Northside Eye Care Center
FORT WORTH, Texas – North Texas Area Community Health Centers (NTACHC), a federally qualified health center that provides high-quality medical services and serves as a safety net for the lower-income population, held a grand opening on November 8 for its Northside Eye Care Center. This is the first eye care center at any of its three locations.
Northside Eye Care Center offers an array of services, ranging from routine eye care to comprehensive medical exams, for patients of all ages. This includes examinations for glaucoma, diabetes, macular degeneration, cataracts, dry eye, injury/infection, red eyes, glasses prescriptions, and more.
NTACHC Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Patricia Rodriguez, said, “We recognized the specific need of our Northside residents for eyecare provided close to where they live. Delivering the care through NTACHC, which the families already trust for many other healthcare needs, will make a difference in their lives and health.”
NTACHC has a unique agreement with Lighthouse for the Blind of Fort Worth to provide on-site optical services, such as selecting and ordering glasses.
Platt Allen, III, president and CEO of Lighthouse for the Blind of Fort Worth, said, “We are proud to be associated with the Northside Eye Care Center as the sole source provider of optical lab services. We see this as a wonderful partnership to help two underserved communities, the Northside, and individuals who are blind. We enjoy telling our story of people who are blind making glasses to provide clear vision for others.”
NTACHC has also established a partnership with the University of Houston College of Optometry where the University’s doctors work onsite at the eye care center.
Dr. Michael Twa, Dean of the University of Houston College of Optometry, said, “The University of Houston is pleased to partner with Northside to bring quality eye care services to the community. The University of Houston College of Optometry has been the leading eyecare training program in the state of Texas for the past 70 years, and an important part of our mission is to address unmet healthcare needs in underserved communities. We do that through community partnerships like this one and through a collaborative medical practice that puts patients at the center of care.”
The university will also offer their interns practical experience at Northside Eye Care Center as part of their hands-on learning.
Dr. Jennifer Deakins, Clinic Director of Community Eye Clinic, and Assistant Clinical Professor, University of Houston College of Optometry, said, “The optometry students who rotate at the Northside location will experience meaningful inter-professional relationships between providers. This will enhance all aspects of care for our patients and the education of our future doctors of optometry.”
Dr. Mary Kate Sain, Northside Eye Care Center Clinic Director, and Professor of Practice, University of Houston College of Optometry, added, “This unique center allows each patient to receive a majority of their vital healthcare in a single facility and can help increase access to care and reduce transportation barriers while also promoting continuity, consolidation and comprehensive health care.”
Gerrie Whitaker, NTACHC CEO, said, “We are so grateful for the many individuals and community partners who dedicated their time and resources to help us open the Northside Eye Care Center. We are grateful to the University of Houston College of Optometry North Texas Clinics and their doctors, Dr. Sain and Dr. Deakins, along with the Lighthouse for the Blind of Fort Worth, Alcon Foundation, Amon G. Carter Foundation, and Association of Clinicians for the Underserved.”
For those who are interested in scheduling an appointment at Northside Eye Care Center, people must be current patients. That said, NTACHC is currently accepting new patients. People can visit https://ntachc.org/ or call 817-625-4254 to request an appointment.
About North Texas Area Community Health Centers:
A nonprofit organization, North Texas Area Community Health Centers are a community family medical practice that offers a full range of primary and preventative healthcare services to patients throughout Tarrant County. In 2002, NTACHC was founded as a federally qualified health center to provide high-quality medical services, to serve as a safety net for the lower-income population, and to help successfully address health disparities in the community. Open to all, NTACHC has three community-centered medical homes: Northside Community Health Center, Southeast Community Health Center, and Arlington Community Health Center. For more information, visit our website or call 817-625-4254.
