Expanded Healthcare Comes to Southeast

By Gwen Clayton
For Fort Wayne Ink Spot

After having no car and no health insurance, Erika York understands the struggles of accessing healthcare in southeast Fort Wayne.

“I honestly didn't even realize how hard medical care was to access from this side of town until I moved back here three years ago,” the Oxford neighborhood resident said. “It was really eye opening. Everyone talks about a lot of other things that the ‘06 does not have access to, but I feel like hospitals and healthcare just kind of get lost in the shuffle.”

She now has both a car and health insurance, but she’s still happy the new Alliance Health Center has opened inside Lafayette Medical Center, 2700 Lafayette Street, Suite 050. If she ever found herself without wheels again, it would only take her about 15 minutes to walk to her primary care provider.

York was one of the first people to use the new facility earlier this month. The center started seeing patients Dec. 1.

She had been a patient there before it was Alliance Health Center, and was hoping she could keep her previous doctor, but she likes her new provider just as much and says the quality of care she received was good.

“It was easy to get into,” she said. “And they did send out a courtesy letter to all the former patients stating the policy and schedule. I was worried that I wouldn't be able to get in quickly, but I actually did.”

Meeting Patients Needs

“Transportation is one of the many barriers you hear patients indicate prevents them from getting access,” said Brooke Lockhart, CEO for Alliance Health Center. “We do facilitate transportation as part of our services, one being that we would provide bus passes for our patients if needed.”

She’s also looking at partnering with other organizations such as Community Transportation Network to help certain patients when the local bus system doesn’t meet their needs.

“We'll learn more as we meet our patients and get to know them and learn what works for them and find the solutions they need,” she said.

Alliance Medical Center is open Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday from 8 am to 5 pm, and Tuesday from 9 am to 6 pm. According to its website, primary care includes preventative health services, chronic disease management, sick care, well-child care, laboratory testing, well woman exams, pregnancy diagnosis, immunizations for all ages, flu shots, geriatric care, physicals, health education, and referrals for specialty care.

Patients of all ages and income levels are welcome. No one will be turned away for inability to pay. The target population is those patients living at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty level. Fees will be based on a sliding scale.

The location was chosen because the 46806 zip code was designated as a Health Professional Shortage Area by the federal Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA).

According to the agency’s website, “HRSA programs provide health care to people who are geographically isolated, economically or medically vulnerable.”

The building itself was purchased by Parkview Health and Park Center in January. Parkview Health will remain as a collaborative partner, providing financial and operational support to the clinic. The company has invested in the startup of the clinic and will also staff the center with providers from Parkview Physicians Group. Park Center will also offer support, including collaboration on mental health services.

But to be eligible to apply for the Federally Qualified Health Center Lookalike Status, the entity had to be operated by an independent community board-governed organization. The board

members for Alliance Health Center include Phyllis Bragg, Cherise Dixie, D’Andre Douse, Phil GiaQuinta, Raquel Kline, Caitlin Krouse, Gaby Lemus, Sharon Tucker, Fernando Zapari, and Gary Zwierzynski.

According to the HRSA website, “Health Center Program look-alikes are health centers that, like Health Center Program award recipients, improve the health of the nation’s underserved communities and vulnerable populations by expanding access to comprehensive, culturally competent, quality primary health care services.”

Neighborhood Health — 50 Year Neighbor

The 46806 does have one other medical facility: Neighborhood Health, located almost five miles away at 3350 E. Paulding Road. Neighborhood Health clinics has served the Fort Wayne community for 50 years. The East Paulding opened in 2014. In addition to primary care, Neighborhood Health offers dental, vision, behavioral health, and WIC services.

“First off, and most importantly, we don’t see ourselves as having to differentiate from, or compete with, Alliance Health,” Angie Zaegel, president and CEO of Neighborhood Health said in a prepared statement. “We’ve been on the frontlines of providing critical health services to at-need populations in Fort Wayne for more than 50 years. That’s particularly true of the care and services we’ve provided to Fort Wayne’s Black community and southeast area. Because of this unique and extensive experience, we understand directly the scale and scope of the need for health equity and service.”

“Parkview has partnered with Neighborhood Health Clinics for several years in the past,” said Marlon Wardlow, senior vice president of equity and inclusion for Parkview Health. “We recently worked with a consultant to do a study and saw that there was still so many more individuals that qualified for care that a Federally Qualified Health Center could provide that were going unserved or there just wasn't enough for them. Parkview saw the opportunity to step up to bring another FQHC on board, so that's kind of the birth of Alliance Health Center.”

Wardlow said Fort Wayne’s southeast quadrant sees a high prevalence of hypertension, diabetes, infant mortality, and maternal mortality, among other health issues.

“We at Parkview knew there was something that we had to do,” he said. “We had to do more than what had been done in the past. Making sure that individuals have access to clinical care is the first step in doing something about some of these problems.”

Lockhart added, “For every patient we see here, we’ll screen them for social determinants of health to see where we might be able to connect them with existing community resources or identify that there's a need for an additional community resource. So, beyond the medical care, we do help connect them to those other services that hopefully have a positive impact long-term on their health.”

‘I Know Lots of People Who Need It’

Tee Cook, a local businesswoman and former nurse sees Alliance Health Care’s move to southeast as an asset, but there are concerns.

“I think the Alliance Health Center is a great idea, although it is going to take some time for people to feel comfortable with another Matthew 25,” said Cook, a longtime resident. “As a nurse who's worked in various types of healthcare settings, one of the biggest complaints I’ve seen with free clinics is that they are overwhelmed. There are so many people in southeast Fort Wayne who have barriers to healthcare and other resources, it will cause people to stay away. I just hope that it is what it says it is because I know a lot of people who need it.”