Date: June 16th 2011

From: DFW International Community Alliance
On behalf of Muslim Community Center for Human Services

For Immediate Release
June 17, 2011
Contact: Sofia Michelle Ansari
Phone: 214-490-8697
www.mcc-hs.org

MUSLIM COMMUNITY CENTER FOR HUMAN SERVICES RECEIVES $100,000 GRANT FROM CONSORTIUM OF HOSPITALS, NORTH TEXAS

Richland Hills, TX - Hospital Corporation of America North Texas Division, in collaboration with Texas Health Resources and the Baylor and Methodist Health Systems has awarded a 3-year grant of $100,000 per year to the Muslim Community Center for Human Services (MCCHS) to help expand its medical services. The funding has enabled the MCCHS Al-Shifa Medical Clinic to hire a full time nurse practitioner and increase its operations to 6 days a week: Monday to Friday, 9 AM to 5 PM, and Saturday, 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM. With these extended hours, MCCHS anticipates that the clinic will experience significant patient growth, estimating at least 3000 patients will be served this year.

Founded in 1995 by psychiatrist, Dr. Basheer Ahmed, MCCHS is a non-profit organization, dedicated to providing no-cost or minimal cost health care, social and educational services to underserved persons in the DFW Metroplex, regardless of race, gender, ethnicity, culture or religion. Founder and Chair, Dr. Basheer Ahmed says, “Since its inception 16 years ago, MCC for Human Services, a 501C3 charitable organization, continues to meet the needs of uninsured and underinsured individuals and families. A team of twenty-two volunteer physicians has been providing primary care services at the MCC for Human Services Al-Shifa Medical Clinic. The clinic provides a vision clinic, a dental clinic, and diagnostic laboratory services for indigent patients at discounted rates and distributes thousands of dollars’ worth of donated medications to patients as needed, free of charge.”

“I want to thank the funding agencies for their support of MCC for Human Services to achieve its goal. The grants will allow MCC for Human Services to serve more people in the local community who desperately need. We sincerely thank our volunteer physicians and community donors for their support of this organization”, says Dr. Ahmed.

MCCHS also provides full-time family and mental health counseling services. It has also received a grant from the State of Texas, under the Victims of Crimes Act, to help provide direct services to victims of domestic violence; it runs a 24-hour hotline for crisis intervention, and immediate assistance for domestic violence and child abuse cases.

The MCCHS Domestic Violence Hotline is open 24 hours for immediate response at 817-589-0200. The MCCHS Al-Shifa Medical Clinic is located at 7600 Glenview Dr., Richland Hills, TX 76118. For appointments, general information or referrals to community services, please call the Helpline at 817-589-9165 or visit the MCCHS website at www.mcc-hs.org.