Just as George B. Theilen, III, MD, was about to complete his residency in 1984, he learned that Los Barrios, one of the more enjoyable aspects of his residency rotations, was being cut from the residency program because of budgetary constraints. Because of his love for the patients at Los Barrios, he recruited physician friends to give up their Thursday afternoons to see obstetric patients at Los Barrios for routine prenatal care. Jared L. Kelley, MD, was one of those physicians who volunteered initially and continues to do so some 17 years later. He says the Los Barrios patients, the majority of whom are Hispanic, are very grateful and family-oriented. "Hispanics are very proud people," he says, "and they don't take charity lightly. If they have the means to pay, they'll pay what they can." He says the people in the community reflect the translation of the clinic's name, "The United Neighborhood."

Responding to the call of the community, Los Barrios Unidos Community Clinic opened in 1972 after residents in the West Dallas neighborhood decided they were tired of their community not having the same access to health care as had other communities, seemingly only because their neighborhood was considered a low-economic area. As such, organizers had a difficult time attracting medical personnel to serve the people in the area, resulting in patients being forced to obtain their medical care in other communities or at the county hospital. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, the nation was experiencing much unrest in medically underserved areas. After riots broke out, the federal government instituted Community Health Centers across the nation. When the West Dallas residents learned of the federal implementation of these community health centers, local activists engaged the help of then-Dallas City Council member Anita Martinez. They began a petition campaign to demonstrate to the county government their commitment in seeing the health needs of their community met.

Their efforts paid off, and today the clinic sees more than 65,000 patients annually. Many of the patients at Los Barrios are without medical insurance or are underinsured. The West Dallas area has been designated a federally underserved medical area, and Los Barrios is one of more than 1000 community health centers across the nation serving those who are considered most at risk and in need of primary and preventive healthcare services.

It is the cooperative community spirit of Los Barrios Unidos Community Clinic that compels physicians like Drs George Theilen, Jared Kelley, Gonzalo Venegas, Juan W. Arias, Houshang Etessam, Patricia LaRue, Jorge Saldivar, and Rochelle McKown and Oak Cliff Ob-Gyn Associates to donate their services and enrich their practices by serving those in need. In addition to ob-gyns, the clinic needs volunteer pediatricians and internists with a geriatric interest.