>> THE INDIANA PRIMARY HEALTH CARE ASSOCIATION OVERSEES THE 35 COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTERS IN THE STATE, AND A NEW STUDY SHOWS
THAT, IN ADDITION TO PROVIDING CARE, THEY ALSO DELIVER A HEFTY ECONOMIC IMPACT. BUSINESS OF HEALTH REPORTER
KYLIE VELETA HAS MORE. >> THANK YOU VERY MUCH, GERRY. COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTERS, OR C-H-CS, ARE NON-PROFIT
COMMUNITY-ORIENTED PRIMARY CARE CLINICS THAT FOCUS ON UNDER-SERVED POPULATIONS. A RECENT STUDY BY THE CENTER FOR
HEALTH POLICY AT THE I.U. FAIRBANKS SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH SHOWS C-H-CS HAVE A NEARLY ONE-BILLION-DOLLAR
ECONOMIC IMPACT IN UNDERSERVED AREAS OF INDIANA. JOINING ME NOW TO TELL US MORE ABOUT THE GROWTH AND WHAT IT
MEANS IS IPHCA CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER BEN HARVEY AND DR. DAWN HAUT, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER OF ESKENAZI HEALTH CENTERS, ONE OF
THAT LARGEST CHCS IN THE STATE. THANK YOU BOTH FOR BEING ON THE SHOW TODAY. >> THANKS FOR HAVING US.
>> ALL RIGHT, BEN, LET'S START WITH YOU. THIS ECONOMIC ANALYSIS, VERY RECENT REPORT ABOUT CHCs IN
INDIANA. WHAT DO YOU THINK ARE SOME OF THE KEY HIGHLIGHTS FROM A BIG PICTURE PERSPECTIVE?
>> WELL, THANKS. AGAIN, THANKS FOR HAVING US ON. I THINK THE BIG HIGHLIGHTS, THE ONES YOU ALREADY LAID OUT,
HEALTH CENTERS HAVE A BILLION DOLLAR ECONOMIC IMPACT IN UNDERSERVED AREAS, THEY'RE DESIGNED TO BE IN MEDICALLY
UNDERSERVED AREAS. WE CAN EXTRAPOLATE AND SAY MEDICALLY UNDERSERVED AREAS ARE MORE LIKELY TO BE -- THEY ALSO
PROVIDE THE ECONOMIC BENEFIT SO THEY REALLY BEGIN TO ADDRESS THE NEEDS OF THE COMMUNITY AT MULTIPLE LEVELS, AND THAT'S
IMPORTANT WHEN YOU THINK OF IMPACTING THE HEALTH OF HOOSIERS. IN ADDITION TO THAT, WE'VE SEEN
A BIG EXPANSION OF THE COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTER MODEL IN UNDERSERVED AREAS IN INDIANA, SO THAT BILLION DOLLAR NUMBER IS
ABOUT FIVE TIMES WHAT IT WAS 10 YEARS AGO, WHEN THIS STUDY WAS PREVIOUSLY. IN ADDITION TO THAT, TOO, YOU
HAVE THE IMPACT THAT HEALTH CENTERS HAVE AS EMPLOYERS, HE TY ALSO PROVIDE A HEFTY DOSE, ABOUT 6,000 JOBS, DIRECTLY AND
INDIRECTLY IN UNDERSERVED AREAS OF THE STATE. SO IT'S PRETTY SIGNIFICANT INFORMATION.
SO NOT ONLY ARE THEY PROVIDERS OF HEALTHCARE IN THOSE ACCESS POINTS THAT SERVE HOOSIERS BUT THEY ALSO PROVIDE AN ECONOMIC
IMPACT. >> LOTS OF STRONG NUMBERS, LOTS OF BIG IMPACT THERE. DR. HAUT, THAT'S KIND OF A
STATE-WIDE PICTURE. LET'S DRILL DOWN TO THE LOCAL LEVEL. ESKENAZI HEALTH CENTERS, ONE OF
THE LARGEST CHCs IN THE STATE, TALK A LITTLE ABOUT THE LOCAL IMPACT THESE CHCs HAVE IN TERMS OF DELIVERING CARE.
>> AGAIN, THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK TO YOU TODAY. WHETHER YOU'RE IN AN URBAN AREA
OR WHETHER YOU'RE LARGE OR SMALL, ALL OF OUR HEALTH CENTERS REALLY HAVE A SIMILAR IMPACT ON A COMMUNITY, SO PRETTY MUCH
EVERYTHING I WOULD SAY TO DESCRIBE OUR ESKENAZI EXPERIENCE HAS REALLY BEEN THE EXPERIENCE OF ALL OF MY COLLEAGUES
THROUGHOUT THE STATE AND THE OUR HEALTH CENTERS ARE LOCATED IN THE COMMUNITIES WHERE WE SERVE.
WE HIRE OUR STAFF FROM THOSE NEIGHBORHOODS, THE DEMOGRAPHICS OF OUR STAFF MATCH THE DEMOGRAPHICS OF THE COMMUNITIES
WHERE WE PROVIDE CARE, OUR DOORS ARE OPEN TO EVERYONE. WE DO NOT TURN ANYBODY AWAY. AND OFTENTIMES UNDER ONE ROOF,
WE HAVE MULTIPLE SERVICES. WE'RE KIND OF A ONE-STOP SHOP. INCLUDING LOTS OF THINGS THAT WE KNOW NOW LIKE THE SOCIAL
DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH IS A HOT TOPIC THESE DAYS, BUT HEALTH CENTERS HAVE BEEN TALKING ABOUT THIS AND DOING THIS WORK FOR
DECADES, WHEN WE HAVE THE IMPACT THAT FOOD INSECURITY, FOR EXAMPLE, HAS ON HEALTH. SO WHILE OUR HEALTH CENTERS ARE
MAKING A NICE ECONOMIC IMPACT, WE'RE ALSO REALLY HAVING AN IMPORTANT IMPACT ON HEALTH OUTCOMES.
WE ARE -- OUR HEALTH CENTERS ACROSS THE UNITED STATES ACTUALLY ARE THE LARGE¶EST PRIMY CARE NETWORK IN THE UNITED
STATES, AND WE HAVE SOME NICE OUTCOMES TO SHOW FOR THAT. >> SPEAKING OF HEALTH OUTCOMES AND DELIVERING CARE, OBVIOUSLY
INDIANA IS IN THE THICK OF A HEALTH CRISIS. BEN, TALK A LITTLE BIT JUST ABOUT THE UNIQUE ROLE THAT
CHCs HAVE PLAYED IN INDIANA AS WE'VE BEEN DEALING WITH THE PANDEMIC. >> CERTAINLY.
SO A BIG THING TO HIGHLIGHT HERE IS COLLABORATION THAT HEALTH CENTERS HAVE HAD WITH THE STATE, DR. BOX, DOING A FANTASTIC JOB,
IT'S A VERY DIFFICULT TIME AND THEY HAVE DONE A REALLY NICE JOB OF ENGAGING HEALTH CENTERS AND LEVERAGING WHAT DAWN JUST TALKED
ABOUT, THE COMMUNITIES THAT WILL HARD TO REACH IN TERMS OF DELIVERY OF HEALTHCARE SERVICES BUT ALSO PUBLIC HEALTH
MESSAGING, THERE ARE OFTENTIMES TRUST ISSUES THAT COME INTO A NUMBER OF COMMUNITIES THAT WE SERVE, WHETHER THEY BE URBAN,
MINORITY BASED, RURAL COMMUNITIES. THERE ARE OFTENTIMES ISSUES IN THE COMMUNITIES WE SERVE, AND
HEALTH CENTERS HAVE PLAYED A KEY ROLE IN CONNECTING THEIR COMMUNITIES TO THE RESOURCES THAT ARE NECESSARY TO COMBAT THE
PANDEMIC, SO THINGS LIKE TESTING, THINGS CURRENTLY LIKE VACCINATIONS, A NUMBER OF HEALTH CENTERS, A LARGE NUMBER HERE IN
THE STATE OF INDIANA HAVE BEGUN DIRECTLY PROVIDING VACCINES TO THEIR COMMUNITIES, THEIR COMMUNITIES AT LARGE.
NOT JUST THEIR PATIENTS BUT ALSO OTHER MEMBERS OF THEIR COMMUNITIES AND SERVING AS ACCESS POINTS IN AREAS WHERE
THERE MAY NOT OTHERWISE BE ACCESS. AND IN ADDITION TO THAT, I THINK ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE FORGET
ABOUT IN THE MIDDLE OF A PANDEMIC BECAUSE WE JUST TALKED ABOUT THE PANDEMIC ALL THE TIME IS THAT PEOPLE ARE STILL GETTING
SICK, STILL HAVE HYPERTENSION, STILL HAVE DIABETES. THERE ARE ALL THE ONGULF COAST H CONCERNS THAT ARE FLYING UNDER
THE RADAR RIGHT NOW. HEALTH CENTERS HAVE DONE A GREAT JOB OF LEVERAGING TECHNOLOGY, TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THINGS LIKE
TELEMEDICINE, FLEXIBILITY WE HAVE TO PROVIDE TELEMEDICINE IN NEW AND UNIQUE WAYS, MODES THAT PREVIOUSLY HAVE NOT USED SO
MUCH. THE HEALTH CENTERS HAVE DONE A NICE JOB OF INTEGRATING THOSE INTO THEIR DAILY DELIVERY
SYSTEMS WITH THE INTENT OF PROVIDING MORE ACCESS FOR THEIR PATIENTS WHERE THEY MAY NOT OTHERWISE BE ABLE TO BECAUSE OF
THINGS LIKE CLOSURES OR WHATEVER ELSE. SO HEALTH CENTERS, I THINK HAVE DONE A REALLY NICE JOB OF
FILLING IN THAT ACCESS GAP AND TRYING TO CONTINUE TO REACH PATIENTS IN WAYS THAT ARE MAYBE -- THERE MAY BE DIFFICULTY
IN THE MIDDLE OF A PANDEMIC GETTING THAT ACCESS THAT PATIENTS ROUTINELY NEED AND NOT DROPPING THE BALL ON THINGS LIKE
YOUR HYPERTENSION MEDICATION OR CHECKS WITH DIABETES, NOT DROPPING THE BALL ON THOSE THINGS.