Our History
Community Healthcare Center is a product of a 1992 organized community effort to develop a healthcare facility for the medically underserved: low income, uninsured and under-insured community residents. The Center began providing medical care in 1994 to Wichita County and counties in north Texas. Today, over 30,000 insured and uninsured patients annually call Community Healthcare Center their healthcare home.
From its modest beginning in a 3,800 square foot modular building with one primary care physician and eight employees, the Center has grown to 44,000+ square feet with clinicians spanning the fields of family medicine, pediatrics, obstetrics, women’s health, behavioral health and family dentistry. Medical and dental care is supported by lab, x-ray, pharmacy, education, prescription assistance, Medicaid eligibility and more.
In 2009, Community Healthcare Center saw the edition of a second site, a temporary clinic opened in the Wichita Falls Housing Authority. The permanent site, Community Healthcare Center – Juarez Medical Clinic, was erected in 2010 and serves Housing Authority and surrounding neighborhood residents. In 2014, a new 13,000+ square foot site – Phyllis Hiraki Dental Clinic was opened next door to the main clinic. This state-of-the-art facility dramatically enhanced the Center’s capacity to service the oral health needs of area residents.
In 2017, Community Healthcare Center worked with a community task force to open a federally qualified health center clinical site in McKinney, Texas – Family Health Center on Virginia. The health center in McKinney houses primary and preventive services for medical, dental and behavioral health counseling. Then, in 2019, our services and clinics expanded in McKinney with the addition of the Women’s Health Center of McKinney, which added obstetrics and gynecology specialties to the health center.
In March of 2018, Pediatric Associates merged with Community Healthcare Center. Since the beginning, Pediatric Associates mission was to serve those patients that have no insurance or depend on Medicaid, and that mission-focus made it evident that the merger was the best for both clinics since Community Healthcare Center’s mission is to serve the underserved.
In August of 2020, Community Healthcare Center at Zundy, the first school-based health center in Wichita Falls, opened it’s doors to see patients.. In 2019, Community Healthcare Center’s Chief Executive Officer, Allen Patterson, brought an idea to their board of directors to bring a school-based community health center to this area. The idea was then taken to Mr. Michael Kuhrt, WFISD Superintendent of Schools at the time, and the WFISD School Board who approved the measure and donated the land to build the new clinic. The campaign fundraising for the school-based health center was lead by Ralph O. Harvey III who raised the entire amount to bring this new clinic site into reality. Mr. Harvey has been an integral part of the federally qualified health center in north Texas since the beginning. Ralph Harvey, Ray Clymer, and Bob Gunn spearheaded the fundraising campaign in the early 90s to bring a health center to Wichita Falls, which was named Community Healthcare Center.
In November 2020, Community Healthcare Center at Vernon College opened it doors to see patients Monday through Friday with multiple healthcare providers and support staff. In 2019, Community Healthcare Center’s Chief Executive Officer, Allen Patterson, worked diligently with Vernon College’s president, Dr. Dusty R. Johnston to bring a health center site onto the campus of Vernon College, which is located close to the southwest side of Wichita Falls.
