A new private practice from family physician Dr. Emmanuel Lee opened this fall in Rollingwood. 

Diving in deeper: Known as Concierge Health of Austin, the practice offers direct physician access 24/7, comprehensive care, proactive health management and more. 

Lee is joined by Family Nurse Practitioner Millie Hicks, who brings experience in women’s health to the table. Aaron Winning of Julius Wellness also offers acupuncture, cupping therapy and light therapy services. 

In their own words: “Concierge Health of Austin is built around the belief that healthcare should be collaborative, holistic, and deeply personalized,” Lee said in a news release. “By limiting our patient panel, we ensure that each individual receives the time, attention, and care they deserve.”

How it works: Concierge medicine allows patients to pay a membership fee to providers for health services, rather than using traditional insurance plans, according to previous Community Impact reporting. 

• 3001 Bee Caves Road, Ste. 210, Rollingwood

Amid projections of a multimillion-dollar budget shortfall next year, the Eanes ISD board of trustees is continuing its review of possible cost-saving actions to take.

Remember this? The board previously discussed five possible budget optimization actions in October, including: 

• A voter-approval tax rate election
• Increasing local revenues through facility rental rates, creating online courses and adding transfer students
• Adjusting staffing structures
• Reducing or eliminating district programs and services
• Pausing part or all salary increases for one budget cycle

• Package 1: $5.5 million-$6.6 million in savings
• Package 2: $4.7 million-$5.8 million in savings
• Package 3: $5 million-$5.9 million in savings 
• Package 4: $6.7 million-$7.6 million in savings

Those looking for an Austin restaurant to dine at this Thanksgiving have several options. Some restaurants require reservations and others accept walk-ins.

Corinne
Community members can stop by the restaurant for lunch or dinner and taste traditional Thanksgiving meals, including roasted turkey. Entrees can be paired with seasonal sides and housemade desserts.

• Price: $65 per person
• 304 E. Cesar Chavez St., Austin

• Price: $49 per person (Thanksgiving menu with caramelized prime rib)
• 11801 Domain Blvd., Ste. 100, Austin

• Price: $40 per person
• South Congress Hotel, 1603 S. Congress Ave., Austin

A new "state-of-the-art" hospital and medical research campus from The University of Texas at Austin and MD Anderson Cancer Center may move from its planned location downtown to a site in Northwest Austin, UT officials announced this month.

What's happening: The UT Medical Center was first announced in summer 2023 as a major new piece of UT Austin's academic health system. The project, then estimated at $2.5 billion, was envisioned as a pair of medical towers housing an MD Anderson clinical and research cancer center and UT Austin specialty hospital on the old Frank Erwin Center site off I-35.

However, university officials are now considering UT land near The Domain as the possible future home of the UT Medical Center. A timeline for a decision on whether to locate the medical campus downtown or in Northwest Austin has yet to be determined.

The possible shift away from downtown comes months after state law was changed to allow the hospital towers to be built on the Erwin Center property.

This year, voters in communities across Texas were skeptical of local property tax hikes and supportive of larger tax breaks for homeowners and businesses, results from the Nov. 4 election show.

The overview: Voters in Community Impact’s coverage areas approved just over half of the local bond propositions and tax rate elections on the November ballot, according to previous Community Impact reporting. Statewide, 40% of tax rate elections and 45.9% of bond propositions passed, according to Sen. Paul Bettencourt, a Houston Republican and property tax policy writer.

Zooming in: Cities, counties, school districts and other local government entities use funding from tax hikes to build new schools and facilities; hire educators and first responders; and maintain local infrastructure. However, amid high inflation nationwide, more Texas residents are tightening their belts and asking local officials to do the same, fiscal policy experts told Community Impact.

Local governments whose tax hikes were shot down are now grappling with how to make cuts while maintaining essential services, Community Impact reporting shows.