An artist’s rendering of the main lobby, above, and of the second floor waiting room, below, at Resource Center’s new Health Center
DAVID TAFFET | Senior Staff Writer
Taffet@DallasVoice.com
Resource Center acquired a building on Inwood Road across the street from Oak Lawn Place to house most of its medical and Ryan White-related services some four years ago. Now, the plan to consolidate the center’s health programs is coming to fruition.
The Nelson-Tebedo Clinic has already moved into the new location after more than 30 years at its original location at the Crossroads on Cedar Springs Road. And programs currently housed at the Simmons Health Campus on Reagan at Brown Streets will move into the new building the last week of April. That includes the hot meals program, the food pantry and the insurance assistance program as well as primary medical care.
Those services will be open for business in the new location on May 5.
The capital campaign to completely renovate the building is co-chaired by Andy Smith, Paul von Wupperfeld and Meagan Labossiere.
Smith and von Wupperfeld, who are married, have chaired a number of fundraising events in the community, including the 2021 Dallas Symphony Orchestra Gala concert at the Meyerson Symphony Center. Smith is the executive director of the TI Foundation, and von Wupperfeld, after retiring from Texas Instruments, most recently worked as a public relations professional at a small semiconductor company.
Labossiere is in commercial banking and began her fundraising for Resource Center by volunteering on the Toast to Life committee.
Cece Cox
The campaign has already collected $6.7 million, with the lead donation of $3 million coming from The Eugene McDermott Foundation. The W.W. Caruth Jr. Fund also made a sizable contribution.
Resource Center CEO Cece Cox said she expects the ask for donations to last until the summer of 2027. But, she added, those donations may be structured over a five year period.
The building at 2603 Inwood Road has 20,000 square feet of space, about the same as the community center headquarters on Cedar Springs Road. Resource Center bought the property in 2023 because of its location directly across Sadler Circle from Oak Lawn Place and across Inwood Road from the Inwood/Love Field DART station.
At the time of purchase, Resource Center was already busy with its Oak Lawn Place project — a senior housing facility that opened during the summer of 2024. That property is now full and has a waiting list, but Cox encouraged anyone interested in the property to apply.
The new health facility has plenty of parking that is accessible from Sadler Circle. Cox said parking at the new building is much easier than it was at the old Nelson-Tebedo Clinic on Cedar Springs Road.
The building had previously been occupied by WINGS — formerly known as the YWCA. The building was known as The WiNGS Center at Ebby’s Place where they helped “women become strong mothers, advocates for their own breast health care, financially secure and successful in the workplace by providing resources and support.”
Before that, the building was owned by the Elkins Institute, which trained radio operators who needed to be licensed.
Major renovations were necessary to convert the building into Resource Center Health, Cox said. Those renovations began with a new roof and new HVAC that have turned it into a modern medical and service facility.
The insurance assistance program will operate out of the health building, along with the food pantry and hot meals program. Primary medical care that’s now offered at the facilities on Reagan at Brown will move into the new building later this month. Gender-Affirming Healtthcare, which Cox said she preferred to just call “healthcare,” will be offered.
A chief medical officer will be in place by the end of June.
To make this a “one-stop shop,” Resource Center will be opening a pharmacy that can fill all prescriptions, whether someone is a Resource Center client or not. Cox said the delay is licensing, which should be completed this summer.
PrEP prevention and treatment is available through an appointment at Resource Center Health or online through our partnership with Freddie.
The program accepts insurance from more than 100 providers.
“Freddie is a partner we’re working with to provide PrEP on a statewide level,” Cox noted.
Mental health counseling will continue at the community center building on Cedar Springs Road at Inwood. But Cox said, they will offer that service at the new building as well to make it more convenient for clients.
Resource Center’s dental office will remain on Forest Lane in North Dallas. But, Cox said, Resource Center has applied for a grant to build out one dental suite in the Oak Lawn location to offer one-stop shopping for patients.
The former Nelson-Tebedo building on Cedar Springs remains empty. Cox said that space had been leased.
The two-building campus at Reagan and Brown streets is owned by the agency and is for sale.
“We are going to stay true to the grit of our founders and do what needs to be done,” Cox declared in response to executive orders from the White House and legislation in Austin targeting the LGBTQ community, and what needs to be done includes providing services to maintain the health and well-being of the LGBTQ community.