What questions come to mind when searching for a healthcare provider? Will I receive quality care? I don’t have health insurance; can I afford to be seen by a doctor? How will I be able to afford the prescribed medication? When will I have extra time to wait around in a doctor’s office?
Does this sound like you?
Have you considered visiting your local community health center Valley Professionals Community Health Center (VPCHC)?
What is a community health center, you might ask, and what can VPCHC do for me?
Valley Professionals Community Health Center, your local federally qualified health center (FQHC), provides comprehensive integrated healthcare for all individuals and families, while promoting educational opportunities. Valley Professionals accepts Medicaid, Medicare, commercial insurance, and offers a sliding fee scale, based on family size and income, for individuals and families without insurance.
In simple terms, VPCHC is able to provide a variety of healthcare services at minimal cost whether you are insured or not.
Sounds pretty good right? VPCHC has grown tremendously since it opened its doors in 2008 and is now able to offer health services in six locations, including a Mobile School-Based Health Center. The Mobile Health Center is a medical clinic on wheels currently traveling to school corporations in Parke and Vermillion counties providing a full range of healthcare that has been effective in reducing health-related absences, as well, as helping students to succeed in the classroom.
VPCHC’s Clinton facility offers an after-hours clinic Monday through Thursday, from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., in hopes of preventing unnecessary trips to the emergency room or a potentially expensive trip to an urgent care facility for primary healthcare needs.
VPCHC is passionate in its mission for building a stronger, healthier and happier community. VPCHC’s Certified Indiana Community Health Worker staff is on hand to assist those in need of Insurance Marketplace enrollment or Medicaid. The Community Health Workers can also assist VPCHC patients with prescription assistance, food bank assistance, understanding their sliding fee scale, and even educating patients about their health.
VPCHC has received the highest possible recognition through the National Committee for Quality Assurance as a Patient Centered Medical Home – Level 3, for its Bloomingdale, Cayuga and Clinton sites. The Crawfordsville and Terre Haute sites are currently working towards this goal. VPCHC works hard for your consideration to be considered your medical home, a one-stop facility to meet all of your healthcare needs.
In an effort to become even more accessible to local residents, VPCHC has opened new doors in both Vigo and Montgomery counties. In a partnership with Union Hospital in Terre Haute, the Union Hospital Family Medical Center has been repurposed into a new FQHC now known as Valley Professionals Community Health Center – Terre Haute. The new community health center is located on the second floor of Union Hospital’s Professional Office Building at 1530 N 7th Street in Terre Haute. This addition to the VPCHC family will fill a healthcare void consisting of an estimated 20,000 Vigo County residents without primary care providers or access to primary healthcare services. VPCHC – Terre Haute is staffed by two Nurse Practitioners, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, and 28 physicians, including members of the Union Hospital Family Medicine residency program.
With New Access Point grant funding available through the Affordable Care Act, VPCHC developed a new community health center in Crawfordsville that opened in August. VPCHC was awarded $704,167 in funding and was one of only six Indiana healthcare facilities to receive this award during the first round of award announcements in May of 2015. Eight additional funding awards for Indiana were announced in August, totaling 14 awards for the state. New Access Point grant funding is designed to allow the delivery of comprehensive primary health care services in communities that need it most. Local physician, Dr. Hwang, and his medical team joined VPCHC to open the new FQHC, located at 1810 Lafayette Road, Crawfordsville.
This year as summer came to a close, and students were about to head back to school, VPCHC organized a Summer Block Party to show appreciation for their patients and local community, organizations, and businesses for their continued support. The VPCHC Summer Block Party provided an opportunity for the health center to reach out to community members regarding the importance of available primary and behavioral healthcare services they are able to provide. The event coincided with National Health Center Week, an annual awareness week promoting the mission of community health centers as a local solution for affordable and accessible healthcare. Health centers serve more than 22 million people across the United States, and are increasingly becoming the trusted provider of choice for many families in underserved areas.
Now that you know a little more about the services Valley Professionals Community Health Center can provide, perhaps you will visit one of the health center sites in Clinton, Cayuga, Bloomingdale, Terre Haute, or Crawfordsville. All VPCHC sites are open Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., with the addition of an After-Hours Clinic in Clinton, open Monday through Thursday, 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.