New TTU OB/GYN clinic in Canyon aims to extend health options in maternity care desert
CANYON — In an effort to provide more health care options for women of the Texas Panhandle, Texas Tech Physicians celebrated the opening of its new Obstetrics and Gynecology (OB/GYN) clinic Wednesday morning, located at 3404 4th Ave. in Canyon.
Texas Tech Physicians is the clinical practice arm of the Texas Tech University Sciences Center (TTUHSC).
The new 2,000-square-foot facility includes six patient rooms and waiting areas that emphasize the needs of the patient. Services to be performed at the clinic include pap smears, bone health, breast cancer screenings, contraceptive counseling, menopause, prenatal care and annual checkups.
“Bringing exceptional OB/GYN care to Canyon has been a goal for Texas Tech Physicians for several years,” said Richard Jordan, M.D. regional dean of the TTUHSC School of Medicine at the ribbon cutting ceremony. “We are excited about the ribbon cutting, but we are more excited to be able to expand access to our comprehensive care and ongoing support to more women in every stage of their health care journeys.”
Lori Rice-Spearman, president of TTUHSC, spoke about the significance of the clinic opening in the area.
“This clinic is a culmination of a four-year project amongst our leadership team,” Rice-Spearman said. “We knew there was a need in this area for women’s health care, especially with a major university such as West Texas A&M being here as well as employment opportunities in the region. This is something we have building toward to provide care for people in the region.”
Teresa Baker, a Texas Tech Physicians OB/GYN and TTUHSC chair of OB/GYN, explained that many of these areas had become maternity care deserts due to many women’s health care providers closing in rural areas. Maternity care deserts are defined as counties in which access to maternity care health services is limited or absent, either through lack of services or barriers to a woman’s ability to access that care.
“Women who live and work in the Panhandle have busy, complex lives,” Baker said. “Texas Tech Physicians is committed to delivering evidence-based, compassionate and comprehensive health care to the women of the Texas Panhandle, and the Canyon clinic will allow that care to be convenient and accessible."
According to TTUHSC, these maternity deserts can result in long wait times for appointments or long travel times to prenatal and postpartum care or birth sites. West Texas is predominantly underserved in terms of critical health care: Of the 108 counties in the TTUHSC service region, 20 have no practicing physician and 11 have no physician, nurse practitioner or physician assistant. Those patients in remote and rural areas have very few specialty providers, which results in those individuals having to travel long distances for medical care.
Baker said that due to the dearth of OB/GYN clinics, in Randall County in contrast to its population, there was only one other listed as being in the county, which was a significant distance to Canyon. She said that the surrounding areas, such as Tulia, Dimmitt and Hereford, are without OB/GYN providers for their residents as well, which this clinic could help to provide for.
She said that the role of the clinic would also be involved in educational programs to give women of the region a better understanding of their health care needs. Baker also stated that with the addition of this clinic, her group is looking at future possibilities of being able to extend care out in the remote communities, with some of their care providers taking patients in those areas who must travel extreme distances to see a provider, to help streamline the process to help bridge the women’s health care gap.
When asked if the state of Texas's current restrictions on women’s health care decisions such as abortion have created an even greater need for clinics like this in the area, Baker could not comment on the impact but emphasized that patient care is always the priority.
“The health and safety of the patients we serve through our service area is the top priority of our health service professionals; we remain committed to providing world-class care in accordance with the law,” Baker said.
Baker said that the purpose of this clinic is to help bridge the service gap for those that are seeing their health care options dwindle due to staffing shortages and clinic closings in remote areas.
“As health care providers, our number one objective is ensuring our communities are as healthy as they can be,” Jordan said. “In order for us to do that, we are evolving where and how we provide care to the rural parts of the Panhandle. We are honored to continue opportunities for care."
This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: Texas Tech Physicians opens new OB/GYN clinic in Canyon