{"id":992954,"date":"2026-08-10T12:00:11","date_gmt":"2026-08-10T12:00:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/992954\/"},"modified":"2026-08-10T12:00:11","modified_gmt":"2026-08-10T12:00:11","slug":"texas-rural-clinics-turn-to-telehealth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/992954\/","title":{"rendered":"Texas rural clinics turn to telehealth"},"content":{"rendered":"

Subscribe to The Y\u2019all<\/a> \u2014 a weekly dispatch about the people, places and policies defining Texas, produced by Texas Tribune journalists living in communities across the state.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Audio recording is automated for accessibility. Humans wrote and edited the story. See our AI policy<\/a>, and give us feedback<\/a>.<\/p>\n

LUBBOCK \u2014 The Davis Mountain Clinic is not your typical rural medical clinic. It doesn\u2019t have windows or a big waiting room, and there aren\u2019t teams of physicians and nurses waiting on patients. <\/p>\n

Instead, there\u2019s one nurse, Carol Brewer, who connects patients to psychologists and physicians online. What\u2019s even more remarkable is where Brewer runs the clinic \u2014 a renovated shipping container. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt saves them time and the expense of traveling,\u201d Brewer said. \u201cThey don\u2019t have to travel 30 miles to the closest clinic, or get an appointment two weeks later. They are more likely to drop in, as opposed to delaying care.\u201d <\/p>\n

A lack of funding and the struggle to expand broadband into rural communities has pushed some healthcare providers to use more creative tactics to bring healthcare services to the areas that need it. <\/p>\n

Brewer\u2019s telehealth clinic in Fort Davis, a town with less than 900 residents, is just one example of how two organizations \u2014 in this case rival schools Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center and Texas A&M University \u2014 worked together to renovate and establish a telehealth clinic to bring much-needed healthcare services to rural Texas. <\/p>\n

For years, telehealth has been looked at as the next frontier in healthcare, particularly in rural communities. Some say it couldn\u2019t come at a better time as inflation continues to drive up gas prices<\/a> and the cost of car repairs<\/a>. And Texas leads the nation in rural hospital closures<\/a> due to high operating costs and not having enough patients to bring money in. <\/p>\n

Lawmakers have noticed the problem. In June, Gov. Greg Abbott<\/a> announced the Texas Health and Human Services Commission made $10 million in grant funding available<\/a> for eligible rural hospitals and health clinics to provide pediatric telehealth. <\/p>\n

People in the medical field say funding for telehealth, or virtual care, is desperately needed to close the gaps in rural healthcare. According to Texas Health and Human Services, as of 2024, 143 counties in Texas lack a practicing pediatrician and only 4,899 pediatricians provide direct care to patients. It\u2019s a big problem in West Texas, where Brewer\u2019s clinic is. Nearly 82% of counties in the region did not have a pediatrician in 2024<\/a>. <\/p>\n

The Davis Mountain Clinic is set up for both physical and virtual care, but primarily serves as a conduit for residents who don\u2019t have internet access. On the left side of the clinic is a telehealth camera to connect with physicians from Texas Tech\u2019s Health Sciences Center. On the right is another telehealth camera to connect patients to counseling services provided by Texas A&M\u2019s Telehealth Institute. <\/p>\n

The land is owned by the county, so the clinic doesn\u2019t have to pay rent or for utilities. However, they do pay for the internet services and other supplies that are needed. The clinic doesn\u2019t accept insurance and charges a $30 flat fee for patients. Patients are not charged for routine or minor care that Brewer can take care of, such as administering wound care or showing newly diagnosed diabetics how to use glucometers. <\/p>\n

\"\"Davis Mountain Clinic connects patients to psychologists and physicians online. Sarah Vasquez for The Texas Trib<\/p>\n

Another retrofitted container clinic from the universities opened this summer in the small town of Burton, nearly 85 miles east of Austin. Adrian Billings, the chair for rural health at Texas Tech Health Sciences Center, said there are about 40 other counties in the state they want to launch the collaboration in. They have to find the funding first.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe goal is to have some sort of healthcare access point in all 254 of our counties,\u201d Billings said. \u201cTelehealth is a very important piece of healthcare, especially for our rural communities.\u201d <\/p>\n

Billings is also a physician with Preventative Care Health Services, serving the rural West Texas communities of Alpine, Marfa and Presidio. He said the healthcare workforce is mostly found in urban areas, so telehealth clinics give them access to those physicians. While he believes every patient should have the opportunity to shake their physician\u2019s hand, Billings said rural communities still need healthcare even if it\u2019s not physically available. <\/p>\n

\u201cI firmly believe that we can\u2019t give up on development of the rural healthcare workforce to be there in person, especially for urgent situations like childbirth and emergency care,\u201d Billings said. \u201cIt will still be an access point for a rural patient.\u201d <\/p>\n

Billings said broadband access in the Big Bend region has improved over the last 20 years. However, he said there are still dark spots where people don\u2019t have access or can\u2019t afford it, or don\u2019t even have a smartphone to use internet service. That\u2019s where telehealth clinics come into the picture, Billings said. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhether it be a library or a container clinic, it\u2019s important because patients don\u2019t have to pay for that Wi-Fi and the infrastructure needed for telehealth,\u201d Billings said. \u201cI think if we can begin in places that do have it, maybe it will be easier for patients who live outside of broadband access to travel fewer miles where there is access.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite its struggle with expanding broadband services in rural areas, Texas has made progress over the years. The state\u2019s broadband map shows most of the state has at least 75% or more served<\/a>. Most rural hospitals in the state all have broadband for quick access to physicians, radiologists and specialists. Zoom calls can now include digital tools, such as a stethoscope, to make examinations more robust. <\/p>\n

Despite the expansion of broadband in rural areas, some counties still lack reliable internet service, such as Wheeler in the Panhandle, where nearly 2,000 residents still don\u2019t have service. Patients all over the state \u2014 both in-person and virtual \u2014 need a connection to the internet to access records. But access largely comes down to where someone lives and if they can afford internet service.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you don\u2019t have access to the internet, you can\u2019t get to your patient portal, get your lab results, you can\u2019t go online and schedule an appointment,\u201d said Nora Cox, CEO and founder of Texas e-Health Alliance. \u201cThere\u2019s so many things missing if you don\u2019t have connectivity.\u201d <\/p>\n

Cox said broadband, which provides high-speed access to the internet, has gotten better in some ways. However, she said there are still pockets of consumers who either don\u2019t have internet or don\u2019t use a smartphone, and they need to be taken care of better. <\/p>\n

\u201cIf you are lower income and using a track phone with limited minutes, what happens if you run out in the middle of talking to your doctor?\u201d Cox said. \u201cWe tend to think everyone has an iPhone, but it\u2019s a problem when all people have is a track phone from Walmart.\u201d <\/p>\n

Thomas Kim, a psychiatrist who has been working on telehealth development for the last 20 years, said expanding pediatric telehealth with the grant is beneficial, but also misses the point. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think in telehealth, we should move away from this idea that a single grant should target a specific-use case because that\u2019s not really sustainable,\u201d Kim said. <\/p>\n

Kim said grant funding should be used to support areas with proven success in the field, such as the Texas Child Health Access Through Telemedicine, or TCHATT, at Texas Tech\u2019s Health Sciences Center. The program is in collaboration with more than 200 independent school districts across Texas, and connects pre-K through 12th grade students with free mental health services.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s something I hope gets their slice of this most recent investment because we\u2019re in trouble,\u201d Kim said. \u201cThe healthcare crisis is real in so many ways. It would be nice if we took seriously the fundamental flaws we have in the financing and delivery system.\u201d <\/p>\n

Cynthia Jumper, executive vice president for health policy and strategic initiatives at Texas Tech\u2019s Health Sciences Center, said she would like to see telehealth expand into more healthcare fields. Telehealth has expanded into practices such as psychiatry and mental health counseling, ophthalmology, even dentistry to an extent. <\/p>\n

\"\"A patient-made blanket hangs inside Davis Mountain Clinic on July 20, 2026. Sarah Vasquez for The Texas Trib<\/p>\n

\"\"Head Nurse Carol Brewer\u2019s stethoscope hangs inside the clinic. Sarah Vasquez for The Texas Trib<\/p>\n

But telemedicine has its limits. It can\u2019t see patients who have critical physical ailments, such as abdominal pain, changes in consciousness or losing vital functions. <\/p>\n

\u201cThere are many ways to use this, and we continue to push that limit in order to get care where it needs to be provided,\u201d Jumper said. \u201cNot everybody\u2019s in a city with a level one trauma center, so trying to get more care to the patient where they are is really how telehealth is working.\u201d <\/p>\n

In 2021, the Texas Legislature put $150 million in grant funding toward the Next-Gen 911 program. This allowed another expansion into telehealth, Jumper said, where paramedics can also use telehealth equipment in the back of ambulances. If a paramedic thinks the patient can be treated in the ambulance instead of enduring a long drive, then they will be able to connect a camera to a physician to walk them through treatment. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe are doing that to try and prevent emergency room visits which are costly,\u201d Jumper said. <\/p>\n

As far as the Davis Mountain Clinic, the community has welcomed Brewer and the clinic with open arms. Brewer calls it old frontier medicine. People bring her plants, snacks \u2014 someone even made her a quilt that is displayed in the clinic. In the more than 30 years of her career, Brewer said it\u2019s the best job she\u2019s had. <\/p>\n

Brewer said the clinic plans to expand its services to other rural communities. This fall, they are hoping to use the community center in Valentine, a town of about 70 people 40 miles west of Fort Davis, a few times a month for patients in the area. The clinic might also have a Texas Tech healthcare student serve as a physician\u2019s assistant later this year.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis clinic is serving in part as a model for future clinics they\u2019re planning,\u201d Brewer said. \u201cAnd the convenience of having access has been crucial for people out here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Disclosure: Cynthia Jumper, Texas A&M University and Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center have been financial supporters of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in The Texas Tribune\u2019s journalism. Find a complete\u00a0list of them here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Subscribe to The Y\u2019all \u2014 a weekly dispatch about the people, places and policies defining Texas, produced by…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":992955,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[35],"tags":[716,5026,210,1141,1142,67,132,68],"class_list":["post-992954","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health-care","tag-broadband","tag-greg-abbott","tag-health","tag-health-care","tag-healthcare","tag-united-states","tag-unitedstates","tag-us"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/117071109615971438","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/992954","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=992954"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/992954\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/992955"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=992954"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=992954"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=992954"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}