3 min read November 2023 — In an interview with Invest:, Jaime Wesolowski, President and CEO of Methodist Healthcare Ministries of South Texas, Inc. discussed the organization’s impactful contributions to healthcare equity in Central and South Texas, emphasizing exceptional care, community investments and innovative partnerships.
What is the contribution and impact of Methodist Healthcare Ministries and how are you making a difference?
Methodist Healthcare Ministries operates with an annual budget of over $150 million, which we allocate to various initiatives aimed at advancing health equity across Central and South Texas. For 28 years, we have focused on providing healthcare services, including medical, dental and behavioral health, to economically disadvantaged individuals. Our patients are often working families in Texas who do not qualify for Medicaid due to their income levels, yet they cannot afford private health insurance. We estimate that there are almost 20% of San Antonio residents who are uninsured and we provide free or low-cost health care to over 15,000 of those individuals on an annual basis through our integrated healthcare services alone.
What sets us apart is our commitment to delivering exceptional care. We continually benchmark ourselves against similar healthcare providers, not only in Texas but across the nation. In almost every KPI, we consistently rank in the top decile. When we don’t achieve the top decile, we still fall within the top quartile. This means that the individuals we serve are not merely receiving care when they have nowhere else to turn; they are receiving the highest quality health care available.
Additionally, we have a Community Investments department responsible for granting funds to nonprofit organizations that align with our mission and strategic goals. In 2023 for example, we provided over $43 million in grants to such organizations. Some of our local partners include Clarity Child Guidance Center, CommuniCare Health Centers, Family Service Association, and the San Antonio Foundation for Excellence in Education, just to name a few. These organizations are doing outstanding work to address the needs of underserved populations and contribute to breaking the cycle of poverty.
Furthermore, our Wesley Nurses play a vital role in our outreach efforts. We employ over 80 full-time registered nurses who are based mostly in United Methodist churches throughout the 74 counties in our service area. These nurses focus on identifying and addressing systemic inequities related to the social determinants of health within their respective communities. They assess various needs, such as food security, transportation, housing and access to clean water and work tirelessly to address these needs within their communities.
What are the primary challenges you see in the state of healthcare and how has the demand for services changed?
Our main challenge differs from many healthcare providers. We must prioritize effectively. We are blessed, as a non profit, to have a healthy operating budget, likely reaching $170 million in 2024. While this may seem substantial, the immense need in our communities coupled with the size of our service area makes prioritizing resources accordingly integral to our mission. Everything we do makes a positive impact, but we are aiming to maximize health and wellness improvements for the underserved with the resources we have available.
Our tagline is “broadening the definition of health care” because we know health is more than what happens at a doctor’s visit. When we look at the United States, in comparison to other large countries, we spend the most per capita on healthcare but have the lowest life expectancy, lagging behind by 6.5 years. The reason for this disconnect is that there is more of an emphasis on healthcare access interventions and insufficient investment focused on improving community conditions, including social services and community initiatives.Therefore, at MHM, we concentrate on addressing the social determinants of health, like digital equity, economic mobility, food security and clean water.
To address healthcare disparities, we collaborate with organizations like Morgan’s Wonderland Multi-Assistance Center, where we help families of disabled individuals access care when they might not be eligible for Medicaid. Our challenge lies in shifting from predominantly providing medical care to also taking into consideration and emphasizing the importance of social care and community health, thus expanding the definition of health care itself.
What is the significance of the partnership with VelocityTX for Methodist Healthcare Ministries and the greater San Antonio area?
We’re excited about this innovative, three-year venture with VelocityTX, a San Antonio-based bioscience innovation center. Our partnership, which we announced in August 2023, is designed to advance awareness, research, and innovation related to the social determinants of health (SDH). We always seek best practices from across healthcare industry sectors and bring them to Central and South Texas. This project involves identifying startups looking to scale their business while enhancing health equity and addressing SDH. Throughout the partnership, VelocityTX will provide startup funding, coaching and mentoring to these companies in the hope that they contribute to improving the well-being of underserved populations in our region. Working with VelocityTX is a particularly exciting endeavor and we anticipate positive outcomes.
How is San Antonio changing as a result of the work Methodist Healthcare Ministries and others have pursued?
Speaking specifically for Methodist Healthcare Ministries, we’ve definitely observed changes in the healthcare landscape. More people are coming to our clinics in need of specialist referrals. Over time, a subgroup of individuals without health insurance has seen their health deteriorate and when they do seek care, it’s often at an advanced stage. Consequently, we’re encountering sicker patients on their initial visits each year.
Through our unique relationships with Methodist Healthcare System (MHS), which we co-own through a joint partnership with HCA Healthcare, we are able to provide exceptional care for the least served. At our owned and operated primary care clinics on the Southside of San Antonio, we provide medical, dental and behavioral health services for our patients and clients. When they require specialized care, we can refer them to our partners at MHS. We have a network of 281 specialists who agree to see our patients, either at Medicare allowable rates or for free, as part of their own personal calling. Additionally, when patients need diagnostic procedures, surgery, or overnight stays, MHS takes them and absorbs the associated costs through their charity care program. This partnership serves as a vital safety net for San Antonio, benefiting both parties and the communities we serve.
Another example of how San Antonio is changing is evidenced by a community-wide push towards trauma-informed care. Methodist Healthcare Ministries has been a longtime supporter of the South Texas Trauma Informed Care Consortium (STTICC) and we were honored to be the first organization to attain Level 1 Trauma Informed Care Certification through the Ecumenical Center, the certifying entity for the STTICC. The STTICC is a group that was created by the City of San Antonio Metro Health, the Children’s Shelter and Voices for Children, with members representing a vast collection of community organizations committed to addressing the impact of trauma. MHM was one of three organizations that stepped up to help pilot the Level 1 Trauma Informed Care Certification process and the first to complete the process and attain the Level 1 Certification. Trauma Informed Care practices can improve client, patient, and employee relationships, and help organizations avoid retraumatizing those who have experienced trauma in the past.
How does your organization approach community needs and foster partnerships?
Community partnerships have long been a key way Methodist Healthcare Ministries has been able to carry out its work. Since its inception, Methodist Healthcare Ministries has provided more than $1.5 billion in health care services through its clinics and programs, as well as through partnerships. In addition, we are the largest private funding sources for community health care to low-income families and the uninsured in South Texas. While there are many institutions that are providing critical health care programming in our service area, we partner with a select few whose missions and services fit within our organizational objectives, set forth by our board of directors.
I’d like to highlight an important aspect of our approach to partnerships and addressing needs across the city and the state. When I arrived in San Antonio as the CEO of Methodist Healthcare System in 2007 and witnessed the pressing needs, it became evident that, despite MHS and MHM’s substantial funds, we couldn’t address these challenges in isolation. Our strategy at Methodist Healthcare Ministries, even before I become the CEO in 2018, has been to identify organizations with similar goals and form strategic partnerships.
Those strategic partnerships—and our own programs and services—are all driven by the unique and diverse needs of the low-income, uninsured population we serve. One of our chief guiding principles at MHM is recognizing that we can’t address the needs of every community alone, but we can support, convene, and/or partner with others engaged in and/or leading efforts to improve community health and well-being.
Here are just a few examples of how we’ve engaged in community-based partnerships to meet and address community needs.
In addition to the VelocityTX partnership I mentioned earlier, we’ve engaged in projects like funding a water quality study in the colonias along the Texas-Mexico border with Texas A&M University. In these areas, residents are consuming water contaminated with arsenic and lead, posing severe health risks. Conducting this study will equip us with essential data to advocate for legislation and secure funding to improve water quality and safety.
Another notable partnership is with Haven for Hope, where we provide healthcare funding in conjunction with Centro Med for the unhoused population. Another initiative aimed at supporting the needs of this community is our collaboration with the Housing First Community Coalition. We provided them an initial $250,000 in funding to support the Towne Twin Village project on San Antonio’s east side and have followed up with $750,000 of additional support. Once completed, Towne Twin Village will be the first single-site Permanent Supportive Housing provider in the San Antonio community for individuals experiencing homelessness.
We’ve also built strong partnerships with community-needs focused organizations like the Alzheimer’s Association, the American Cancer Society, MS Society, United Way, and the American Heart Association, to name a few. In fact, we recently allocated $11 million to bring Hope Lodge to San Antonio in partnership with the American Cancer Society. This facility will offer lodging and support to cancer patients traveling for treatment, addressing not only medical costs but also logistical challenges.
Moreover, our digital equity initiative involves partnering with 20 different organizations. Together, we work to bridge the digital divide by providing computers, training and technical support to underserved individuals.
Combining these strategic partnerships with the strength of our own quality integrated care, our community health and wellness programs and the blessing of our passionate team and board—Methodist Healthcare Ministries is poised to rapidly enhance our investment in South Texas now, and in the years to come. We couldn’t be more excited about the future as we strive to advance health equity, and truly broaden the definition of healthcare.
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