Last week, a plan to provide care in Taylor came full circle.
On Friday, Feb. 25, Lone Star Circle of Care (LSCC) hosted a ribbon cutting to open their new location at West End School, 1301 W. Fourth Street in Taylor.
“Few projects have been as meaningful to the council as this,” said Brandt Rydell, Taylor mayor.
He said the project provided historical preservation, neighborhood rejuvenation and revitalization and community health.
The building was a landmark in Taylor, including the still oftenused outdoor basketball court. LSCC transformed the building into a clinic with nine exam rooms and two behavioral health offices. More than 5,000 patients every year are expected to use the facility.
“The West End School building has always been a benefit to the Taylor community, from its days focused on education to its new life providing health care and community-based support services. We are grateful that city leaders entrusted us with this revitalization project,” said Jon Calvin, Lone Star Circle of Care CEO.
The building will also house a senior center and the Meals on Wheels program, operated by Opportunities for Williamson and Burnet Counties. Other Opportunities programs, including Head Start and Early Head Start, will remain in the building next to the new clinic.
The West End School, home to thousands of Taylor elementary school students from the 1920s until the 1980s, faced an uncertain future. Recognizing the need for access to an integrated community-based health service model, the city of Taylor donated the former West End School to LSCC. With stakeholder and collaborator support, LSCC renovated the West End School allowing the campus to house several programs that address and support improved health outcomes.
Calvin also took a moment to recognize Rhonda Mundhenk, who Calvin said was the visionary of the project.
“She had the vision for the collaboration and was a catalyst in making it a reality,” Calvin said. “Rhonda skillfully employed the classic negotiation tactic called anchoring to obtain buy-in for the project. After exploring two significantly larger projects in the area, the renovation of an 8,000-square-foot, 100-year-old building did not seem as daunting.”
Rydell along with Calvin and other dignitaries from LSCC had a toast with community members in attendance before the ribbon cutting. After the ribbon was cut, guest had a tour of the facility and learned more about what is to come from LSCC in Taylor.
“This project has been over four years in the making for Lone Star and our partners, and more importantly, Taylor has waited decades for the right fit. Hopefully, we did not disappoint,” Calvin said. “It was no easy task taking this project from concept to completion, and it would not have been accomplished without a coordinated, community effort.”
Portions of this article were provided by Veronica Brown, Lone Star Circle of Care Associate Director of Communications
