Tarrant County Academy of Medicine (TCAM) was formed in 1954 with the mission to expand health care access and improve health outcomes for low-income, uninsured residents of Tarrant County, utilizing the charitable gifts of a network of existing voluntary providers and collaborative partnerships. Formed in 2011, our primary program is Project Access Tarrant County (PATC), which is a collaborative community project to provide healthcare for uninsured patients using a network of volunteer physicians, partnering hospitals, charitable clinics and ancillary partners. PATC assists residents who have no health coverage and who live at or below 200% of the Federal Poverty level. That translates to $62,400 annually for a family of four.

An estimated 19% of the population in Tarrant County lacks health insurance, well above the national mean (11%). This lack of service results in significant gaps between healthcare need and ability to pay, which limits their access to services. While there are numerous charitable care options for primary care, we are the only organization to provide specialty, ancillary and surgical care for the never-served population. Our patients are not covered by other community programs, city services, or other nonprofits, including Medicaid and JPS Health Network's charitable care program, JPS Connection. Despite being Tarrant County’s public health hospital, JPS has declined for years to allow undocumented noncitizens into JPS Connection. This policy is set at the county level and is not likely to change in the near future. This policy severely limits healthcare options for noncitizens, contributing to vicious, interconnected cycles of poverty and illness.

Under the umbrella of the Tarrant County Academy of Medicine and utilizing members of the Tarrant County Medical Society to provide charitable care, Project Access serves low-income and uninsured residents of Tarrant County to coordinate care ranging from specialty visits to surgeries to ancillary services. Over 13 years of PATC's service, we have served over 2,200 patients and provided $20 million in donated medical care. Examples include radiology services, colonoscopies, biopsies, anesthesia services, lab work, pathology, physical therapy appointments as well as surgical procedures. One of our most frequent needs is for women's health services.

Project Access Tarrant County (PATC) was formed out of Tarrant County Academy of Medicine (TACM) in 2011. PATC provides healthcare services for Tarrant County residents at or below 200% of the Federal Poverty Level. In 13 years, PATC has delivered over $20 million in donated healthcare services and has provided surgical and specialty procedures to over 2,200 patients in-network, plus an additional 1,100 through referrals and resources (3,300 total).

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Patient Gallery

Meet the Team

Project Access Tarrant County Director

Kathryn Keaton

kkeaton@tcms.org

CEO/EVP of Tarrant County Medical Society

Brian Swift

bswift @tcms.org

Project Access Tarrant County Case Manager

Karla Aguilar

kaguilar@tcms.org

Habla Español

Project Access Tarrant County Medical Director

Stuart Pickell, MD

Our Impact

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PATC Operations

Annual Budget

$350,000 plus $1.4 million in-kind services as of 2024

As of our October 2023 financials, we have donated $510,724 in medical services. On average, we will see $700,000 to $1.4 million in donated medical services per year.

Outcomes

100% of patients are connected to a medical home

90% of patients will have medical resolution to their diagnosed condition with specialty care provided by TCMS volunteer doctors.

90% of patients return to gainful employment

Some few patients will be unable to have surgery due to diabetes or their BMI, or other factors.

Founding Partners

· Tarrant County Medical Society

· Sid W. Richardson Foundation

· Amon G. Carter Foundation

Community Friends

· Alcon Foundation

· Community Foundation’s ToolBox Grants

· The Richard K. and Lois B. Craig Family Fund of the Community Foundation of North Texas

· The Texas Women’s Foundation

· United Way of Tarrant County

· Walmart

· Winstead PC

Physician Groups

The Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders
Heart Center of North Texas
The Orthopedic and Sports Medicine Institute
PMR Fort Worth
Radiology Associates of North Texas
Tarrant Nephrology Associates
Texas Digestive Disease Consultants – Hospital District
Urology Partners of North Texas

Anesthesia Partners

· Anesthesia Associates, PA

· NorthStar Anesthesia

· Cowtown Anesthesia Association

· US Anesthesia Partners

· Valiant Anesthesia

Enrollments

2018 = 251 patients

2019 = 159 patients

2020 = 110 patients

2021 = 171 patients

2022 = 104 patients

2023 = 57 patients

Hospital access is the main reason for decline.

Goals

We aim to reduce our current waiting list.

Other measures of success:

Decreased trips to the Emergency Room (ER)
Preventing medical debt for frequent ER visits (an average ER trip can cost $2,200)
Eliminate the financial burden to our low-income patients (patient out of pocket costs can be upwards of $100K)
Return patients to the work force

Less dependence on social services

Community Partners

· JPS Health Network

· PMR Charity

· TCMS Alliance Foundation, Inc.

· Texas Medical Association Foundation

Charitable Clinic Partners

· Baylor Community Care at Fort Worth

· Christian Community Health Clinic

· Community Eye Clinic

· Cornerstone Assistance Network

· Crowley House of Hope

· GRACE Community Clinic

· Helping Hands Health Clinic

· Mercy Clinic of Fort Worth

· Mission Arlington

· North Texas Area Community Health Centers, Inc

· Open Arms Health Clinic

Hospital Partners

Baylor Scott and While Baylor All Saints Hospital Fort Worth
Baylor Scott and White Health and Vascular Hosital Fort Worth
Baylor Surgical Fort Worth
Baylor Surgicare at Fort Worth
Fort Worth Endoscopy Center
Medical City Fort Worth
Park Hill Surgery Center
Texas Health Arlington Memorial Hospital
Texas Health Hospital Clearfork
Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Fort Worth

Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Southwest Fort Worth