Tuesday, August 16^th, the new health & dental center played host to many of the early organizers of the very FIRST People’s Health Center as well as special guests – Representative André Carson, Mayor Greg Ballard, Mark Miles (Chairman of the Super Bowl Host Committee Board), and James Taylor (Executive Director of the Boner Center).

In case you are curious, here is a quick timeline of the People’s Health & Dental Center’s fantastic history:

• 1971 - Eastside residents opened the Near Eastside Community Organization Health Center in pool hall at Washington & Oriental streets. The center’s nickname was the ‘blue jeans clinic’ because of the welcoming, down home atmosphere.
• 1972 – the center moved into a remodeled furniture store on East New York Street and was incorporated as People’s Health Center.
• 1979 – People’s Health Center relocated to a converted warehouse on East 10th Street where it stayed for 32 years.
• 2011 - A new 26,000 square foot facility was built in front of the old warehouse that was then demolished for parking.

Tuesday’s community celebration was time for residents to remember the old building as well as celebrate the greater possibilities and pride for the Eastside neighborhood that come along with this new building!

Words from all of our guest
speakers mirrored that:

“We can NOT lose sight of the good that comes from greater access to care”
– Representative André Carson.

“The activity around here on the Near Eastside is
remarkable compared to just a few years ago!”
– Mayor Greg Ballard

“When Indianapolis hosts a sports celebration, it is never about the sport”
– Mark Miles, Super Bowl Host Committee

“What I am MOST proud of is that this health center is that anyone from ANY walk of life can enjoy and use it”
– James Taylor, Executive Director of the Boner Center.

To see more pictures of the event, check out our Facebook page.  We will also keep you updated on any more postings about our health center expansion!

Thank you to all who celebrated the People’s Grand Opening on Tuesday (you can read an article about it at IndyStar.com), and thank everyone who was a part of helping HealthNet and People’s succeed in this expansion project.

Elvin Plank, COO speaking with PACC staff while Booker Thomas, CEO awaits his turn.

Tuesday at the HealthNet Pediatric & Adolescent Care Center, the burrito/nacho bar  from California Connection Catering was served and was delicious!  We may have been cramped in that room, but it was well worth it.  Booker Thomas, our President & CEO, Elvin Plank, our COO, and Larry Flick, our CFO were able to make it, too.  It was great to sit and listen to staff ask questions, make suggestions, and share how things are going at their center.  A lot of the time throughout the year is dedicated toward great service to our community and patients, but this one week out of the year is serving as an excellent opportunity to not just eat good food, but also learn about the needs and celebrate successes of each center.

Melissa Drew of CAFE speaking to Eastside staff.

That same day, HealthNet Eastside Health Center celebrated their staff lunch.  Our newest center, nearly two months old, invited other members of the Far Eastside Neighborhood Center to join in their lunch.  It was awesome to see the other community service providers in the building joining to celebrate National Health Center Week.  It is the community connection that makes our patient-centered medical homes efficient and effective!

CCT and Maternal-Fetal Staff enjoying their lunch!

On Wednesday, we celebrated HealthNet with the Care Center at the Tower & Maternal-Fetal Medicine Center.  What afun group! It was great to see in interaction and camaraderie of these teams.

At our Homeless Initiative Program (HIP), everyone was wearing their shirt!  It was very cool to see because, being an outreach program, often people separate HIP from HealthNet’s community health centers because of the difference in services provided.  But the important thing to remember is that while the services may be different, we serve the same clients and communities.  Without our outreach programs, HealthNet would not be able to boast about the significant wrap-around services provided within our walls.

HIP Staff - full after a delicious lunch!

Each year National Health Center Week sets aside three days to focus on special populations who are often left outside of the mainstream health care system. It was cool that HIP’s celebration actually fell on Health Care for the Homeless Day!

Happy National Health Center Week everyone!  The week isn’t even over, but we are already looking forward to next year!

P.S. More photos can be seen on our Facebook page – check it out!

So what better way to start celebrating National Health Center Week here at HealthNet than staff appreciation lunches throughout the week?

Yesterday, we had lunches for our staff at Southwest Health & Dental Center, Martindale-Brightwood Health & Dental Center, Better Indy Babies/Healthy Families Program, and our Electronic Medical Records team (a few pictures can be seen on our Facebook page).

The great thing about our staff lunches so far has been the presence of board members!  It is great to see the involvement of not just staff taking time out for themselves, but our board members making a trip to see them and thank them for all that they do!

And, it wasn’t just all thanks either!

The interaction between Martindale-Brightwood’s Center Manager, René Kougel, and long-time community board member Elizabeth Gore, was highly informational.  Their conversation ranged from environmental justice to immunizations for public school students, and was helpful for all staff to gain more insight into what is going on in the community around them.

Left to Right: Bertha Leak, Betty Whitney, Betty Conner

We also had a visit from Betty Whitney, Betty Conner, and Bertha Leak (shown above) – three community board members for our Southwest Health & Dental Center.  They always attend events whenever possible, and we could not be happier to have these three on our board!

National Health Center week is going well so far!  More updates to come.

While caring for others is what we do best, National Health Center Week (NHCW) — for us, at HealthNet – is about taking time to step back and care for ourselves.

A lot goes on during NHCW:

• August recess for legislators – time to ask them to make a visit a health center site
• Back-to-school for our local kids – our School-Based Services team is BUSY! As well as our centers giving back-to-school immunizations
• Normal, everyday craziness that goes on during any summer day

But, it is important for any organization to remember to take time to breathe, to celebrate successes and recognize its staff and the amazing work they do every day. This is the focus of our NHCW celebration starting on Monday, August 8^th and ending that Friday, August 12^th.

As a favor, we are asking for your help in the weeks leading up to and during National Health Center Week.  We need some help reminding our members of Congress just how important our health centers are to the communities we serve.

The Appropriations committee is likely to hold off on considering any more bills until after the August recess.  That means more time is available.  More time to advocate, not only for our community health centers, but also our outreach programs – Homeless Initiative Program, Better Indy Babies, and Healthy Families!

The favor we ask is small, but it’ll take a little effort! 

Please head over to our #GiveACareAbout Wall and post what you give a care the most about our programs and health centers.  Whether it is saving the health care system money through affordable care or helping to house a homeless person, we can use your petitions in the future to show how important these services are to Indianapolis.

Your efforts to help with this favor will be MUCH appreciated and recognized throughout our entire organization!