Powered by Partnership: Medical Student Demonstrates the Value of Central Health’s Relationship with Dell Med

Aquiel Warner, 31, is part of a growing local physician workforce committed to caring for those who need us most.

Warner’s instincts kicked in.

“I would walk on the streets, and I would see the community,” said Warner, who also studied evolutionary biology and graduated from Yale in 2016. “I realized what I was doing–studying astrophysics–wasn’t something that was going to translate into more direct and tangible benefits for a community.”

After working as a refugee resettlement case manager and later coordinating client care with a local Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC), Warner eventually decided on a path in medicine, enrolling at Dell Medical School at The University of Texas at Austin in 2021.

“I believe in a system that can meet people where they’re at.” – Aquiel Warner

Warner’s story is one example of the mission behind a unique and ongoing collaboration between Central Health and Dell Med, a taxpayer-supported partnership designed to improve health in Travis County.

She is soon to be one of a growing number of doctors, about 280 and counting, who have earned their medical degrees at the school. Now a fourth-year student who’s been described as a tireless advocate, Warner is making plans to specialize in family medicine and psychiatry, a purpose shaped from her time working with asylum seekers and refugees.

“I really became involved in coordinating the care of my families that had special medical needs,” she said.

Strong Ties to Travis County

Warner has deep ties to Austin and the greater Central Texas area. She was a senior at Austin Connally High School in 2011, just a year before the landmark decision when Travis County voted “yes” to Proposition 1. Alongside investment from the University of Texas System, the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation and others, the ballot measure supported the creation of Dell Med.

In 2014, Central Health joined with the University of Texas System and Ascension Seton in an an affiliation agreement to formalize the parties’ relationship to improve health in Travis County alongside taxpayers’ annual $35 million investment in Dell Med. Over the past 11 years, the partnership between Central Health and UT has continued to transform health for patients in Travis County and supported Central Health’s mission of creating greater health care access for patients with low income.

“I remember thinking at the time, ‘We don’t have a medical school in Austin? That seems silly,’” said Warner, who voted absentee in 2012. “I was really impressed that it wasn’t only going to be a medical school, but it would be a medical school that would [partner with] Central Health.”

“Aquiel represents exactly the kind of physician leader our community had in mind when it voted to create a medical school in Travis County.” – Central Health President & CEO Dr. Pat Lee

When the idea of a medical school at UT started gaining momentum 15 years ago, Austin and Travis County—as well as most of the country—were experiencing shortages of physicians. It was a critical problem that was projected to only get worse as doctors retired. But over the last decade, Dell Med has begun to fill that gap, directly or indirectly attracting 560 new doctors to Austin since 2014, accounting for about 1 in 8 physicians in Travis County today.

Then, in 2023, the UT System Board of Regents announced plans to build a world-class academic medical center in the heart of Austin. It’s what UT leaders say will be part of a larger, integrated academic health system that will meet the urgent need for care for complex and serious conditions in Central Texas. Aligned with Dell Med’s mission of revolutionizing how people get and stay healthy, it promises to make Austin a destination for health care and innovation, putting world-class care within reach for people whose ability to travel for care is limited due to health, financial or other limitations.

“The community’s investment in Dell Med was always about more than building a medical school—it was about building a healthier Central Texas,” said Dr. Claudia Lucchinetti, dean of Dell Med and senior vice president for medical affairs at UT. “By training doctors in the settings where care is most needed and fostering partnerships that strengthen the local health system, we’re working to close longstanding gaps and improve the lives of people across our region, even as we carry forward our bold vision to define the future of health—a goal that’s boundless.”

Warner’s time at Dell Med has given her and other physicians in-training essential knowledge and crucial experience across various disciplines that will directly affect the lives of patients who live here.

In her fourth year, Warner said, the curriculum has allowed her to explore residency disciplines and medical specialties through clinical rotations and internships. Warner is currently in rotation at Dell Seton Medical Center at The University of Texas, the primary teaching hospital for Dell Med and the primary safety-net hospital in Travis County.

“I was really impressed that it wasn’t only going to be a medical school, but it would be a medical school that would [partner with] Central Health.” – Aquiel Warner

Next up is a residency match in 2026. Warner says she feels a calling toward working with underserved communities and is clear in her goal to stay in Travis County and continue working with patients in Central Texas and the surrounding rural areas.

She has long understood the barriers that exist for distinct patient populations.

“There has to be something inside the health care system that is driving these disparities that we see in health,” Warner said.

A Look into the Future

Due to her experiences and education, Warner isn’t only focused on studying medicine as she works to become a physician. She believes real-world impact can best be seen in geographic areas where health care is most needed.

With local taxpayer support, Dell Med’s partnership with Central Health has been a true win for the safety-net health care system in Travis County. Among other benefits, it has allowed resident physicians to train at CommUnityCare Health Centers in areas such as internal medicine, family medicine, dermatology, and psychiatry. Together with Dell Med faculty physicians, they provide 1.5 million hours of care each year, with about 75% of residents’ time in safety-net settings.

“Aquiel represents exactly the kind of physician leader our community had in mind when it voted to create a medical school in Travis County,” Central Health President & CEO Dr. Pat Lee said. “Her dedication to community health shows what’s possible when purpose and partnership come together. Students like Aquiel, who choose to stay and serve our most vulnerable neighbors, remind us that the investment in Dell Med was never just about building a medical school. It’s about growing a new generation of doctors who earn trust, understand lived experience, and meet people where they are.”

With less than a year until graduation, Warner is thinking about the future. She is a candidate for Central Health’s Community Health Champions, a program which brings together diverse community members from across Travis County to learn, discuss, and collaborate on work to improve health outcomes in Central Health.

“I want to start finding solutions,” she said. “What are the services that the community needs? What will be the practices that work for the community’s needs?”

Warner’s long-term goals are to make a difference, she said, by balancing time in clinical settings with a more community-based approach to health care.

There’s not a one-size-fits-all plan, she said, and ultimately, it’s about providing impact through the health care gaps that exist.

“I believe in a system that can meet people where they’re at,” she said.