Su Clinica Familiar receives $1.2M for improvements

HARLINGEN - Su Clinica Familiar has been awarded about $1.2 million to improve its information technology systems and renovate the Raymondville facility.

In all, South Texas clinics will receive about $3.5 million from the Recovery Act Capital Improvement Program from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Two other Rio Grande Valley clinics, Nuestra Clinica Del Valle in Pharr and Community Action Corporation in Alice, will receive about $1.5 million and $770,000, respectively.

Adam Saldivar, SCF chief financial officer, said Thursday that IT system upgrades are currently under way. The new IT equipment, including servers, power switches, patient-friendly registry access and new pharmacy software, will benefit the SCF locations here, in Brownsville and Raymondville.

Most of the funds will be used to build a new pharmacy at SCF Raymondville, Saldivar said.

The Raymondville clinic measures about 17,500 square feet with the pharmacy located inside the clinic.

With the grant, a new pharmacy, measuring about 5,000 square feet including parking, will be built outside the existing clinic, Saldivar said.

Cristina Perez, SCF chief of operations, said the former pharmacy area will be converted into extra exam rooms.

Perez said the SCF locations, which see about 26,000 patients yearly, will become more efficient with these upgrades.

"This efficiency will help our doctors provide better quality services," Perez said.

Saldivar said they hope to complete the new pharmacy within a year and are seeking bids from contractors to begin construction.

The upgrades will also create more than 47 construction jobs, Saldivar said.