During the summer of 2015, the Indiana Partnership for Healthy Communities (which includes The Polis Center) collaborated with the New Salem Baptist Church during the strategic planning phase for the development of the Indianapolis Health & Wellness Center (IHWC), a 501c3 faith-based comprehensive health center that will provide accessible, affordable, quality healthcare and wellness programs for vulnerable populations in Indianapolis. “Vulnerable populations” include those with unmet health needs such as low-income individuals (the “working poor”) who are often under-insured or uninsured.
Dr. Melvin Woodard, pastor of the New Salem Baptist Church, will present this story during a session, “Addressing Healthcare for the Asset-Limited, Income-Constrained, Employed (ALICE) Population,” at the 2016 Tobias Leadership Conference on Friday, April 8, at the Alexander Hotel, 333 S Delaware St, Indianapolis. His presentation begins at 3:15 in the Renaissance Place II room.
The Indiana Partnership for Healthy Communities (IN-PHC) is a collaboration between The Polis Center, the Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health, and the Indiana Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute (I-CTSI). Using the SAVI community information system, IPHC provided an environmental scan and assessment of needs, resources, support and challenges regarding the provision of free clinic services for uninsured and under-insured individuals in the northern Indianapolis area.
The analysis revealed that there are “hot spots” where needs exist for a facility like IHWC was proposing. Hamilton County constituted the largest portion of the targeted IHWC geographic service area, as well as the largest portion of the targeted population. Marion County made up a small geographic portion of this area but accounted for the next largest of the population. Although vulnerable populations are heavily concentrated in central Marion County–outside of IHWC’s targeted service area–there are pockets of vulnerable populations in northern Marion County as well as in portions of Hamilton County and adjacent counties.
With this data in hand, IHWC identified its target service area to be that north of 71stStreet in Indianapolis and within a 30-minute drive time for potential patients of its proposed clinic site. The target service area includes portions of Hamilton, Boone, Madison, Marion, and Hancock Counties.
Dr. Woodard said, “Opening a medical clinic in northeast Marion County, where sizable populations of ALICE populations live, is very important to us. IHWC is replicating the Model for Healthy Living from the Church Health Center (Memphis, TN), the largest faith-based healthcare organization of its type in the country serving uninsured working people and their families. IHWC will offer Direct Primary Care (DPC) to support the uninsured and under-insured through accessible, quality medical care at a price they can pay. Improving the health of uninsured and under-insured working people increases their productivity, while reducing inappropriate emergency room visits. Providing DPC is a first step in healing Indiana’s health care crisis.” The Center is expected to open in June 2016.
Dr. Woodard was inspired to create the Center upon learning in an August 2014 study by the Kaiser Family Foundation that there were 801,000 uninsured people across the state of Indiana.