A partnership between IUSON BL, the Center for Rural Engagement, Southern Indiana Community Health Care (SICHC), and community partners is bringing much-needed access to health care to the people of Orange and Martin Counties.
Bringing health care home
by Pascal Sloman, IU Center for Rural Engagement, & John Simmons, IUSON BL
Photos: Jeni Waters, IU Center for Rural Engagement
Photos: Jeni Waters, IU Center for Rural Engagement
Amy Todd, the IU School of Public Health’s Faith Net Manager, has been a nurse for 20 years, and she’s become very familiar with Martin County and its health care needs.
“Being a rural community, we do not have a lot of resources,” she says. “The resources we do have in a county of approximately 10,200 people include only one physician, three nurse practitioners, and a stand-alone urgent care clinic with one nurse practitioner.”
“Patients in rural communities are no different than those in urban settings,” she continues. “They need post-stroke care, mental health services, complex therapies, hospice services, specialized providers, and pain management, just to name a few…but those services are not found locally. Access to quality care remains a problem, with many patients traveling 75 miles or more to get the care they need.”
“There is a lack of access to health care in rural Indiana that communities identify as one of their primary needs,” agrees Katherine Pope, a registered nurse and health liaison at the IU Center for Rural Engagement (CRE). A report on community health priorities developed by CRE shows that 70 percent of the Indiana Uplands counties – which include Orange and Martin Counties – identify access to health care as a top community health need. “Access to preventative screenings,” says Katherine, “can go a long way in helping Southern Indiana’s rural communities address such issues as chronic disease, maternal health, substance use disorder and more, while increasing access to care.”
“Being a rural community, we do not have a lot of resources,” she says. “The resources we do have in a county of approximately 10,200 people include only one physician, three nurse practitioners, and a stand-alone urgent care clinic with one nurse practitioner.”
“Patients in rural communities are no different than those in urban settings,” she continues. “They need post-stroke care, mental health services, complex therapies, hospice services, specialized providers, and pain management, just to name a few…but those services are not found locally. Access to quality care remains a problem, with many patients traveling 75 miles or more to get the care they need.”
“There is a lack of access to health care in rural Indiana that communities identify as one of their primary needs,” agrees Katherine Pope, a registered nurse and health liaison at the IU Center for Rural Engagement (CRE). A report on community health priorities developed by CRE shows that 70 percent of the Indiana Uplands counties – which include Orange and Martin Counties – identify access to health care as a top community health need. “Access to preventative screenings,” says Katherine, “can go a long way in helping Southern Indiana’s rural communities address such issues as chronic disease, maternal health, substance use disorder and more, while increasing access to care.”
And so, to make preventative screenings more available to Southern Indiana’s rural communities, IUSON BL, CRE, Southern Indiana Community Health Care (SICHC), and local faith-based organizations devised a unique strategy: if Orange and Martin County residents could not go to preventative health care screenings, the screenings would come to them!
Working with a grant from the IU Foundation’s Women’s Philanthropy Leadership Council, CRE was able to fund in-person rural health screenings in Orange and Martin Counties, with Katherine taking a leadership role in coordinating the clinics. Two free clinics were offered:
- February 9 – April 16 for Orange County residents at the Love Never Fails United Christian Church, West Baden Springs, IN.
- February 17 – April 16 for Martin County residents at Harvest Health & Rehab, Loogootee, IN.
“The free clinics in Orange and Martin Counties very much align with our goal to train nurses who are critical thinkers, culturally sensitive and knowledgeable care coordinators, and who understand the impact of health care policy, finance, and regulatory environments on care delivery,” says IUSON BL Clinical Assistant Professor Britney Arce who, along with IUSON BL Lecturer Sonita Ball, coordinated our involvement in the clinics. “Not everyone is from a rural community and learning about what people do and do not have access to is very important in health care.”
"Our student nurses provided a preventative health service for rural areas in which access to health care is limited," says Sonita, "and gained valuable clinical experience in providing care for underserved communities. For many students, this was their first exposure to a rural community. The free clinics gave them the opportunity to better understand the needs of rural communities and how they differ from urban settings."
“When an organization such as Indiana University invests in the county, it inspires and empowers residents to do more and be more.”
– Amy Todd, Faith Net Manager & Martin County Resident
“I believe the nursing students have been able to see how having the community as your client – rather than one patient – really makes a difference in overall care,” says Amy. “It has shown them how they can use their nursing brain and skill levels to be empowered and to make changes, even now as nursing students. They can make changes within their own homes, their lives, within their social groups, and in their home communities that can make a difference in helping people live healthier lives. This impacts people in a whole-person manner.”
Katherine believes that partnerships like the free clinics are an important first step in improving access to health care for rural Indiana residents. “This is not a silver bullet that will completely fix access but, if more partnerships are built in collaboration with communities, we can begin to make progress in providing quality care to our rural communities,” she says.
“These partnerships show the community that they matter,” concludes Amy. “When an organization such as Indiana University invests in the county, it inspires and empowers residents to do more and be more.”