Texas Health Neighborhood Care & Wellness
Celebrates One Year Improving the Health of
Parker County Residents
BY MELISSA MOORMAN
PA R K E R C O U N T Y T O D AY
beyond to show compassion to every patient who walks
through the door. “We want to be the very best at what
we are doing, providing quality care, safety and the best
patient experience,” Snead said. “That’s exactly why we
are here,” he continued.
“We appreciate so much the community’s welcome and
reception of us. We’ve served so many of them for a long
time, but at a distance through our other facilities,” said
Snead. He has lived in the Aledo area for a dozen years
and looks forward to the opportunity to, “serve my friends
and family in the place where I live and play,” he continued. Snead is a registered pharmacist and began working
in the hospital pharmacy at Harris downtown, then moved
to the company’s Azle location. He appreciates Texas
Health giving him the opportunity to see the bigger picture
as the administrator at their Willow Park location.
He and his wife, also a pharmacist, are raising their
two sons, ages 8 and 12, in Aledo where he coaches
baseball and is a board member of Aledo Athletics. The
Neighborhood Care & Wellness Center is a member of
both the East Parker County and Weatherford Chambers
of Commerce and recently participated in the Aledo
Thanksgiving Trot and Christmas on the Square in
Weatherford.
One of the standouts in the modern new facility is its
imaging center. While they have offered digital mammography for the past year, in January they are upgrading
to 3-D digital mammography. This innovation allows
physicians a better view of the breast tissue resulting in
reduced call-backs for patients as well as pinpoint accuracy, said Kharri Schneider, manager of Imaging and
Radiology at Texas Health Neighborhood Care & Wellness.
It is just one of a host of imaging technologies available at
their campus. They also offer standard x-rays, along with
CAT scans, MRIs, ultrasound services, echocardiograms,
and fluoroscopy. What is most impressive is the emphasis
on patient comfort. For example, the MRI tube is less than
five feet long versus the 10 feet most machines are. It
also has a wider than usual opening to make people with
claustrophobia issues more comfortable during testing.
“We provide one stop, from the fitness center to mammograms,” said Schneider. “Patients are not herded as
cattle, we have a more personable touch,” she continued.
The wayfinding and ease of use are some of the biggest
benefits their clients notice upon arrival. They can park
right in front of the building and be in the imaging area
in minutes, not fighting the traffic, the parking and then
wandering around from building to building like in other
large hospitals. “We try to focus on the total patient experience,” she said. Schneider currently lives in Keller, but
is building a house in Parker County and will be moving
during 2016 leaving the traffic behind her. She has two
older sons, and they will be moving after the youngest one
graduates from high school at the end of the school year.
JANUARY 2016
When asked, Administrator Charlie Snead said nothing
out of the ordinary happened during their first year in the
new Willow Park Neighborhood Care & Wellness Center.
The facility is a division of Texas Health, which stretches north, south, east and west of Harris Hospital downtown.
It’s not surprising that this newcomer to the Parker
County healthcare scene didn’t have any surprises because
of the extensive needs assessments it completed prior to
its opening to make sure it supplied the areas of treatment
needed in this western-most part of the DFW Metroplex.
“As needs change, as the population changes, our job
is to grow the facility and the business based on the needs
of Parker County,” Snead said. The center is new and
bright, but also warm and welcoming and is located at
101 Crown Point Boulevard in Willow Park. It is just off
Interstate 20 between the Ranch House and Mikus Road
exits on the north side of the highway.
The Neighborhood Care & Wellness Center opened
on Jan. 19, 2015, and is just phase one of the 30-acre
campus owned by Texas Health.
It currently offers a freestanding 24-hour-a-day, sevenday-a-week emergency room with 10 beds, a fitness center,
and 20,000-square-foot medical office building. The
services provided include cardiac rehabilitation, physical
therapy, occupational therapy, full laboratory services,
CT, MRI, digital mammography, and a chronic disease
management program. They have emergency medical
services on site and a helipad. For patients who need
more extensive care than they can offer locally, the process
is seamless after transport and admittance to Harris
Downtown from the ambulance to their in-patient hospital
bed. Many are enjoying the fitness center that fronts the
access road. It boasts new equipment and a relaxed and
soothing atmosphere.
Texas Health is currently serving an average of 30
patients per day in their ER, but expects that to grow as
the eastern part of the county continues to grow. Along
with all of their other services, they have a certified diabetes educator on this campus and in their community room
they conduct many different kinds of patient information
and education classes. Recently they featured Matters of
Balance, a Safe-Sitters class and one on chronic disease
self-management. All this is available at the Willow Park
location, improving the wellness outlook for countless
Parker County residents.
The specialty physician group is impressive, boasting
neurosurgeons, cardiologists, orthopedists, and podiatrists. They are working in partnership with physicians in
the local area to bring other specialties, which may in the
future include obstetrics and gynecology as well as primary care physicians. They continue to look at community
needs to make sure they are poised to take the best care
possible of their patients now and in the future.
Texas Health has four values with which it treats its
patients: respect, integrity, compassion and excellence.
Snead points to his excellent staff who go above and
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