Texas Tech University

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Groundbreaking for the Larry Combest Community Health and Wellness Center, operated by Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Nursing, took place in December. From left are Alexia Green, RN, dean of the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Nursing; David Smith, MD, chancellor of the Texas Tech University System; and Sharon and Larry Combest, former congressman from Lubbock.

Lubbock — State, local, and federal grants are paving the way for the relocation and expansion of a nurse-managed primary care facility operated by the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Nursing.

Groundbreaking for the Larry Combest Community Health and Wellness Center, which will open around October, took place in December.

The center, which opened at its current strip mall location in 1999, serves as a primary care facility for underserved West Texas residents in the Lubbock region, staffed by nurse practitioners from the Texas Tech nursing school and supported by physicians at the health science center.

The expansion of the wellness center clinic is supported by more than $1.4 million in new grants:

• An $885,210 congressional appropriation administered through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA).
• $350,000 in capital construction funds from the School of Nursing.
• A $250,000 Community Development Block Grant from the City of Lubbock.
• Leasing support for the land from the Lubbock Independent School District.

“We are a safety net provider,” says Alexia Green, RN, PhD, dean of the nursing school. “We’ve been doing it for years on a shoestring 85 and with the funding we’ve gotten through HRSA, we’ll be able to expand our service range into a variety of things.”

The wellness center serves about 1,800 patients a year, including the elderly, disabled, and poor, providing chronic disease management, primary care, mental health services and counseling, nutrition counseling, and other services.

It also provides clinical experience for nursing and medical students with the Health Sciences Center, where they assist wellness center staff with check-ups, outreach services, and counseling.