fernandez
sfernandez2@legacycommunityhealth.org
713.568.5604

HOUSTON (August 3, 2026) — Cost, lack of insurance, transportation challenges, and other obstacles can prevent families from getting the care they need. During National Health Center Week (August 2-8, 2026), Legacy Community Health is highlighting the role Community Health Centers play in connecting women, children, and families to affordable, high-quality healthcare regardless of insurance status or ability to pay.

As the largest Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) in Texas, Legacy serves more than 200,000 patients annually through more than 60 locations, including 39 School-Based Health Care clinics. Legacy provides coordinated, comprehensive care designed to help patients stay connected to care at every stage of life.

“Access to healthcare shouldn’t depend on a person’s financial circumstances,” said Robert Palussek, Chief Executive Officer of Legacy Community Health. “Legacy helps connect patients and families to quality healthcare, support services, and resources that improve health outcomes regardless of insurance status or ability to pay.”

Building Care From Pregnancy Through Childhood

Many women face questions about insurance, affordability, prenatal care, and support services after learning they are pregnant. At Legacy, that journey can begin with a free walk-in pregnancy test and immediate access to the care and resources needed to move forward with confidence.

Free Walk-In Pregnancy Testing

Legacy offers free pregnancy testing with no appointment required. During the same visit, patients can:

  • Receive pregnancy test results
  • Schedule prenatal or family planning appointments
  • Meet with eligibility specialists
  • Receive assistance applying for available coverage programs
  • Connect with a dedicated Perinatal Navigator
  • Access community resources and support services

Perinatal Navigation and Maternal Health Support

Legacy’s Perinatal Navigators help patients stay connected to care from pregnancy through postpartum recovery and pediatric care. Additional services include:

  • Prenatal care for routine and high-risk pregnancies
  • Postpartum care
  • Lactation support
  • Becoming a Mom® education classes
  • Car seat safety education
  • Family planning services
  • Women’s wellness care

Eligible patients may also receive technology-enabled support through Legacy’s partnership with Delfina Care.

Supporting Healthy Starts Beyond the Exam Room

Keeping children healthy requires more than medical care alone. Through healthcare, education, nutrition, and family support programs, Legacy helps children thrive at home, in school, and throughout their lives.

Early Childhood Development

Through its Growing Great Minds Early Childhood Development program, Legacy helps parents and caregivers support healthy child development from birth through age five. The program includes:

  • Parent education classes
  • Developmental screenings
  • Guidance on developmental milestones
  • Strategies to strengthen parent-child relationships
  • Resources that support healthy emotional and social development

Through cohort-based learning and family engagement, Growing Great Minds helps parents build confidence while creating strong developmental foundations for children.

Food Rx

Good health starts with access to nutritious food. Through Food Rx, Legacy partners with the Houston Food Bank to help eligible patients access fresh fruits and vegetables, nutrition education, and healthy eating support. By addressing both healthcare needs and food insecurity, the program helps children and families build healthier habits while supporting chronic disease prevention and management.

Little Readers: A Prescription for Literacy

Health and learning are deeply connected. Through Legacy’s Little Readers program:

  • Children receive a free book during well-child visits
  • Families are encouraged to read together at home
  • Parents receive guidance on supporting early literacy and language development

Since launching in 2015, the program has distributed more than 300,000 books, helping children build reading skills, strengthen parent-child bonds, and prepare for success in school.

School-Based Health Care

For many families, getting a child to a medical appointment can mean missed work, missed class time, and transportation challenges. Legacy helps address those barriers through 39 School-Based Health Care clinics located on KIPP, YES Prep, and Galena Park ISD campuses.

Students enrolled at participating schools, their siblings, and children of school staff can access services including:

  • Primary care
  • Behavioral health services
  • Well-child visits
  • Immunizations
  • Sports physicals
  • Preventive healthcare

By bringing healthcare directly into schools, Legacy helps students stay healthy, in class, and ready to learn while making care more convenient for families.

Prevention and Wellness

Community Health Centers play an important role in helping patients prevent illness, manage chronic conditions, and access the services they need to live healthier lives.

HIV/STI Testing & Prevention

Legacy provides accessible sexual health services that help patients prevent, detect, and manage HIV and STIs. Services include:

  • Free or low-cost HIV testing
  • Comprehensive STI testing
  • Access to PrEP for HIV prevention
  • Prevention education and counseling
  • Community outreach and mobile testing opportunities

Spanish-speaking staff and Eligibility Specialists help patients access services regardless of insurance status, financial circumstances, or language preference.

Pharmacy Services

For many patients, access to medication is an essential part of staying healthy and managing chronic conditions. Legacy’s full-service pharmacies help patients stay on track with their care through:

  • Free prescription delivery
  • Medication synchronization
  • Immunizations
  • One-on-one medication counseling
  • Medication therapy management
  • Health coaching
  • Smoking cessation support

Legacy’s pharmacies help patients manage complex health needs while reducing barriers related to transportation, cost, and access.

Helping Families Access Care

Community Health Centers are designed to remove barriers that can prevent people from getting the care they need. For many patients, navigating insurance, eligibility requirements, referrals, and financial assistance programs can be just as challenging as managing their health.

Eligibility Specialists

Navigating insurance, eligibility requirements, referrals, and financial assistance programs can be challenging. Legacy’s bilingual Eligibility Specialists help patients access affordable care, whether insured or uninsured.

Services include:

  • Enrollment assistance for Medicaid, CHIP, and Marketplace plans
  • Access to Legacy’s Sliding Fee Scale program
  • Help with coverage renewals
  • Assistance with referrals and care coordination
  • MyChart enrollment and support
  • Guidance navigating available financial assistance programs

Eligibility Specialists are available at all Legacy clinics and work one-on-one with uninsured patients to identify coverage options and financial assistance programs. Together, these teams help reduce language, paperwork, and financial barriers while keeping patients connected to care.

Looking Ahead

For more than four decades, Legacy Community Health has helped patients and families navigate barriers to care while improving health outcomes across Southeast Texas. As healthcare needs continue to evolve, Legacy remains committed to expanding access, strengthening partnerships, and investing in innovative programs that connect people to the care and resources they need to thrive.

 

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About Legacy Community Health

Legacy Community Health is a full-service health care system comprised of more than 60 locations in the Texas Gulf Coast region offering primary and specialty care, as well as pharmacy services. For over 40 years, Legacy has been innovating the ways we provide comprehensive, quality health care services to individuals, families, and communities in need. As the largest Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) in Texas and a United Way-affiliated agency since 1990, Legacy ensures its services and programs are open to all, regardless of the ability to pay—without judgment or exception. To learn more, visit www.legacycommunityhealth.org.