Profile: Albert Galvan Health Clinic

In January 2002 a collaboration of area residents, faith-based groups, and health and social services providers organized the Fort Worth Northside Community Health Center (FWNCHC) as a nonprofit organization to address the health disparities of the city’s North side residents. After a lengthy planning process, the Sid Richardson Foundation provided financial support to the Board of Directors and the Board employed an Executive Director in August 2004.

In September 2005, the Board of Directors adopted the business name, Albert Galvan Health Clinic. The name memorializes a founding member and provides greater identification with the community. On October 1, 2005, FWNCHC assumed responsibility of what was formerly the Fort Worth Northside Clinic through a Memorandum of Understanding with the University of North Texas North Texas Health Science Center (UNTHSC) and JPS Health Network (JPSHN). The clinic had been operated jointly by UNTHSC and JPSHN since October 2003. Actual control of the clinic became effective January 1, 2005 with the implementation of a practice management system.

The Albert Galvan Health Clinic is a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC). FQHCs are community clinics eligible to receive federal funding and must meet stringent federal requirements, including a patient-majority governing board, services to underserved and uninsured populations regardless of ability to pay, and a sliding fee schedule based on family size and income.