Indiana Health Centers has been helping Jackson County receive affordable healthcare services for 20 years now.

To celebrate, an was event held Sept. 12 at Burkhart Plaza in Seymour, with tables representing other organizations such as United Healthcare, Ellie Mental Health and Firefly Children & Family Alliance along with a free meal of hot dogs, chips and fruit with ice cream from Kovener’s Korner.

Radio 96.3 also appeared with the Cool Bus.

Twenty years ago, IHC all began with a group that wanted to make sure everyone had access to healthcare. Having started its operations in Seymour, IHC has now expanded to 10 locations statewide.

Joe Joiner was one of these individuals who got IHC off the ground, once vice president of development at Schneck Medical Center.

The Seymour hospital along with Jackson County United Way and other local organizations recognized a gap in the community. With this mutual understanding, all of these tangled paths merged into the same, narrow road.

“There were hundreds of children and people who weren’t able to get healthcare,” Joiner said.

Ruth Ann Rebber, once the director of United Way, had a lot of knowledge on what was going on in the community as she oversaw 21 agencies. Through this, her knowledge on the healthcare needs of the community grew.

They had an idea to create a centralized location for those within their agencies to stay with affordable rent to help those in need.

At this center, locals would be able to access services in one location — doctors, childcare, escaping abuse. While this wouldn’t be the direction they took, it was enough of an idea to get a similar plan rolling.

Rebber said people on Medicaid were traveling to Bloomington to have their babies be delivered because there wasn’t a local place that would accept them. There became an influx of those on Medicaid showing up to the hospital, desperate for prenatal care.

To get IHC going, it needed money for all of its operations. Thanks to resources such as the Cummins Foundation and the Cummins Employees Combined Charity Fund at the time, which gave $10,000 to their efforts, IHC’s vision could be realized. Another financial factor was nationally distributed tobacco money, which was generated from tobacco companies being forced to combat problems caused by smoking. Many different hands were involved in IHC’s creation.

“The community really stepped up in many ways,” Joiner said.

Several of the agencies Rebber watched over joined her as she visited the Jackson County Health Department board to request support. In this meeting, Dr. Kenneth Bobb, who was the Jackson County Health Department director at that time, was made aware of this gap in resources and jumped on the cause immediately. He passed away Oct. 24, 2021.

“We were telling [Bobb] things that he really hadn’t been aware of […] and he said this is something we have to work on,” Rebber said.

Andy Fountain, who joined the board shortly after IHC’s inception, said that people were originally concerned about the center taking business away from the hospital and other doctors. IHC’s purpose was misunderstood and today, the community still isn’t aware of all they provide.

“It’s a health center […] opened for anyone who needs a doctor,” Fountain said.

He said the center is not simply for those uninsured. It’s for all who can’t afford deductibles, need help enrolling in government healthcare plans and many other health related needs.

“This is my community and I just love being involved in it. […] It’s such a blessing to be able to spend your time making good things happen, and this was a really good thing,” Rebber said, getting choked up. “The building, the health center, the collaboration. It was just … it was great. And it brought us an important piece of the healthcare presence that needed to happen.”

While at the 20 year celebration event, Vanesa Bell with United Healthcare acknowledged the importance of IHC. When she has come across people who need a doctor, she knew where to take them — Indiana Health Centers.

“Everyone should have a place to go (get healthcare),” Bell said.

Nate Benjamin with Ellie Mental Health admitted he didn’t know a lot about IHC, but was learning more throughout his time at the event.

“They were much more involved in the community than I realized,” Benjamin said.

Randi Pearson of Seymour has been going to IHC for 10 years, thankful for their work for the community and in her personal life. She said IHC helped her obtain her electric wheelchair as well.

“They get the word out to people who are under priviledged,” Pearson said.

The future of IHC is looking bright. Their next plans involve expanding their facilities, providing services geared towards mental health.

“As we continue to experience remarkable growth, the demand for our Integrated Primary Care Model has never been greater. To meet this need, we are actively exploring expansion options,” Ann Lundy, CEO of IHC, said. “While we do own the building adjacent to our current facility, any expansion will require significant renovations. To ensure our plans align with community priorities, we have engaged our Community Involvement Committee […] who are providing valuable insights into the community’s needs.”