Legacy Community Health Opens New Pasadena Clinic to Close Care Gaps

Nearly one in three Pasadena residents lacks health insurance, and children in the city go without coverage at more than double the national average rate. On April 23, Legacy Community Health plans to confront those numbers directly when it opens the doors of the Legacy Pasadena Southmore Clinic at 1951 Southmore Avenue.

The 40,000-square-foot, two-story facility, designed by Kirksey Architects and built by Harvey Cleary Builders, is the first of two clinics funded through Houston Methodist's $50 million gift to Legacy, the largest donation in the health center's history. At opening, the clinic will offer adult and pediatric primary care, OB/GYN services, behavioral health, and X-ray imaging, along with wraparound social support services. Dental and pharmacy services are scheduled to come online in late summer 2026.

The clinic will also become the new home of the Houston Methodist Family Medicine Residency Program, which is relocating from Legacy's San Jacinto location. The program places physician trainees on-site to expand clinical capacity and strengthen continuity of care for Pasadena families who have historically had to travel farther or wait longer for appointments.

Legacy is Texas's largest federally qualified health center, operating more than 60 community health centers across the Gulf Coast region and serving over 200,000 patients annually. As a federally qualified health center, the Southmore clinic will accept Medicaid, CHIP, Medicare, and most commercial plans. On-site enrollment specialists will be available to help patients without coverage access Medicaid or Affordable Care Act plans, and sliding-scale fees apply for those who remain uninsured.

For Southeast Harris County, the clinic addresses a gap that public health data has flagged for years. Transportation barriers and a shortage of nearby primary care providers have long pushed Pasadena-area families toward hospital emergency departments for conditions that consistent, affordable primary care could manage earlier and far more cost-effectively. Legacy broke ground on the Southmore site on May 10, 2024. The clinic entrance is accessible from Southmore Avenue, between the adjacent apartments and meat market, or from Easthaven Drive.