Frontera Healthcare: Battling Rural Texas Healthcare Crisis

In a recent episode of Rural Texas Has a Healthcare Crisis - This Nonprofit Is Fixing It | Allison Leftwich, host Justin McKenzie of The Building Texas Show interviews Allison Leftwich, chief strategy officer of Frontera Healthcare Network, about the challenges and solutions in delivering healthcare to rural communities. Frontera, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit community health center, operates seven locations across five Texas Hill Country communities: Fredericksburg (three locations), Mason, Menard, Junction, and Brady. Leftwich highlights that in some of these areas, Frontera is the sole healthcare provider, while in Fredericksburg, it collaborates with the local hospital and other primary care providers.

The discussion covers Frontera's comprehensive services, including primary care, behavioral health, psychiatry, a pharmacy under the federal 340B drug program, walk-in care at the new Fredericksburg clinic, and case management for chronic conditions with medication assistance and home delivery. McKenzie notes that for many rural Texans, a trip to town can take 45 minutes, making same-day care and prescriptions critical. Leftwich shares a poignant example of a Menard patient with serious health concerns whose provider called daily to secure a referral, demonstrating the personalized advocacy that sets Frontera apart. She credits CEO Mikki Hand, who grew up in the area and still sees patients two days a week, for fostering a culture of care: "she's caring for people who cared for her as a child."

The conversation also addresses the rural health workforce. Frontera has hosted high school interns, welcomed college students for the first time this year, and partners with Texas A&M to bring medical students in for rotations "to ensure that they understand what rural health care looks like." One provider who rotated as a student is returning to join the team full time. Leftwich, who has worked with the INCubatoredu program at Fredericksburg ISD and Hill Country Venture Fest, emphasizes the goal to "give them hope that they could find a career in their hometown." When asked who should know Frontera is there, Leftwich admits she once thought it was pediatrics only, but stresses that the goal is to provide affordable health care for everybody, including the underinsured and uninsured, so they have "somebody that will advocate and fight for them." The full episode is available on YouTube and The Building Texas Show episode page.