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The Bridges to Wellness and Health program — a partnership between United Way of Central Texas, Baylor Scott & White and local community clinics — is providing Central Texas residents who are underinsured or uninsured with prescriptions, medical equipment and transportation while they await approval for long-term coverage for health care.
More than 900 clients have been assisted through the program since 2015 with durable medical equipment being the most requested form of assistance, according to United Way of Central Texas.
“The Baylor Scott & White social workers will reach out to us and say they have eight patients that fit the criteria and need the help,” Veshell Greene, United Way of Central Texas’ vice president of resource development, said. “So they will send over the paperwork and we will meet with them at the pharmacy to pay the prescription. One time I met a lady who had two prescriptions for 30 days and it was $319. So we were able to cover that one month while we looked for other resources to help in the long term.”
However, she highlighted how the resource is not simply restricted to prescriptions, medical equipment and transportation, and can sometimes provide for a wider impact.
“The Temple Community Clinic, who is one of our partners, had a patient that is diabetic and the patient was coming back in for insulin when it was too soon,” Greene said. “They couldn’t figure out why.
“Come to find out he didn’t have a good working refrigerator to keep the insulin cold. So the Bridges program was able to purchase him a small refrigerator.”
Eligible patients can utilize the service once in a 12-month period.
“When a client has gaps in their insurance coverage, the Bridges program can step in,” Greene said. “But it’s not just, we cover it and walk away. We help them find another agency or program where they can get their prescriptions or medical equipment at a discounted rate.”
Dr. Robert Probe, an orthopedist at Baylor Scott & White, is among the many health care providers in the Temple community who is glad to see the program in action.
“It was really sort of just a ground swell of providers wanting to do something for their patients,” he said in a video posted to United Way of Central Texas’ website. “We have members in our community, many who are not as fortunate as we are, that we want to help desperately. There’s certainly federal programs and state programs that can help these patients but sometimes they just don’t help them soon enough.”
William Harlan — a West resident who developed a dropped leg after a spasm popped his Achilles tendon — is one of those patients.
He needed a brace, priced at approximately $1,000, intended to help relieve pain related to his injury.
“I’m really grateful because it is something that I wouldn’t have been able to afford since I’m unemployed and don’t have any income,” Harlan said. “This is the second time they’ve helped me and the newer (brace) feels a lot better for my ankle support. I’m much more mobile, I can do more things, and I’m not as cane dependent.”
Residents can make a donation toward the Bridges program online at uwct.org.
“The impact is huge but how do you put a value on independence, on peace of mind and being able to be mobile,” Greene said. “Obviously, there is a price tag. But what we’re able to do and provide is really priceless.”
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