TOMAGWA HealthCare Ministries has announced the opening of its new walk-in clinic at the New Life Pregnancy Center in Magnolia.

TOMAGWA, which means Tomball, Magnolia and Waller, serves residents in southwest Montgomery, southeast Waller and northwest Harris Counties.

Prior to the opening of the Magnolia branch, the organization had one facility located in Tomball on School Street and another facility based out of the St. John’s Lutheran Church in Waller.

Executive Director Judy Deyo said TOMAGWA has been planning to open a location in Magnolia for some time. She said the organization has seen a need for a location in Magnolia for years.

“I think most people know that Magnolia needs a clinic,” she said.

TOMAGWA’s Magnolia clinic will operate the same as the Tomball clinic and serve residents who are uninsured, lack Medicare or Medicaid and meet financial requirements.

The clinic will provide medical services for acute care, sore throats, earaches and rashes among others. TOMAGWA can provide medication or prescriptions. Other services such as labs or x-rays will be available in Tomball.

TOMAGWA is a nominal fee, comprehensive family practice clinic. New patients will pay $15, established patients pay $10 and medications cost $5 or a written prescription may be given.

According to data released by TOMAGWA, the Tomball clinic saw 11,075 patients in 2010. Of that number, 1,281 patients were new.

Deyo said she is hoping that the people who currently are patients in Tomball will continue to seek services there, unless they are unable to travel to the Tomball location.

She added that TOMAGWA is encouraging people who have not established a medical home in Tomball to come to the Magnolia clinic which aims to serve Magnolia residents and those who live east and west of Magnolia and a within a few miles north of Magnolia.

The new location will be open every Monday from 9 to 11:30 a.m. Rebecca Walters will be the nurse practitioner.

The clinic hopes to have more hours of operation and more volunteers on hand as it continues to develop and grow, according to Deyo.

“We hope to add more hours as we recruit other practitioners and nurses,” she said.

TOMAGWA operates mostly on the work of volunteers with only two paid medical staff members.

In addition, approximately half of TOMAGWA’s operating budget is covered by direct in-kind gifts from local medical and non-medical partners and six percent is financed by patient fees. The remaining funds to provide such essentials as medical staff, supplies and patient education materials comes from the charitable support of community individuals, foundations and corporations.

The Magnolia Rotary Club donated $1,400 to TOMAGWA in an effort to help get the Magnolia clinic open. Rotary International matched the donation as well.

“We want to grow to meet the needs with the help of the Magnolia community,” Deyo said.

The clinic is located at 218 Smith Rd. No appointments are necessary as the clinic will be on a first-come, first-serve basis.

For more information about volunteering for or donating to TOMAGWA, visit tomagwa.org or call 281-357-0747.

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