Opening doors: Collaboration brings care closer to home in Burton

United by a shared mission, Texas A&M Health and Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center join forces again to bring rural health solutions to a Central Texas town

• By Laura Tolentino & Suzanna Cisneros
• April 30, 2026
• Health

Washington County embarked upon new frontiers in health care access today with an open house in Burton, Texas. Texas A&M University Health Science Center (Texas A&M Health) and Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC) joined with community members to celebrate the newest Texas A&M BUILD clinic. The 40-foot, retrofitted shipping container — a Texas Aggie Medical Clinic (TAMC) — will provide innovative health care options for the Washington County community, supporting a collaborative model in which TTUHSC and Texas A&M Health will provide telehealth-enabled primary and behavioral care in a rural community where residents have traditionally driven miles to access medical services.

At today’s event, community members toured the Burton - Southern Clinic, learning about its offerings ahead of its official opening later this year. The TAMC is named for Dr. Charles Everett Southern, who opened the town’s first hospital and served as a local physician for many years. It will be dedicated in honor of Dorothy McFerrin, who has been a longtime fixture in Texas A&M philanthropic efforts alongside her husband, Arthur "Artie" McFerrin, Jr. ’65, who passed away in 2017.

Washington County is home to approximately 38,000 people, but the medical facility closest to residents of Burton and neighboring rural communities is in Brenham, a trek ranging from 12 to more than 25 miles from home.

For the community surrounding Burton, especially its elderly population, the services provided by the new TAMC will go a long way in addressing barriers to care, said Mark Rosenbaum ’93. As a Washington County native who now serves as a paramedic for Washington County EMS, Rosenbaum said providing local primary care will alleviate stress both for the individual and county emergency services.

“Brenham isn’t too far, but if you can’t afford the gas or don’t have a car or someone to take you to Brenham, you might as well be living in rural West Texas,” Rosenbaum said. “As an EMS provider, we see a lot of people that use the emergency room as their primary care physician because we will pick them up and take them to the hospital. And that’s just not an efficient way to do health care.”

 

Partners in progress

Limited resources, provider shortages and the challenges of reaching remote populations can make it difficult to ensure everyone receives the care they need in communities like Washington County. Bringing the Burton - Southern Clinic to life required extensive collaboration with community partners like SpawGlass, The Bridge Ministry of Burton Texas, and Wellpoint.

For the Bridge Ministry of Burton Texas, taking on the challenge was a no-brainer, said Cynthia Carter-Horn, PhD, Bridge Ministry of Burton executive director. As part of its transportation ministry, the organization has a passenger van available to help patients get to the clinic site in Burton and back home.

“Our goal is to connect people,” Carter-Horn said. “Rural communities face divisions of all kinds, but when we come together, we’re able to bridge those obstacles as a team. Burton Bridge Ministry recognized the incredible asset this TAMC could be for our friends and neighbors. It’s a critical point of connection, nurturing healthier individuals and a healthier community overall.”

Wellpoint Texas President Greg Thompson said Wellpoint was honored to join collaborators providing financial support for the Burton-Southern Clinic because the project aligns with their commitment to whole health. 

“Wellpoint is proud to support this transformative collaboration to expand access to care for residents of Washington County,” Thompson said. “For 30 years, Wellpoint has been helping improve health care access and quality for more than 500,000 Texans who participate in the state’s Medicaid programs. Our commitment to improving the whole health of Texans extends beyond physical health to address the behavioral and social factors that shape overall well-being. That includes investing in rural communities, where access challenges are often greatest, to ensure individuals and families can receive the care they need, close to home. This initiative reflects that commitment by bringing together nationally recognized academic institutions and trusted local partners to deliver coordinated in-person and virtual care, along with critical transportation support.”

Patients at the Burton - Southern Clinic will be able to access primary care via telehealth courtesy of Texas Tech Physicians, and licensed professionals from the Texas A&M Health Telehealth Institute will offer tele-counseling services. Washington County Emergency Medical Services (EMS) staff will create in-person touchpoints and patient visit care coordination.

The collaborative efforts ensure residents won’t experience undue hardship accessing medical care just because of where they live, said Carly McCord, PhD, executive and founding director of the Texas A&M Health Telehealth Institute. 

“This effort wouldn’t be possible without strong local partnership,” she said. “Washington County EMS and county leadership have a long history of innovation, and it’s been a privilege to build alongside them for over a decade. This is what it looks like when academic, community and clinical partners come together to create something that no one entity could do alone.”

SpawGlass Director of Revenue & Preconstruction Strategy Eric Kennedy ‘99 echoed that emphasis on collaboration. He believes the Burton - Southern Clinic represents the best of Washington County as well as the great state of Texas. 

“At SpawGlass, part of our vision is to build flourishing communities,” Kennedy said. “As a Texas-based, 100% employee-owned construction firm, we’re deeply in touch with how access to medical care helps individuals and communities stay healthy. When we keep the best interests of Texans at the forefront, we invest in our state and its people. And that’s a large part of why SpawGlass is honored to play a role in bringing this TAMC to the community.”

 

Hope on the horizon

The Burton - Southern Clinic is part of an ongoing collaborative effort between Texas A&M Health and TTUHSC to expand care to underserved communities. The partnership began last year with the opening of the Davis Mountain Medical Clinic in Fort Davis, serving residents in the frontier areas of the Big Bend region. 

And these efforts are just the beginning, according to Cole Johnson, senior vice president of Rural Affairs at TTUHSC. Both institutions continue to keep the unique challenges and needs of rural communities in mind, as they continue bringing health care where Texans need it most. 

"Through our previous telehealth clinic work, TTUHSC and Texas A&M Health learned that we are 'better together,’” Johnson said. “The Burton clinic builds on that experience, showing how strong institutional partnerships grounded in local needs can create meaningful, innovative access to care in rural communities."

TTUHSC President Lori Rice-Spearman, PhD, said the clinic model in Burton reflects the university’s broader commitment to rural health.

“The demand for access to care exists across rural Texas,” Rice-Spearman said. “The Burton - Southern Clinic builds on TTUHSC’s long-standing use of telemedicine to meet people where they are and reduce barriers to high quality health care. We are proud to partner with Wellpoint, Texas A&M Health and Texas A&M BUILD to support Washington County through this innovative model.”

Looking to the future, Curtis Donaldson, executive director of Rural Medicine with the Texas A&M Naresh K. Vashisht College of Medicine at Texas A&M Health, said he hopes to continue expanding access to care across the state so that no community goes without basic medical care, no matter what it takes to get there.

“I just want people to know that somebody cares and is paying attention and is trying to answer the call of supporting access to care, because it's an issue,” Donaldson said. “Sometimes it's transportation, sometimes it’s inability to get to the next town over and then they defer care. Our goal is to get them access to these care points because easier access to care provides a better chance at wellness and catching medical concerns early. We hope we can continue to address the need.”

Today marked a major milestone, said Texas A&M BUILD President and CEO Meer Mahfuz, as so many collaborators came together to celebrate the culmination of so much effort. But it also welcomed a new beginning, he said.

“Texas A&M BUILD is dedicated to providing amplified health care access to those in need," Mahfuz said. "We've carried the Aggie spirit of service around the world. Now, we're proud to further that impact by bringing Texas Aggie Medical Clinics closer to home. This vision is just beginning — both here in Burton and across Texas.”

 

About Texas A&M BUILD

BUILD is a student-led 501(c)(3) nonprofit aimed at unifying Texas A&M’s student body through a large-scale, physically demanding service project. BUILD encourages students to interact and work alongside each other throughout the process of planning, organizing, and constructing the project. In an exemplification of Aggie Core Values, BUILD designs, constructs, and deploys Texas Aggie Medical Clinics worldwide, providing life-changing health care access to those in need and building the leaders of tomorrow. Learn more at buildtamu.org, and follow @buildtamu on social media.

 

About Texas A&M Health

Texas A&M University Health Science Center (Texas A&M Health) comprises five colleges and schools (dentistry, medicine, nursing, pharmacy and public health), integrated University Health Services, several research centers and institutes, and numerous outpatient clinics with a shared mission of advancing health care for all. We serve the state and beyond with campuses and locations in Bryan-College Station, Dallas, Houston, Round Rock, Kingsville, Corpus Christi and McAllen. Learn more at health.tamu.edu or follow @TAMUHealth on X (née Twitter).

 

About Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center

Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC) is a comprehensive institution of higher education dedicated to improving access to quality health care through education, research and patient care. TTUHSC is comprised of six schools: medicine, nursing, health professions, pharmacy, graduate school of biomedical sciences and population and public health. With campuses across Texas, TTUHSC graduates more health professionals than any other institution in the state.

Texas Tech Physicians, the clinical practice of the TTUHSC School of Medicine, delivers academic medicine, where expert care is guided by the latest research and shaped by the collaborative efforts of physicians, educators and learners. 

TTUHSC is a member of the Texas Tech University System. Learn more at www.ttuhsc.edu or follow @TTUHSC on social media.

 

About Bridge Ministry of Burton Texas

Bridge Ministry of Burton Texas is a 501c3 non-profit organization which was formed in 2010 as a confederation of local churches and obtained its nonprofit status in 2017. It is located in Burton, Texas and its mission is to serve Burton and the surrounding community in Christ’s name by building a bridge between racial, cultural, educational, and economic divisions within the community. The work done through the various ministries (i.e., Manna Pantry, Senior Ministry, Children’s Ministry, Helping Hands, Community, Transportation, and Corner Shoppe (to include the thrift and furniture stores)) enriches the lives of people of all ages, economic, and racial backgrounds. 

 

About SpawGlass

SpawGlass is a Texas-based construction services provider. The company was founded in 1953 by Louis Spaw and Frank Glass, hence the name SpawGlass. With nine offices across Texas, the company has approximately 750 team members statewide and is 100 percent employee-owned with ownership open to all team members. SpawGlass’ mission is to provide the absolute best construction experience, and the company’s vision is to be market experts who build ecstatic clients, flourishing communities and thriving employee owners. Learn more at SpawGlass.com or follow @SpawGlass1953 on social media.

 

About Wellpoint

Wellpoint, part of the Elevance Health family, focuses on improving members’ physical health as well as the behavioral and social drivers that impact it through a comprehensive suite of Medicare, Medicaid, and Commercial products. The Wellpoint companies offer healthcare services for consumers at every stage of life seeking to make the right care decisions. For more information, please visit www.wellpoint.com.