The Jane Pauley Community Health Center brings new care options to the eastside
Eastside Indianapolis native and former NBC news anchor (Today/Dateline) Jane Pauley has lent her name to a unique collaboration between Community Health Network and the Metropolitan School District of Warren Township.
The Jane Pauley Community Health Center, which will be housed at the Renaissance School at 30th Street and Post Road, will serve the local community, including students and their families, regardless of insurance or income, with an emphasis on integrating medical, dental and behavioral health. Pauley, who was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 2001, insisted that the center address all aspects of wellness.
“Much of the health reform debate in this country is about health insurance, but we also need to reform how and where care is delivered,” says Pauley, a 1968 Warren Central High School graduate. “Because it’s in a school, this health center puts care close to home in a place that’s familiar, comfortable and convenient for people, including those who are underserved by traditional health care models. I couldn’t be prouder to have my name associated with a neighborhood clinic in a neighborhood that I will always think of as home.”
The Jane Pauley Community Health Center will offer primary health care services, including preventive and annual exams, well-child care, acute care, chronic disease management and certain procedures. Community Health Network will provide a nurse practitioner, a family physician and a psychologist to serve patients and has made a capital commitment of $350,000 to renovate the center’s space at the school. The space was donated by Warren Township Schools. The Community Health Network Foundation continues to leverage its community relationships to facilitate the project and provide long-term philanthropical support. Donations to support this project can be made here.
Services at The Jane Pauley Community Health Center will be delivered regardless of ability to pay, and the cost of care will be based on a sliding fee scale and family income. In addition to providing access to health care for a medically underserved population, the center will focus on the management of chronic diseases, such as diabetes, cardiac disease and depression. Laboratory and hospital services will be available through the Community system.
The center will also serve as a learning laboratory for best practices in the delivery of health care, with the goal of replicating this model in other community health centers around the country. "Overall positive health outcomes require attention to physical, behavioral and dental health," explains Gina Eckart, director, Indiana Division of Mental Health and Addiction. "By breaking down the care delivery silos between these specialists, The Jane Pauley Community Health Center will stand as a national example of how integrating the health care delivery system is critical to a patient’s complete well-being and the success of our country’s transformation of health policy."
Warren Township schools and Community Health Network have long been partners in school-based health care; in 1998, Community Health Network opened its first school-based clinic at Warren Central High School. “The Jane Pauley Community Health Center is another example of Warren’s community outreach,” adds Peggy Hinckley, Ph.D., superintendent of Warren Township schools. “We are excited about the opportunity to collaborate with Community to add health services for our underserved citizens and do so in a school setting.”
