August 1999
New Clinic to Open
St. Joseph's Health Center
Located at 116 E. Washington Street
In 1994, 10.5% of the people in Indiana did not have health insurance. In 1995, 12.6% of the people in Indiana did not have health insurance. One of the ironies of a good economy is that while the number of people living in poverty has decreased from 11.7% to 8.6% from 1994 to 1996, the number of uninsured people has actually increased. For Marshall County, with a 1996 population of 45,173, that equates to 5,962 who are not covered by some form of health insurance. There is approximately 12,196 children in Marshall County of which, 964 are uninsured.
To address the health care needs of this increasing uninsured population of Marshall County, Saint Joseph's Regional Medical Center, Plymouth Campus will soon open the doors to the Saint Joseph's Health Center. Those people not covered by company, government or military health insurance plans, Medicaid or Medicare, who financially qualify with income at 150% of poverty or less, and who live in Marshall County will be served by this new facility.
In addressing the health care needs with quality care for this part of our population, Saint Joseph's Health Center hopes to lessen or prevent the major medical problems experienced by people who delay seeking medical attention due to financial considerations. This will allow the hospital to better control costs by eliminating emergency department visits and expensive clinical services because of deteriorating health. These cost-savings, in turn, benefit the community as a whole.
Expanded services are planned, along with providing the basic healthcare services. The health center will be working with a local pharmacy to provide prescription medications as needed and, working with other organizations, to supply needed shots for children, formula and clothing for infants and toddlers. Also, there will be assistance in registering qualified people, such as children and pregnant women, for specific forms of health insurance coverage that is available.
Funding is a combination of voluntary contributions from the community, fundraising efforts, grants and subsidizing by the hospital as much as possible. Patients will be asked to pay a $5.00 co-payment, if they are able, however, no one will be turned away due to financial constraints. Paid staff will include a nurse practitioner and a medical director. Medical volunteers will include physicians, nurses and other staffing. Volunteers from our community for the assistance required in the operation of the Health Center will be needed.
The tentative date to begin seeing patients is September 8, 1999. Patients will need to make appointments to be seen. During the month of August, the hospital will open the appointment book by advertising through the media. Initially, appointments will be scheduled for people to apply to become patients at the Health Center. After the Health Center opens, patients will be seen on Mondays, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Wednesdays, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Fridays, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. For further information, call Susie Cook at 935-2159.
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