The City of Garland is handing over control of its public health clinic to Dallas County Health and Human Services to avoid cutting back services as grant funding runs out.
A city staff report presented to the City Council during a June 18 meeting said that while demand for the services offered at the clinic continues to increase, “grants supporting this increase are terminating.”
The two remaining grant programs are insufficient to keep the clinic running at its current capacity.
The agreement was approved unanimously by the City Council and Garland residents can continue visiting the clinic during the transition.
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“We are confident that DCHHS will continue to provide exceptional care to our community,” said Mistie Gardner, Garland's managing director of health service, in a statement on Wednesday.
DCHHS said that the transition will not result in any price increases for public health services, and the organization plans to hire all clinic employees and continue using the same services offered before the agreement. The organization also intends to expand health services, potentially adding chronic disease prevention programs and sexual health services.
“We are excited to provide these essential public health services to the Garland community,” said Dr. Philip Huang, Director of DCHHS, in a press release. “This transition allows us to leverage our resources and expertise to provide a wider range of high-quality public health services to Garland residents.”
