Dr. April Meras completes a pediatric exam at the HHM clinic in Oak Cliff. Photo courtesy of HHM Health.
Residents living in the Oak Cliff census tract are five times more likely to be uninsured than the average American, medical nonprofit HHM Health says, which means residents are less likely to have a family doctor they routinely visit.
Those were the sorts of healthcare disparities HHM noticed in the neighborhood, and aim to combat.
HHM Health is a community medical nonprofit based out of Dallas, and last November they opened their first Oak Cliff office.
“19% of Oak Cliff residents are below the poverty line,” Dr. April Meras, a nurse practitioner at HHM Health, says. “There’s a large percentage of patients in this area who are unable to access healthcare because they don’t have Medicaide or insurance and they can’t afford to pay for basic preventative care. The goal for HHM in this community is to provide those services.”
HHM Health operates on a “sliding fee” method, meaning patients without insurance or Medicaide don’t have to worry about pricy co-pays or medical bills when seeking out a service.
At HHM, payment for a medical service is determined based on income, and there are multiple pricing tiers so patients are not paying more than necessary for what Meras says should be standard, necessary medical service.
“We provide the same type of healthcare you would receive at any other facility,” Meras says.
Patients who do not have insurance or Medicaide will have to go through a short application process before their appointment, but Meras says patients have received comprehensive healthcare for as low as $25.
Since opening, Meras says the most common patients she has seen are kids getting checkups, school physicals and vaccines.
However, HHM Health operates clinics all over the city that specialize in different healthcare, from dental care, to women’s health.
Meras says that if the Oak Cliff office is not able to provide a specific service, they are able to help patients get the resources they need. They also have imaging centers, where patients can get X-Rays and MRIs without facing hefty costs.
Meras says many of HHM’s clinics, such as the Oak Cliff location, are on the bus line to promote accessibility.
Meras was born and raised in Oak Cliff, and says her familiarity with the community aids her in helping her patients.
“I graduated from high school just across the highway at Townview,” Meras says. “I know this area very well, and I am very familiar with the types of patients and population here.”
HHM’s Oak Cliff office shares a parking lot with Trinity Basin Preparatory School, so Meras warns that patients coming into HHM on weekday afternoons should park in the overflow lot on Ewing and 8th to prevent getting stuck in school pickup traffic.
“That line starts around 1:45 and it doesn’t clear until about 3,” Meras warns. “We figured that out the very first day.”
