Historic Partnership Ends 30-Year Health Care Desert

Residents of Fort Worth’s Las Vegas Trail (LVT) neighborhood will soon have easy access to doctors, mental health care, nutrition services, career training and more when the new neighborhood health center in Las Vegas Trail fully opens in August.

A First-Of-Its-Kind Partnership

The center is the product of a historic collaboration between Cook Children’s Health Care System, JPS Health Network, the City of Fort Worth, Tarrant County, LVTRise and WestAid Food Pantry, with additional support from Workforce Solutions for Tarrant County, Tarrant County College and the Fort Worth Police Department.

Under one roof, neighbors will find:

• Cook Children’s Neighborhood Health Center offering pediatric medicine, behavioral health, well-child and sick visit care.
• JPS Health Center offering family medicine, behavioral health, women’s health, social services and
• WestAid on-site food pantry
• A demonstration kitchen staffed by a registered dietitian
• Workforce training program focused on customer service positions in health care
• Community education classes for pregnancy, lactation support, asthma, CPR, injury prevention, parenting support, adult health and more
• A Fort Worth Police storefront

“The collaboration that has gone into this center is what truly makes it so special, and I’m really honored to say that Cook Children’s is a part of it,” said Rick W. Merrill, President and CEO of Cook Children’s Health Care System. “The best part is that the residents have been a huge voice and guiding light in the transformation happening there, even helping us envision and paint a beautiful mural at the new facility. Their fingerprints are all over this project and will continue to guide how we evolve in this space to best serve them.”

Cook Children’s will provide well-child checks, sick care, childhood immunizations, pediatric behavioral health, food and nutrition education, and assistance navigating the health care system and community resources. JPS Health Network will provide family medicine health services, as well as behavioral health, women’s health, social work and more. Although JPS Health Network and Cook Children’s have been Tarrant County mainstays for well over 100 years, this is the first time the two have partnered to offer comprehensive health services in one facility.

“Our private-public partnership with Cook Children’s is historic because it marks the first time two of Tarrant County’s longest serving health care institutions are uniting to serve families under one roof,” said Dr. Karen Duncan, President & CEO of JPS Health Network. “It exemplifies what’s possible when mission-driven organizations unite to remove barriers to care.”

Transforming a Health Care Desert

Ever since Carswell Air Force Base closed in 1993, LVT’s residents have lacked basic, nearby medical services. As a result, thousands of adults and children routinely turn to urgent care and emergency rooms for basic health care.

In 2024, children in two ZIP codes in and near LVT (76116 and 76108) accounted for:

• More than 4,000 visits to Cook Children’s Emergency Department and Urgent Care Centers for primary health care needs.
• 7,000 visits to Cook Children’s Neighborhood Health Centers, none of which are located near

The new health center will serve more than 100,000 people living in and around LVT, including 20,000 children under 14.

A Model for Comprehensive Community Care

The revitalization of LVT has been a focus for the City of Fort Worth since a series of reports published in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram in 2017 highlighted the neighborhood’s growing issues with crime, neglect and growing poverty rates. At the time, the area accounted for 4% of the city’s crime despite accounting for just 1% of the population. A series of community meetings, surveys and grassroots efforts led to the launch of LVTRise, a non-profit dedicated to the revitalization and sustainability of the Las Vegas Trail community, and the Las Vegas Trail Transformation Plan.

“I have seen the great resiliency of the people who call Las Vegas Trail home,” said Michael D. Crain, Fort Worth City Councilmember, District 3. “They care about their future and that of their children. We cannot allow another generation to slip deeper into poverty. The neighborhood health center is a critical step in improving their present and protecting their future through access to desperately needed resources identified in our Las Vegas Trail Transformation Plan, which is full of ideas and recommendations for improvement that came straight from the residents who live there.”

In 2020, the City of Fort Worth opened the RISE Community Center, which serves as the headquarters for LVTRise. The community center provides after-school programming, a library, computer lab, gym and dance room, as well as space for community meetings and events. Now, the neighborhood health center in Las Vegas Trail will be just down the street, conveniently located for families in the neighborhood.

“This project represents a major strategic investment in the Las Vegas Trail neighborhood, demonstrating our commitment to this vital part of our community,” said Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker. “The partnership between Cook Children’s, JPS, the City of Fort Worth, LVTRise, WestAid, and many others is a groundbreaking model for comprehensive community care. We are establishing a best practice here, and Fort Worth’s innovative approach will be a model for other cities.”