Twenty five minutes northwest of UT, an on-site health clinic opens its doors for many residents — formerly unhoused and often without records — offering them a chance to receive accessible, on-demand health check-ups.
Operating out of an examination room, UT School of Nursing hosts a health clinic offering primary care services, like giving diagnoses, prescriptions and referrals, every Saturday at Pecan Gardens, a supportive housing complex for dozens of adults age 55 or older who have a disability and are exiting chronic homelessness.
A result of a partnership between Austin and the Ending Community Homelessness Coalition, Pecan Gardens is one of many properties owned by the Austin Housing Finance Corporation as part of the city’s motel conversion plan. The plan seeks to convert motels into transitional and permanent supportive housing for unhoused individuals, and offer residents supportive services, like case management, peer support and mental health treatment.
The clinic gives nursing students, like nursing senior Lucia Collins, hands-on experience working in patient care. Collins, who interned at Pecan Gardens for over a year, said trust was an essential aspect to performing her duties, which included intake and measuring vitals.
“I definitely think there’s a lot of trust-building that has to happen, especially in this kind of setting,” Collins said. “(The residents are) pushing past a lot of psychological and social barriers to even request that help.”
Elizabeth Racine, family nurse practitioner at Pecan Gardens and the UT Family Wellness Center, has led Pecan Gardens’s clinics for over a year and a half. For Racine, one of the clinic’s goals is to serve as many residents as possible from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
“There’s a real focus on the social determinants of health,” Racine said. “Now that (the residents) are exiting homelessness and they have a permanent space to live, it still doesn’t account for transportation, food security, (and) the ability to schedule appointments (or) keep up with appointments.”
Beginning as a research partnership between the UT School of Nursing and Family Eldercare, an Austin-based nonprofit serving seniors and people with disabilities, the health clinic was established in October 2024, after a memorandum was made between the two organizations.
Whitney Thurman, assistant professor at UT Nursing School, wrote in an email that the clinic was made as residents moving to Pecan Gardens would no longer benefit from a health coverage plan for low-income Travis county residents. Pecan Gardens is located in Williamson county.
“Having these health services on site reduces a huge barrier for people who have transportation barriers but also a lot of just mobility challenges,” Thurman said. “Even if they were able to manage the bus, once they got on the bus, they can’t get there.”
Annette Salazar is a resident who has been at Pecan Gardens since its opening. A regular participant in community events, like a women-led Bible study group, she said the facility’s services help her remain active.
“You’re just with a lot of different people with a lot of different issues and traumas,” Salazar said. “I had forgotten that there are people out there that care and want to help us, and I’m so grateful that (there are) people that gave to these programs.”
