Innovative Services and Programs

Over fiscal year 2019, our adolescent team (3 fellowship-trained physicians, 1 physician assistant) saw a combined 5,995 encounters with adolescents ages 12 through 21, including:

• Adolescent preventative healthcare, immunizations, screening labs

• Reproductive Health Needs

• Gender Medicine

• Weight Management

• Health care transition through Teen Well

Target: Children and adolescents with delayed or atypical development

Integrated behavioral health combines medical and behavioral health services to more fully address the wide array of mental health issues that patients bring to their primary medical care providers. To address this growing need, Legacy has behavioral health consultants (BHC) embedded in the primary care setting. While Legacy has a robust traditional behavioral health team, in many cases the primary care physician and the BHC can manage care and decrease the need for referral to specialty behavioral health. Our IBH program serves all age ranges seen in our primary care clinics, including adult medicine, OB/GYN and pediatrics.

Legacy has a structured program for learners to come join our providers as they see patients. Learners include high school students, medical students, residents and fellows. We currently partner with University of Houston, Baylor College of Medicine, Methodist Hospital, and many more.

At Legacy, we believe kids should be healthy in body and mind, and our pediatric providers treat both when our youngest patients come in for well-child visits. In addition to the physical checkup, patients from newborn to age 18 leave with a free book and a “prescription to read.”

Objectives:

• Promote the culture of reading among our patients

• Parent engagement in developing child’s language and reading skills

• Achieve a 95% “Prescription to Read” coverage at each site

We have a long-standing partnership with Houston Methodist, who awarded Legacy a $50 million donation to expand our presence in the Greater Houston area. The donation will support two new capital projects and provide operating funds for Legacy Health centers in North Houston and Pasadena, filling a significant gap in some of the most underserved areas of the state. The new centers will be equipped with state-of-the-art technology designed to offer a welcoming atmosphere to those in need of health and wellness services, without judgment and regardless of their ability to pay.

The OB2Pedi program bridges Obstetrics and Pediatrics for Legacy patients. It aims to educate pregnant mothers on what to expect during their pregnancy and how to care for their newborn, while also providing them with a process for scheduling their postpartum follow up and their newborn visits with Legacy Pediatric Services.

Objectives:

• Increase access to newborn services

• Provide continuity of care from OB to Pediatrics

• Improve patient retention

• Provide quality education around maternity and newborn preparation and care

The Legacy Pharmacy offers a full range of services for Legacy and non-Legacy patients, including

• Immunization
• Health coaching and education
• Medication syncing
• Medication therapy management
• Fill, refill and transfer prescriptions
• Prescription delivery
• One-on-one medication counseling

Patient education helps to improve health outcomes. Patients can access this information through individual counseling and group classes to meet their needs. Patient Education for the OB/pediatric population within Legacy’s clinic locations include:

• Initial Maternity Classes

• Becoming a Mom, Safe Sleep, Safe Riders

• Breastfeeding/Lactation

• Family Planning Education

• Nutrition Counseling

Public Health also engages in a wide variety of community health programs.

Since 2012, parents of students enrolled in one of the 27 Houston-area KIPP, YES Prep, and Galena Park ISD schools with Legacy clinics in them have not had to worry about cashing in their own sick days to take care of the kiddos. Each of Legacy’s school-based health clinics offer behavioral health care including therapy and psychiatry; and pediatric care including immunizations, sick visits, and well-child visits – any service you would receive in a standard pediatric office.

This innovative program acknowledges that health cannot be improved by high-quality clinical care alone, and that socio-economic factors often determine the well-being of our patients. The program connects low-income patients with food, transportation, utility and housing assistance. Health advocates connect patients with food pantries and community-based organizations, and then follow up to make sure they have received the care they need.

The comprehensive care we provide to the community also includes the following specialty care services:

• Endocrinology

• HIV Primary Care

• Senior Care/Geriatrics

The TeenWell program bridges Pediatrics and Adult Medicine for Legacy Patients. It aims to educate adolescent patients, ages 12 to 21, on what to expect during their transition from late childhood into adulthood, how to care for themselves physically and mentally (including work life and/or college life), and provides them with a clear transition process to Legacy Adolescent and Adult Medicine Services.

Objectives:

• Increase access to Pediatrics, Adolescent Medicine, Adult Medicine and Behavioral Health services

• Provide continuity of care from Pediatrics to Adolescent Medicine and Adult Medicine

• Improve patient retention

• Provide quality education around health and wellness for adolescent patients

Each summer, providers from the Pediatric Department can participate in one-week assignments as medical volunteers at a residential summer camp sponsored by the YMCA. While this is unpaid work, Legacy generously underwrites the medical malpractice of any provider wishing to volunteer. Many of our Legacy patients receive scholarships to attend Camp Ka’ana, which is a camp for children striving to maintain a healthy body weight and takes place on the grounds of Camp Cullen. The YMCA also graciously allows children of volunteers to take part in camp activities.