New Austin pediatric clinic Lirios gives free care — from doctor visit to prescriptions

For 15 years, Dr. Claire Hebner worked at Austin Regional Clinic as a pediatrician.

She came to Austin in 2008 from Seattle, and built a life here with her husband, Matt, and three children.

"I really love being a pediatrician and love my patients," she said.

There was no reason to make a change in her career, but she began thinking about life and a search for deeper meaning.

"I just decided, 'I'm 50 years old, what do I want to do with my life?'" she said.

The answer: open a clinic in Austin for free pediatric care.

Lirios Pediatrics opened Nov. 28 on South Congress Avenue near Ben White Boulevard. It is named after Dr. Lily Sood, an Austin pediatrician who came to ARC in 1981 and inspired Hebner. Sood died in 2017. Her legacy lives on in Lirios, which means lilies in Spanish.

Why is free pediatric care important?

"There are so many uninsured kids in Texas," she said.

While there are other nonprofit organizations and federally qualified health centers in Austin that provide pediatric care for the uninsured, often they have a sliding fee scale based on income.

Lirios Pediatrics charges nothing to see a doctor, and it provides free vaccinations, medications and X-rays.

"These families are so appreciative," Hebner said. "Families keep asking, 'How much is this going to cost?' We keep saying it's free. ... it's not like they are getting a handout. All children deserve health care."

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A December 2022 report from Georgetown University's Center for Children and Families' research showed that Texas had the worst uninsured rates for children of any state. In 2021, 11.8% of all Texas children do not have medical insurance. That rate could go up when the pandemic Public Health Emergency ends April 1, allowing states to begin disenrolling children in Medicaid rather than automatically renewing them as states did during the pandemic. Once the Public Health Emergency ends, kids could get dropped for not having updated contact information, for example, or if their parents didn't fill out an updated form.

Who is finding Lirios?

Since Lirios opened, it has seen more than 120 patients, some more than once. Its patients have come from as far as Jarrell and New Braunfels, but many are from Austin. Lirios has connected with nurses in the Austin and Del Valle school districts to have them see the clinic as a resource to refer families.

"We're pretty much full every day," she said.

The clinic has seen many recent immigrants, including families from Ukraine, who need to get kids vaccinated before they can attend school.

Many of the kids, both immigrants and not, are on the waiting list for federal programs like Medicaid or Children's Health Insurance Program or Central Health's Medical Access Program for Travis County families with incomes at or below 200% of the federal poverty level.

"In the meantime, they are still sick or need to go to school," Hebner said. "We can be that safety net while they are waiting."

She also sees kids whose parents are working full-time, and they make too much to qualify for Medicaid, CHIP or MAP, but they don't make enough to afford insurance.

"It's been a really huge impact," Hebner said. "We're keeping kids in school and out of the ER."

Some of the patients have had serious chronic illnesses, such as asthma, or bleeding disorders, or seizure disorders. They've gone without medications because of the expense, but Hebner will find a way to get them the medication they need for free and hopefully at a free or reduced cost to the clinic.

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How is Lirios funded?

Lirios has three staff members: Hebner is the pediatrician, an executive director and a medical assistant.

Its salaries, rent and supplies are paid for by grants, individual donations and family foundations. Lirios recently received funding to pay for a counselor for a year from a family foundation. It also has received a small grant from H-E-B, and it has been in talks with St. David's Foundation, a big funder of health care nonprofit organizations and clinics in Central Texas.

Much of Lirios' funding is in-kind donations. ARC helped outfit the clinic with furnishings and medical equipment. Hebner reached out to national organizations that supply clinics medication that will expire in six months, but are still viable for now. ARA Diagnostic Imaging has given the clinic a grant to get families X-rays for free.

"That's really amazing," Hebner said. "We've had a lot of help."

Lirios also uses volunteers from the University of Texas to do nonmedical work including Spanish translation, though they use a medical translation service as well.

Being a nonprofit clinic means Lirios does get some things for free, such as electronic health records.

Lirios also refers patients to other places like Foundation Communities to help fill out forms to get kids insured or to help with housing, as well as to the Central Texas Food Bank for food needs.

How will Lirios grow?

"In five years, I hope that we don't have to worry; it's not a hustle scraping for money," Hebner said.

She hopes to be able to expand the clinic's capacity, more clinicians, counseling services and a social worker to help patients fill out forms to get other services.

"We want to be their home," Hebner said.

Lirios has been a great 50th birthday gift for Hebner to give herself. "I'm so fulfilled and excited about this," she said. "Anyone who meets me is like you have to stop talking about this."

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Austin pediatric clinic Lirios offers free care thanks to donations