Christ Clinic is entering a new season of growth, with changes to its pharmacy model and with new staff members, as it looks forward to its annual “Breakfast for a Blessing.”

The charity clinic, founded in 2000 as an outreach ministry in Memorial Lutheran Church in Katy, provides healthcare to the uninsured and underinsured and serves between 5000 and 6000 individuals each year, for about 20,000 encounters for the year, according to previous reporting in the Katy Times.

In order to provide a more focused pharmacy model, Christ Clinic will be transitioning its pharmacy classification from a Class A retail pharmacy to a Class D clinic pharmacy. “This change will allow us to focus our charitable pharmacy resources on medications that are expensive, difficult to access and critical to our patients’ health—such as insulin, anticoagulants, inhalers and urgently needed antibiotics,” said Lara Mautz, executive director.

More commonly available, lower-cost prescriptions will generally be sent to each patient’s preferred community pharmacy, Mautz said, reflecting feedback from patients and allows the clinic to serve them more efficiently while being responsible stewards of its resources.

A recent newsletter from the organization created some confusion about the pharmacy’s status.

“We sincerely apologize for that miscommunication,” Mautz said. “Although a closure [of the pharmacy] was anticipated at the time the newsletter was issued, God provided the staffing we needed, and the pharmacy remained open without missing its normal operating hours. Christ Clinic also remained open and continued serving patients throughout the transition. We are grateful for God’s provision and look forward to continuing our mission through this more focused and sustainable pharmacy model.”

Christ Clinic has also welcomed two new leaders to its team:

· Ashley Lankford, Director of Development, will be building relationships with donors, churches, businesses and community partners who share the team’s passion for serving its neighbors.

· Kynnley Herrington, Director of Marketing, will help tell the stories of Christ Clinic, strengthen community awareness and connect more people with opportunities to receive care or support the clinic’s mission.

Innovative Wellness, Christ Clinic’s Functional Family Medicine and Wellness practice, has welcomed Jenna Gray, physician assistant, to the team.

“We are thrilled to add her knowledge, experience and passion for helping patients pursue better health,” Mautz said.

To welcome Gray, Innovative Wellness is offering hormone labs for $97, including a complimentary visit. For additional information, visit wherefaithmeetsfunction.life.

Christ Clinic’s annual Breakfast for a Blessing will be held on November 13. Doors open at 7 a.m. at The Katy Gardens, 1040 Schlipf Road in Katy. The event is from 7:30 to 9 a.m. Tickets and sponsorship opportunities are now available at www.christclinickaty.org.

“We are grateful for the prayers, generosity and partnership of the Katy community. God is doing exciting things at Christ Clinic, and we look forward to sharing this next season with you,” said Mautz.