HOUSTON -- From the environment to healthcare, we are beginning to see the impact of the stimulus.
The doctors of Legacy Community Health have provided low-income families and the uninsured with health care for three decades. As Houston's unemployment rate spiked, so did the load of patients.
This year, Legacy's dozen care providers will have seen 4,000 new patients.
"It allows us to have a healthy city. Without clinics like ours, to take care of people who don't have anywhere else to go, I can't imagine being sick and not having a doctor to go see," said Katy Caldwell of Legacy Community Health.
Legacy received nearly a half million dollars to hire a doctor, add two mental health specialists and increase patient services.
The engineering firm AECOM was given just under $700,000 to dredge the Houston Ship Channel and restore the wetlands of Galveston Bay.
Several Houston firms were given a half million dollars to restore and repair Galveston’s 72-year-old post office that was damaged during the hurricane.
"We were looking at an operation shortfall and we're looking having to either lay off some people or basically close our doors to new patients," said Caldwell.
A third of Harris County's residents don't have health insurance which is close to a million people. Legacy's doctors expect the number of new patients to soar, and with the stimulus money they now have the resources to provide care.
