The Jane Pauley Community Health Center location in Shelbyville. The health care provider, which offers services to people regardless of insurance status, is opening a site in Greenwood in the next six months.
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Johnson County residents will soon have a new option for health care, no matter if they are insured or not.
Patients to Jane Pauley Community Health Center can see a primary care physician, a pediatrician or an OB/GYN. People can also see a behavioral or mental health specialist, or get dental care.
Some patients will come away from food if they’re hungry.
“It should be advantageous for (local residents), because we’ll bring in additional services,” said Marc Hackett, CEO of Jane Pauley Community Health Center. “We find that a lot of folks who come in live in food deserts or go without a meal for a day. We know we’re making a difference in people’s lives, and we’re glad people are taking advantage of it.”
Jane Pauley Community Health Center will open a new location in Greenwood later this year, as the health care provider grows from 10 sites to 17. The new site is currently a Community Health Network pediatrics practice at 333 E. County Line Road. Through a partnership with Community, the practice will become a Jane Pauley center over the next six months.
With its mission to provide health services to patients regardless of insurance, the Jane Pauley Community Health Center will provide another option to ensure all people get the care they need.
The new locations provide more coverage and greater reach throughout the area to improve health outcomes for everyone.
“We take care of patients, regardless of their ability to pay. We think people would go without care, or showing up in the emergency room, if we weren’t around,” Hackett said.
Jane Pauley Community Health Center is a federally qualified health center, a designation given for meeting government requirements such as serving an underserved area or population, offering a sliding scale fee structure and providing comprehensive services.
The organization was founded in 2009 on the east side of Indianapolis with support from the Metropolitan School District of Warren Township, Community Health Network and the Community Health Network Foundation. Over the past 13 years, the organization has grown to include 10 sites in four Indianapolis-area counties, offering care to patients of all age groups, nationalities, and backgrounds, regardless of insurance status.
In 2023, they were receiving more than 100,000 annual visits and boasted a staff of more than 250 people.
“The biggest difference from us is, we take patients regardless of their ability to pay. We don’t send patients over to collection, and we’re structured in a way to take on those underserved in the areas we have,” Hackett said.
The connection with the Community Health Network has been maintained throughout the existence of the Jane Pauley centers. Discussions between the two organizations identified seven additional sites in central Indiana that could cater to underserved populations.
”Indiana communities have significant needs in addressing infant mortality, childhood asthma, behavioral health, immunizations and other pediatric issues,” said Dr. John Kunzer, president of Community Physician Network, in a statement. “Community and Jane Pauley Community Health Center are determined to make a difference in these important areas, and this initiative will help us together fulfill our shared mission of improving the health of the communities we serve.”
In addition to Greenwood, the new Jane Pauley locations will be in Kokomo, Indianapolis and Anderson.
“They asked if we’d consider taking over operations of these sites, so we looked over the opportunity, and it just made sense to do so,” Hackett said. “All seven of these sites are high Medicaid-visit sites.”
The transition to a Jane Pauley Community Health Center will need to be completed by June 30, and the expectation is the switch will come in May or June, Hackett said.
Officials would like to work with the Franklin and Trafalgar locations of Windrose Health Network, another federally qualified health center, to meet the need local residents have for care, Hackett said. As a lifelong Johnson County resident, who served as Windrose’s founder and executive director, Hackett is particularly excited to bring services to local residents.
“It’s not like we’re coming back into the community trying to compete. We’re just trying to take care of the need in the area,” Hackett said.
AT A GLANCE
Jane Pauley Community Health Center
What: An Indianapolis-area organization dedicated to providing health services to patients regardless if they have commercial insurance, Medicaid/Medicare or are uninsured. The health care centers offers primary care, pediatric, OB/GYN, behavioral and mental health, and dental services.
Where: 333 E. County Line Road, Greenwood
When: The location will transition from a Community Health Network site to a Jane Pauley Community Health Center in the next six months.
Information: janepauleychc.org
