The behavioral health department is invested in our community kiddos!  The therapists in each facility provide services for children as well as adults.  We are very fortunate to have Dr. Jim Jones, child psychologist, at PACC and the department is in the process of hiring another child psychologist.  I am thrilled to announce that we have also developed play therapy rooms at three of our centers to specifically meet the needs of our smallest patients.

The behavioral health department also includes a pediatric psychiatrist and a pediatric psychiatric nurse practitioner.  All staff work closely with the pediatricians in the centers to meet the needs of the child and family as a whole.

In addition to these resources, the behavioral health folks have the pleasure of consulting with the social workers in the centers as well as with BIBS and Healthy Families to get a full picture of the family’s needs and strengths.  Our BIBS and Healthy Families staff work tirelessly to improve the lives of these families and in turn, improve communities.

As you can see, HealthNet truly provides a network of care that reaches each corner of a child’s life.   It’s exciting, fun, and rewarding to see our littlest patients grow and flourish.

I often hear from my adult patients that they first came to HealthNet as pediatric patients.  They feel that HealthNet is home and are excited to continue from their pediatric care to adult primary care to OB care and then begin bringing their children to our clinic.  After meeting a patient for the first time, I often ask if they remember how to get back to the lobby after an appointment.  More often than not, I get the response,

“I’ve been coming here for 20 years.  I know this building like the back of my hand!”

It’s encouraging when patients are so satisfied with their service at HealthNet they are happy to introduce their children and grandchildren into our caring community!

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Have any questions about our BIBs/Healthy Families Program? Comment below. Or tweet us – @GiveACareIndy.

As eluded to in my bio, I started as a student interning at HealthNet in 2009.  It was a brief stint- roughly two months- in which I jumped head first into the work and community of caregivers.

I was terrified!

Being a new psychotherapist was scary enough, not to mention negotiating the culture of a new work environment I knew very little about.  In the chaos, excitement, and uncertainty of starting something new, one thing stood out to me.  I felt a sense of common purpose.  It was easy to get caught up in scheduling and referrals and therapeutic boundaries, but if I stopped to absorb the feeling of the clinic, I got the same feeling I do now that I am back at HealthNet– we’re in this together.  It was that idea that fueled my desire to get back into this community as soon possible.

I signed on as an official employee about six months ago.  It has been a journey.  I have, again, experienced feelings of fear in starting something new.  I’ve felt exhilarated in being a part of something I really believe in.  I’ve felt intimidated by the weight of the job.  I’ve felt sad while witnessing the heartbreak of my patients.  I’ve felt intense anger in observing the cruelness of poverty.  I’ve felt great joy in seeing patients improve their lives and break free of choices and ways of thinking holding them back from their fullest potential.

Oh boy, leave it to a therapist to talk about “feelings” the entire blog, right?!

Well, feelings are important to me.  And how I feel (along with hopefully good judgment) drives the majority of my behavior, so it makes sense that HealthNet is a good fit for me.  I feel the passion and calling of the organization to improve lives, and I feel that in a real way pulsing through the clinics and influencing patient contact.  Being part of Healthnet means that we are one working towards a greater purpose– we’re in this together.
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Editor’s note: This month’s theme is “Our HealthNet”!  Our bloggers have taken on this topic and are talking about how it takes a community for us to provide quality health care and support services.  Click here to find out more about our topic this month.