For healthcare providers, the need for medical care is a double-edged sword. On one side are growth opportunities for the provider. On the other side, people are facing healthcare challenges. These challenges are often accompanied by financial hardship or a lack of accessibility, leaving patients with a lack of healthcare options. For CommuniCare, a primary care and multispecialty healthcare organization based in San Antonio, TX, the ever-increasing need for healthcare in its service areas presents an opportunity to expand its services and locations to help a growing population get well and stay well.
In 1972, CommuniCare opened its doors in the back of a San Antonio church when Sister Dolores Girault, D.C., a retired nurse and pharmacist, realized the rising need for healthcare in the Westside of San Antonio. The two-exam room clinic got its start addressing a diphtheria outbreak in pediatric patients. Fast forward to the present day, CommuniCare now serves an estimated 140,000 patients from birth to seniors in more than 25 clinics throughout San Antonio, TX, and its surrounding areas, including Bexar, Kendall and Hays counties.
Serving the Community Through Innovation
True to the roots planted by Sister Dolores decades ago, CommuniCare continues to aid a wide array of patients, with a primary focus on preventive care. Today it does so in state-of-the-art clinics that offer Children and Teen Health, Adult Medicine, Senior Care, Women's Health, Dental, Behavioral Health, Specialty Care, Pharmacy, and the WIC (Women, Infants, and Children) Nutrition Program.
Not only does it offer innovative services such as telemedicine and curbside care, but its Medical Residency program prepares the next generation of healthcare professionals. To keep up with demand in some of the fastest-growing zip codes in Texas, CommuniCare continues to expand, with lending from Sunflower Bank.
“We are expanding our footprint,” says Rick Gonzalez, Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at CommuniCare since 2002. “There is a lot of need out there due to population growth. So, we’ve been on a fast pace to grow to meet the demand. We are happy Sunflower Bank is joining our growth strategy.”
Turning Profits into Opportunities
Smart long term strategic planning by the Governing Board and Executive Team has resulted in positive fiscal outcomes. This allows CommuniCare to invest in its staff and communities to ensure healthcare needs continue being met. Foresight, strategy and its leadership’s vision have been instrumental in the organization’s success.
Led by CEO Paul Nguyen, most of CommuniCare’s senior staff have been together for 14 years. During those years they’ve taken risks, tried, failed and succeeded. The longevity of their team gives them the confidence to continue to expand and try different things.
“We’ve never been afraid of risk. We’ve always looked at things that don’t go our way as things we’ve tried and we know not to do the next time, but at least we tried,” says Rick. “We learn.”
As the organization continues to learn and grow, several projects and expansions are on the horizon. Recent assessments have pinpointed needs in several new areas including Hays County, south of Austin, which is set as CommuniCare’s next growth area. Closer to “home,” CommuniCare is building a new clinic on the west side of San Antonio to replace an existing clinic with a lease coming due.
When deciding how to finance the new clinic, CommuniCare had many options. It ultimately chose to work with Sunflower Bank for its lending needs.
Financing a Class A Clinic
With its lease coming due, CommuniCare’s leadership knew it wanted to own, not rent, its facility on the west side of San Antonio. When they were unable to negotiate a purchase from their current landlord, the organization decided to buy land close by and build an expanded state-of-the-art clinic.
Based on the CommuniCare team’s successful financials and track record, it had its choice of lending partners for a new 12,000 square foot, Class A+++ facility. The option of self-finance was also on the table. As leadership looked at its expansion goals over the next several years, they found external financing allowed the healthcare leader to leverage its funds and spread capital over many projects. So, Rick began looking for a financial partner to join their mission.
With such a desirable project on the horizon, a variety of financial institutions vied for the project. After talking with several financial institutions, Rick chose Sunflower Bank based on his relationship with South Texas Regional Market President, Ryan Parker and Sunflower Bank’s shared commitment to serving the community. That common mission and mindset to serve the community played a key role in Rick’s decision to move forward with Ryan and Sunflower Bank.
Sunflower Bank’s mission, “Bringing out the best in the lives we touch... Creating Possibility” guides all the bank’s activities. We believe that everything we do as an organization should have a positive impact on the people with whom we interact. By bringing out the best in our customers, communities and ourselves, everyone is stronger and better able to realize their full potential. CommuniCare’s mission to “improve the health of those we serve with a commitment to excellence in all we do” mirrors Sunflower Bank’s.
"I’ve known Rick and CommuniCare for a long time,” says Ryan. “I understand CommuniCare’s mission and what they are trying to deliver to the needs of the greater San Antonio market. It has been a pleasure to see this evolve into what is now the largest primary and multispecialty healthcare organization in all of San Antonio.”
Set to break ground in 2024 and open in 2025, the new clinic will focus primarily on Pediatrics and Women’s Health, and will also make Adult Medicine, Behavioral Health and potentially Pharmacy services available. To protect its patients’ health, it will also boast a designated purpose-built curbside acute care services area covered to protect from the elements and a dedicated patient care room for those who need to be brought into the clinic.
Looking Toward the Future
As Rick and the CommuniCare leadership team look to the future, they continue to see opportunities to improve the lives of those within their community. We’re proud to support CommuniCare’s vision and partner with the organization as it expands its services and geography.
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