New Pregnancy Clinic in South Dallas Aims to Improve Maternal Health Outcomes
KERA | By Elena Rivera Published February 7, 2024 at 11:39 AM CST
Hope Cottage CEO Stephanie Bohan welcomes visitors to the new maternal health clinic, Cece’s Place.
A new South Dallas clinic will offer pregnancy, prenatal and postpartum support services to uninsured and underinsured pregnant Texans.
The adoption and foster care organization Hope Cottage opened Cece’s Place this week. The organization partnered with federally qualified health center HHM Health to create the clinic.
“I’m just so happy to see this come together,” said Hope Cottage CEO Stephanie Bohan. “It’s a dream.”
The clinic’s services include free pregnancy tests, pregnancy imaging, and referrals for chronic conditions and complex pregnancies.
Patients will also be able to access wrap-around social services, including domestic and family violence support, parenting education, and help signing up for health insurance programs like Medicaid.
Bohan said the clinic’s goal is to address maternal mortality and morbidity rates in Texas.
According to a 2023 report from health care policy foundation the Commonwealth Fund, Texas ranked 49th in the nation for reproductive care and women’s health.
The report found that about 29% of pregnant people did not receive prenatal care during their first trimester, which is part of identifying health concerns that could lead to serious harm or death during pregnancy.
“I’m hoping we change the horrible statistic that [people] die during pregnancy and so many die in the state of Texas,” Bohan said. “Forty-ninth in the country is not OK. We can do much better than that.”
Access to quality health care will not only help people throughout their pregnancy, but the rest of their lives, said Hope Cottage Education Outreach Facilitator Trisha Susman.
“Strong families start with healthy mom, healthy baby,” she said. “The intention of Hope Cottage is to get ahead, get upstream, and start at the beginning—really try to start with nurturing and empowering [people], helping them have the resources they need to have a healthy child, and then provide continued support.”
Cece’s Place is located next to Hope Cottage, at 609 Texas St. The clinic is open from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Mondays, but Bohan said they plan to expand hours in the future.
People can call to schedule an appointment at 972-354-8713, but the clinic also takes walk-in and referral appointments.