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Houston - Texas Children’s Pediatric Associates, Ripley HouseHOUSTON—U.S. Sen. John Cornyn today highlighted the importance of preventive childhood care at the Texas Children’s Pediatrics Associates at Neighborhood Centers Inc.-Ripley House in Houston. The facility provides a medical home to children in the Second Ward who would otherwise seek care from emergency rooms or go without essential health care services. Sen. Cornyn toured the clinic, met with medical staff, and visited with families whose children receive care at the clinic. Sen. Cornyn was joined by Texas Children’s Hospital President/CEO Mike A. Wallace, several board members, and representatives from the Texas Medical Association (TMA), and the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC). “Today in Texas and across the country, one of the most concerning challenges we face is ensuring access to quality health care for millions of Americans who are uninsured,” Sen. Cornyn said. “While our flawed health care system is in need of major reforms, many Texas organizations and health care providers are innovating and working together to find solutions and open doors to the local community. Such is the case at the Ripley House, where medical staff are reaching out to children in the community, developing long-term doctor-patient relationships, and instilling in these children the keys to a healthy lifestyle early on, so they can build up strong immune systems and prevent disease and illness. “By teaching children as early as possible about the importance of immunizations, good nutrition, and healthy habits, we can help to build a healthier generation that will in turn bring relief to a growing health care crisis in this country. I am encouraged by the responsible and preventive health care approach I saw at the Ripley House today, and I’m hopeful this approach, coupled with meaningful reforms on the federal level, will create a healthy future for Texas kids.” With recent news that Texas has fallen to 34th in the nation for child immunizations, representatives from TMA discussed a new initiative they are working on with HHSC to increase childhood vaccinations. Sen. Cornyn also discussed the importance of boosting awareness of preventive health care services available to low-income children through Medicaid and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). In Texas, there are nearly 500,000 Medicaid-eligible children who are not signed up for Medicaid, and an additional 200,000 SCHIP-eligible children who are not enrolled to participate. Sen. Cornyn serves on the Armed Services, Judiciary and Budget Committees. In addition, he is Vice Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Ethics. He serves as the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee’s Immigration, Border Security and Refugees subcommittee and the Armed Services Committee’s Airland subcommittee.