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NEWS

Adult & Child Health Services Awarded Federal Qualified Health Center Look Alike Status

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Adult and Child Health of central Indiana has announced an award from the United States Department of Health and Human Services. Adult and Child Health’s primary care clinics have received designation as a Federal Qualified Health Center (FQHC) Look A Like program. Under the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), federally designated health centers ensure access to health care for underserved communities and vulnerable populations, regardless of a patient‘s ability to pay.

A long-term provider of mental health, addictions, and child welfare services, Adult and Child is a newcomer to primary care services. Achieving federal designation for primary care allows Adult and Child to better serve the needs of communities by joining primary care, mental health, and addictions services into a single integrated healthcare model. With two designated primary care sites in Indianapolis and Franklin, and a primary care collaboration with Jane Pauley Community Health in Greenwood, Adult and Child Health has three federally qualified community health centers operating in the Indianapolis region.

“Healthcare can no longer afford fragmented and separate physical and behavioral health treatment.” said Allen Brown, CEO. “Our patients’ physical and mental health certainly aren’t separated. Adding primary care and enhanced funding through federal designation means A&C will have a sustainable model for unified, comprehensive, whole health services.”

Through existing Community Mental Health Center and Licensed Child Placement Agency services, Adult and Child’s mental health, addictions and child welfare programs serve 11,000 unique patients per year, but many of those persons face difficulties accessing primary care. After implementing primary care services in early 2017, Adult and Child provided over 4,500 medical visits to medically underserved individuals.

At the Indianapolis community health clinic on Ohio Street, Director of Adult Psychiatry Dr. Christine Negendank sees firsthand the benefits of integrating primary and psychiatric care. “At the downtown clinic we often see patients impacted by mental illness, poverty, substance dependence, and homelessness” said Dr. Negendank. “Our patients typically also have significant physical health issues, but referring these high needs patients to outside clinics presents barriers to optimal care. Having psychiatry and primary care working side-by-side increases access to both systems and provides better outcomes for our patients.”

For further information about Adult and Child services please contact Dan Arens, Chief Strategy Officer at darens@adultandchild.org or 877.882.5122.

More To Explore

Sarah Miller, PMHNP-BC

Sarah Miller works with the addictions team, general psychiatry for adolescents and adults, and the competency restoration team. She is board-certified as a Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner. Her specialties are working in addictions and with people who experience serious mental illness.

Miller graduated from Indiana University with a psychology degree and went back to school for nursing. She received her nursing degree from Indiana Wesleyan University and worked in a nursing home and also spent time working in a group home with adolescents. She received her master’s degree from Vanderbilt University.

She enjoys hanging out with her family and her two dogs, and going to sporting events.

Joanna Chambers, MD

Dr. Joanna Chambers is a psychiatrist who began seeing Adult & Child Health patients in November 2021. She graduated from Medical College of Georgia with her Doctorate of Medicine in 1996 and completed her residency in psychiatry at Yale University School of Medicine. In addition to bringing a wealth of experience, she currently serves as an associate professor at Indiana University School of Medicine where she teaches Clinical Psychiatry. She is certified in Addiction Medicine and has a special interest in treating pregnant and postpartum women. She is President of the American Academy of Psychoanalysis and Dynamic Psychiatry Organization as well as a sitting member of many medical association boards. Recently, she has won the Residents’ Award for Teaching Excellence in 2020 from Indiana University and has received “Best Doctors Award” in 2010, 2011, and 2014. Dr. Chambers is incredibly active in the medical, academic, and research realms of medicine. She is currently accepting new patients on Wednesdays.