About the Program

Our Vision
The WelCare Initiative envisions a community that fosters and supports an environment of healing in which each person has a sense of being valued and the community itself is renewed.

Our Mission
To promote a continuum of care with access to appropriate medical services by inviting the community to participate in developing a holistic approach to primary care, wellness and healing.

Community Programs to Improve Minority Health
The WelCare Initiative is a three-year, multi-objective community health project sponsored by a grant from the Office of Minority Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.  The WelCare Initiative was developed to address the medical service delivery disparities that exist and identify any other barriers to good health care outcomes that affect our community.  It is designed to be a comprehensive and holistic approach to understanding health care and promoting community awareness, reducing disease-risk behaviors, facilitating the increased utilization of the appropriate medical care services and assisting patients in navigating/ negotiating the present medical services delivery system.

The WelCare Initiative's approach goes beyond the traditional approaches to a real understanding of the components that constitute being well and beginning the healing process.  The process is initiated through invitation.  We invite the person to begin to heal and come be well with us.  While the Initiative is comprehensive, the grant primarily addresses three health areas: diabetes, obesity and overweight, and cancer, especially cancers associated with women.

The program is designed to facilitate better health for the community by expanding St. Vincent's House free clinic services and incorporating the WelCare philosophy into a community wide continuum of care that serves the uninsured, especially those that live in low-income and predominantly minority neighborhoods.  The WelCare Initiative is composed of four major interrelated components which include:  The Well in 12 Calendar Project, the Health & Wellness Literacy curriculum, Make Over video productions, Street Screening outreach program, and a Care management system.   The grant coalition members include:  St. Vincent's House, the Jesse Tree, and the Galveston County Health District, and the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston.

Please contact St. Vincent's House for further details about the program.