Texas A&M School of Law Legal Clinics has partnered with Edinburg-based DHR Health
to establish a unique medical-legal partnership (MLP) designed to assist indigent patients within its hospital system who face legal issues outside the medical setting, according to a press release.
The program, called Community and Legal-Medical Alliance (CALMA), will focus on helping patients who meet certain income guidelines to overcome legal barriers that impact their health. The goal is not only to help patients, but also to strengthen DHR Health’s ability to deliver comprehensive care.
“When legal issues remain unresolved for indigent patients, they create delays in seeking medical treatment, repeat visits, or even poorer health outcomes,” DHR Health Board Chair Carlos Cardenas said in a press release. “This partnership is designed to close this gap by embedding legal assistance into our healthcare delivery system and help our patients overall.”
“We are excited to expand the law school’s presence in the RGV and increase access to much-needed legal services. MLPs provide a critical service by recognizing legal needs as a social determinant of health, Texas A&M Legal Clinics Director Fatma Marouf said in a press release.
To ensure support reaches those in greatest need, a patient must meet income criteria established by the Texas Access to Justice Foundation (TAJF). Once enrolled, a patient may receive legal services in the areas of estate and health planning, housing and tenant rights, and public benefit appeals. Services will be administered on-site at DHR Health’s main hospital, located at 5501 S. McColl Road in Edinburg, by a team of legal access fellows and a staff attorney who will manage client intake, provide resources, and facilitate casework.
CALMA is supported by a grant from the TAJF and is managed by both the Economic Justice Initiative (EJI) and Texas A&M University School of Law Legal Clinics. Attorneys, law students, and paralegals will provide free legal services to qualified patients in the areas of housing instability, public health benefits, advance care planning, and family law matters among others.
CALMA has also partnered with the Texas Legal Services Center (TLSC) to help community members access additional resources via a 24-hour access legal kiosk located at DHR Health’s main hospital. The legal kiosk provides patients with free tools and resources to understand their rights, access legal forms, and receive free legal advice via real-time chat with a TLSC attorney on TexasLawHelp.org.
For more information about CALMA, email CALMA-DHR@tamu.edu.