Ibn Sina Foundation Clinic Treats 100,000th Patient
By Jawahar Malhotra
Last updated: June 25, 2009

HOUSTON: Just north of where it all started in a leased 750 sq. ft. space in the Savoy Shopping Center on South Wilcrest near West Bellfort , the new Ibn Sina Foundation Clinic sparkles in the ebbing evening light. The 12 foot tall stucco marquee sign gives out the hours of operation in bright LED lights at the driveway. It has been a busy day, and even at 8pm, a few patients are still being looked at.

Inside the doors, the waiting room is clean: a large LCD television on one wall, rows of chrome and fabric chairs line the walls and two sliding windows allow the staff to monitor the waiting patients. On this night, there is only one, a familiar face and friend unseen for many years, Ken Singh, who broadcasts Hindu programming on the radio, as he waits for a doctor to see him. “This place is so convenient and friendly,” he says of his third trip here, “and you don’t have to wait too long.”

The Clinic came to the attention of City of Houston officials for the marvelous work it was doing in providing low cost, and sometimes free, healthcare to the people in the area since it opened in April 2001. They were impressed by the dedication of the volunteer doctors and the professional way in which the Clinic was managed (see related story on M.J. Khan on page 14). Eventually, and through the efforts of Councilman M. J. Khan, the City was able to get grant money to build a new 5,000 sq. ft. facility for the Clinic, virtually on the next lot and it opened in March 2007. The funding for the furniture and equipment came through private donations.

Now, with a multi-cultural staff of 34, including doctors, the Clinic is open from 9am till 9pm. Apart from offering the usual general services, the Clinic also provides complete dental care through 4 full time hygienists and 5 licensed dentists supervised by Dr. Akbar Jaffarally who has his own private practice in two offices but still attends two days a month and is usually in every evening to help with the management.

The Clinic is overseen by a Board of Directors composed of 11 physicians, including Jaffarally, and headed by the Dr. Dilawar Ajani, the Medical Director and Vice Chairman and Dr. Aijaz Ali Khowaja, the CEO. The mission of the Foundation is to provide preventative and primary care in a clinical setting to the underserved community that has little or no insurance and low income.

“When we started the Clinic, 80 percent of the patients were desis,” recalled Khowaja, “but now The Ibn Sina Foundation Community Clinic on S. Wilcrest at West Bellfort opened in 2007. the mix is more representative of the area we are in: 39% Hispanics, 34% Asians, 20% African Americans and 10% Anglos.” The costs for the service are just $25, equivalent to a co-pay, and a dental exam with panaromic x-rays is only $40. These and other treatment costs are about 60% lower than regular prices elsewhere.

With this cost structure, the normal operations alone cannot sustain the highly popular clinic, which just saw its 100,000th patient, Christiana Ogwude, on April 16. “We run at a loss of $400,000 every year,” said Khowaja, “but are supported by some very loyal donors who believe in our mission and work.” Houston Mayor Bill White, US Congressman Al Green and other local and State politicos have also lauded the work done by the Clinic.

The program has been such a success that the Ibn Sina Foundation has started a much smaller 1,250 sq. ft. clinic in Clear Lake, which will soon double in size.