Tulane University Community Health Centers

Who We Serve:

Tulane Community Health Centers target populations within New Orleans with limited access to primary care.

We accept Medicaid, Medicare and most Private Insurance, but also accept all patients regardless of insurance status.

There is a nominal Fee for Service due at the time of the visit for patients who do not have insurance. Please visit each clinic for specific fees. If you are uninsured and cannot pay the fee, please talk to a staff member and we will work with you to create a Sliding Fee Scale based upon your income level and household size. We are dedicated to serving all patients irrespective of ability pay.

What We Do:

The founders of the health center continue their vision of delivering healthcare that focuses on patients’ needs outside of the confines that come with typical paradigms of medical care.

We offer comprehensive primary care, including sick and well visits, women’s health and chronic disease management in a neighborhood-based medical home.

All patient care is coordinated through an Electronic Health Record.

Our Goals:

1. Deliver highly accessible health services using the team-based approach of a Medical Home.

2. Use Health Information Technology to improve the access, quality and acceptability of care

3. Develop innovative and replicable models of care applicable to the health needs of underserved populations in all areas.

4. Collaborate with educational institutions and non-profit partners to provide health professional training opportunities.

Our History:

The catastrophic flooding associated with Hurricane Katrina had decimated the healthcare infrastructure of the New Orleans area. From this devastation, a new model for care delivery was born where the old had been destroyed. In this extreme environment, a group of Tulane physicians came together to deliver care in New Orleans to first responders and the citizens of the city who remained behind or returned early. They practiced in tents, in shelters, in police precincts and in mobile vans – wherever they were needed.

The new focus was on team-based primary care located conveniently to patients in “medical homes”. Previously, many patients had received primary care through hospitals and emergency departments, often located far from their homes. Under the new model, health conditions are managed continually in a neighborhood health facility, preventing acute health episodes and costly hospitalizations.

One of the 6 sites created during the immediate crisis that followed Katrina was at Covenant House. It began simply as a willing doctor, a card table, a box of supplies, and an ice chest to keep the tetanus vaccines cold. Patients served represent a broad demographic of low-income wage earners, chronically ill, disabled and homeless.

The Mobile Medical Unit was purchased in March 2008 to address the health needs of communities where there was not yet a brick and mortar clinic.

Tulane Community Health Center New Orleans East was founded in 2008 in order to provide access to healthcare to one of the most medically underserved areas of the city.