Partnerships will provide additional services to underserved communities

Beacon Health System has partnered with HealthLinc, Indiana Health Centers and the Center for the Homeless, to increase the scope of services available in our community.

To provide patients with the most comprehensive, high-quality, patient-centered care possible, especially customers in our underserved communities, Beacon has partnered with two community health centers—HealthLinc and Indiana Health Centers—to create integrated delivery models of care that provide coordinated services to specific populations.

“This model of care delivery is the best approach for taking care of the underserved and those with little or no resources,” said Kreg Gruber, CEO of Beacon Health System. “We remain a committed partner to the well-being of our community and we are excited about what this partnership will mean for families across our region.”

Beginning January 2019, HealthLinc will assume operations of BMG Centennial Neighborhood Health Center at 621 Memorial Drive and BMG Southeast Neighborhood Health Center located at 1708 High Street, both in South Bend; and Indiana Health Centers will assume operations of BMG Central Neighborhood Health Center located in the Center for the Homeless at 813 S. Michigan Street in South Bend. Patients will have the opportunity to see many of the same high-quality, board-certified providers and caring staff at the same locations.

“At the forefront of the discussions was the health and well-being of patients,” said Steve Camilleri, Executive Director of the Center for the Homeless where the Central Neighborhood Health Center is currently located. “We believe that this move is absolutely in the best interest of our guests because it will give them access to additional health services.”

These partnerships align with a larger national trend, which can reach more people with an even greater number of services. Both HealthLinc and Indiana Health Centers are uniquely positioned to improve health outcomes and offer a larger array of services, which may include legal advice, dental services, a clinical pharmacist, community outreach coordinators, and a 340B prescription drug program, which offers significantly reduced-price medications.

“HealthLinc is excited to partner with Beacon Health System in furthering our mission to improve the communities we serve by expanding access to exceptional primary care,” states Beth Wrobel, HealthLinc CEO. “Our partnership will expand our presence in South Bend and provide a patient-centered medical home to those residents that are uninsured or underserved including Medicaid and Medicare recipients and those with high deductible commercial insurance. Community Health Centers are uniquely positioned to serve this population.”

“Indiana Health Centers has proudly served the South Bend community since 1979, and we are excited to collaborate with Beacon Medical Group during this transition from IHC Project Homecoming to IHC Michigan Street,” said Elvin Plank, President & CEO, Indiana Health Centers Inc. “This partnership will give access to additional services that will benefit existing IHC patients, current patients from BMG, and new patients that are joining us at the Michigan Street facility.”

“Beacon Medical Group Neighborhood Health Center providers have done outstanding work through the years and I am particularly excited to see the continuity of care with our new partnerships,” said Vincent Henderson, MD, President, Beacon Medical Group.

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About Beacon Health System

Beacon Health System is the largest, locally owned and operated non-profit health care system in the region. Beacon is our community’s trusted partner and guide in creating and maintaining health as well as the majority provider of services to the underinsured and underserved. Community Hospital of Bremen, Elkhart General Hospital, Memorial Hospital of South Bend, Beacon Children’s Hospital, Beacon Medical Group and Beacon Health & Fitness are powered by more than 7,000 associates and 1,100 physicians. Additionally, Epworth Hospital is St. Joseph County’s only inpatient behavioral health facility. Beacon is also an education organization helping to train medical residents in the fields of family medicine and hospital pharmacy.

About HealthLinc HealthLinc is a not-for-profit community health center that provides primary medical, dental, optometry, and behavioral health services to people of all ages regardless of ability to pay. In 1998, HealthLinc began as Hilltop Neighborhood House, a neighborhood clinic and childcare center in Valparaiso, IN. Since then, HealthLinc has expanded to ten clinics and one mobile medical/dental clinic. HealthLinc Corporate Headquarters are located at 2401 Valley Drive, Valparaiso, IN. HealthLinc clinics are in Valparaiso, Valparaiso Porter-Starke Services, Michigan City, Knox, Mishawaka, South Bend, East Chicago, two telehealth clinics in Valparaiso and Hamlet, and one mobile unit. HealthLinc accepts Medicare, Medicaid, Healthy Indiana Plan (HIP), most commercial insurance plans, and uninsured patients on a sliding-fee scale based on household income.

About Indiana Health Center Indiana Health Centers, Inc. (IHC) is a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) that has provided high-quality, affordable, patient-centered health care to underserved areas of Indiana since 1977. IHC operates ten health centers in seven different Indiana counties and provides care to the migrant population with a mobile unit during the harvest season. IHC provides medical, dental, and behavioral health care to all who seek care, regardless of their ability to pay. IHC health centers serve people who have Medicaid, Medicare, HIP, most commercial insurance companies, and provides a sliding fee scale for those without insurance.

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