Healthier, together.
Serving Clay City for
25 Years
INNOVATIVE PRIMARY CARE
The Lugar Center for Rural Health helped establish the Clay City Center for Family Medicine in 1993. Since then the Lugar Center has been involved in various capacities with the CCCFM including measuring quality indicators, administrative work with funding agencies, and piloting innovative practices that are replicable in other Rural Health Clinics. Over the years it can be conceived as the "Laboratory of Primary Care" with the Lugar Center as a founding partner multiple initiatives have been piloted and researched for replicable best practices.
Click here to see some of the innovative projects currently happening at CCCFM
The clinic was established in 1993 in a 2,000 square foot building with three exam rooms, an office area, a large reception room and a small laboratory. The offices were moderately equipped for the purpose of ambulatory patient care. In October 1996, CCCFM moved into a new and expanded facility. The expanded facility encompasses approximately 7,000 square feet to accommodate an advanced family medicine clinic and a significantly increased amount of space for training residents, medical students, mid-level providers and mental health students. The facility includes a mental health counseling room, an eye examination room, and a medical laboratory designed to support an advanced range of healthcare services.
RURAL HEALTH CLINIC
What is a Rural Health Clinic (RHC) and Why are they so important to the Rural Healthcare?
To address rural health disparities, the U.S. Congress passed legislation in 1977 that set criteria for the establishment of federally certified Rural Health Clinics (RHCs). Because Rural Health Clinics receive cost-based reimbursement, providers are turning to RHC programs to be able to provide services to the rural poor and elderly. The Clay City Center for Family Medicine (CCCFM) is an independent RHC which is part of the Union Health system. The CCCFM is managed by the Lugar Center for Rural Health due to the Lugar Center's focus on addressing barriers to health care access and availability for rural and underserved patients and families.
Health care provision to rural populations through Rural Health Clinics like the Clay City Center for Family Medicine:
Allows access in areas that otherwise would not have sustainable health care
Encourages mid-level providers (Physician Assistants and Nurse Practitioners) to be an integral part of the health care delivery system
Gives rural citizens the opportunity to learn about and accept the skills of mid-level providers
Allows the potential for additional services in rural areas that might otherwise not be available in a private practitioner's office, such as psychological, social work, and allied therapy services.
For more detailed information about Rural Health Clinics, contact the National Association of Rural Health Clinics at www.narhc.org.
Types of Care Available at RHCs
HISTORY
Behavioral Health
Clay City Center for Family Medicine has collaborated with Indiana State University (ISU) to bring behavioral health services to Clay City. The clinic has an ISU Psychology Doctoral student who has an overseeing psychologist providing free services at the clinic. For more information, please call the clinic at 812-939-2126.
Optometry
Access to optometry services in Clay City is nonexistent. To provide access to needed eye services, every first Thursday of the month the clinic hosts Dr. Nilah Nicole Bonham, OD. Bonham provides free eye exams and eye services for established patients of the clinic. The clinic offers state-of-the-art eye equipment for accuracy of exams and the comfort of all patients. For more information, please visit her website.
Exercise Program
Clay City Center for Family medicine has collaborated with the Clay County School Corporation to offer free access to the Clay City Junior/Senior High School exercise facility. The school's brand new weight room and gym are available for use Monday/Thursday 6pm - 8pm and Saturday 8:30am - 10:30am. The school is located at 601 Lankford St., Clay City, IN. Available equipment includes weight machines, free weights, and the open gym.
Click here to access the flyer.
Quality Measures
The Clay City Center for Family Medicine takes an active role in ensuring quality care. Specific measures are tracked and reported to the Indiana State Department of Health in an effort to increase the quality of care provided. Focus areas include: Colorectal, Cervical, and Breast Cancer Screening & Follow Up, Diabetes Monitoring & Management, Women's Wellness, and Behavioral Health Monitoring & Follow-Up.
Patient screenings and check-ups are kept up-to-date for the management of chronic disease and overall wellness. Education and counseling are provided to help the patient take the lead in their health.
Transportation
The CCCFM is collaborating with the Lugar Center for Rural Health to provide a pilot program for non-emergency medical transportation. This program is designed to ask patients if they have transportation to their next appointment upon check-out at the clinic. If the patient does not have transportaiton, clinic staff provide an informational flyer with the phone numbers of various transportation sources based upon the patient's insurance payer. Currently, information is provided for traditional Medicaid, Medicare, Anthem Medicaid, and MDwise Medicaid. Click here for the flyer
Current Projects and Innovative Services
FAMILY MEDICINE PROVIDERS
NANCY BREITWEISER, MD
JAMIE
DILLON, FNP
BROOKE
HALL, FNP
ADVISORY BOARD
All Rural Health Clinic's must have an Advisory Board made up of community stakeholders to drive the vision and future of the clinic. The advisory board also ensures community leaders have a voice in their healthcare. The following individuals volunteer their time to better the health of the community:
Daryl Andrews, Former Clay County Commissioner
John Mercer, Retired Teacher
Bryan Culver, Ceres Solutions, Retired
Michael Owens, Clay City Elementary Principal
Kim Hyatt, Clay County Health Nurse
Paul Sinders, Clay County Commissioner
Ashley Kirkling, Co-Owner, Glory Days Restaurant
Lynn Stoelting, Clay County School Nurse