Tyler Suspends Funding to Total Healthcare

TYLER — Officials with the City of Tyler issued a letter Monday to Total Healthcare, suspending any future payments to the organization until concerns about its leadership can be allayed. That’s according to KETK. Concerns about Total Healthcare’s leadership have also been voiced by Health Resources and Service Administration (HRSA), which is a federal oversight agency, about what they call Total Healthcare’s “chronic inability to maintain organizational leadership over time.”

According to Total Healthcare’s website, the organization “provides a medical home for patient-centered access to affordable, quality primary and preventive health care.” The City of Tyler gives the organization about $22,000 a month, which is about $265,000 a year. City of Tyler spokesperson Susan Guthrie says the city has not had an official contract with Total Healthcare for more than a year, and has been working with them on a month to month basis. Guthrie says the city feels it’s a steward of the public’s tax money, and for that reason, the city feels obligated to suspend the payments.

The City of Tyler has not ruled out funding the organization in the future, and city officials say they are willing to work with Total Healthcare if the leadership issues are resolved. Pamela Phoenix, the chairman of Total Healthcare, says that the organization is “still striving to help citizens with healthcare in this area.” Phoenix also says Total Healthcare hopes this situation with the City of Tyler will be temporary, but that the organization does have other grants.