HealthNet Breaks Ground on New HealthNet West Health Center
10/9/2012
HealthNet announced today the development of a 4,500 sq. ft. health center on the near Westside of Indianapolis, which will provide primary care to a community that has seen a decrease in providers and has struggled to obtain adequate access to medical care.
A groundbreaking ceremony will take place at noon on Tuesday, October 9, as the renovation of a former Blockbuster Video store at 6029 W. 10th St. into the health center’s new home gets under way.
In addition to adult primary care, pediatrics and OB/GYN services, the center will offer podiatry, optometry, social work and behavioral health services, access to discounted prescriptions as well as nutrition and smoking cessation counseling. The health center is expected to serve 3,000 patients and provide 12,000 visits at capacity. More than 60% of the service area population is low-income, living at or below 200% of the Federal Poverty Level.
The new health center was designed by Halstead Architects. Phase one, to be completed by December 2012 by Wurster Construction, will include remodeling 4,500 square feet into nine exam rooms, a lab, and office space for behavioral health and other health education programs. Phase II, to be completed when additional funding is available, will include renovation of 2,000 square feet into additional exam room space.
The project is made possible by a $900,000 grant HealthNet was awarded in June by the federal Health Resources and Services Administration. HealthNet was one of three recipients in Indiana to receive the New Access Point funding made possible by the Affordable Care Act that will help build, expand and improve community health centers nationwide. The grant will cover equipment and initial start-up operating costs for the new health center. HealthNet is funding the $312,000 renovation.
“We are excited to be starting work on this project, which will provide a much-needed expansion of health care services in the area,” says J. Cornelius Brown, President and CEO of HealthNet. “We are grateful for the support we have received from the community, support that has helped to make this project a reality, and for the cooperation of local officials in the planning and permitting of the project.”
Since 1968, HealthNet (http://www.indyhealthnet.org) has been a mainstay in the Indianapolis community. Through its network of community-based health centers, an OB/GYN care center, a pediatric and adolescent care center, a maternal-fetal medicine center and five school-based clinics, HealthNet annually serves over 51,500 individuals and families. Many of them are uninsured or underinsured and live below the federal poverty level. HealthNet services include: primary and preventive health care; OB-GYN support and coaching for expectant mothers; Healthy Families and Better Indy Babies; dental services; Homeless Initiative Program; counseling, outreach and social service programs. HealthNet’s health centers include Barrington Health & Dental Center, Eastside Health Center, Martindale-Brightwood Health & Dental Center, People’s Health & Dental Center, Southeast Health & Dental Center, Southwest Health & Dental Center, the Care Center at the Tower, the Pediatric and Adolescent Care Center and the Maternal-Fetal Medicine Center. HealthNet is Indiana’s largest Federally Qualified Health Center and is an affiliate of IU Health.