While many things have changed since 1902, SETON’s mission has never wavered:
to provide health care to the greater Central Texas area with special regard for the sick and the poor.
Success in accomplishing the mission has meant facing some challenges:
- More than 23 percent of Central Texans do not have insurance
- An ever-increasing number of people are underinsured due to reductions in coverage by government and employers
Access to care for these populations is of particular concern. To help bridge that concern, SETON operates three Community Health Centers, Seton McCarthy, Seton Topfer and Seton Kozmetsky, that offer primary care, laboratory, case management and health education services to Austin’s working families. Family physicians and nurse practitioners provide sick child care, well child check-ups and immunizations. The Centers participate in the Patient Pharmacy Assistance Program (PPAP) for patients and use a sliding-scale fee to keep services within the reach of working families who otherwise would not be able to afford medical care. Comprehensive social services also support the Centers’ medical mission. Last year, the Centers provided 35,320 patient encounters, 30,001 social service encounters, 37,421 lab tests, 21,009 prescriptions and 12,629 immunizations.
SETON continues its efforts to provide charity care and community benefit throughout the entire Network: more than $192 million in Fiscal Year 2004. But overall demand in the region is too great for one entity to meet. SETON is proud of its role as the region’s leader in working with other providers and community partners to develop, fund and operate healthcare management innovations that will assure access to quality care for thousands of uninsured and underinsured Central Texans.
Seton is proud to have four hospitals – the only hospitals in Central Texas - that have earned the