The Lutheran Foundation, The PHP Foundation, and St. Joseph Community Health Foundation form coalition of support for family medicine continuity clinic

FORT WAYNE, IN April 17, 2024 – A consortium of three local foundations has pledged financial support through a combination of loans, financing and grant funding to ensure the community’s continued access to quality family medicine care. A collective $600,000 in support will be used to transition Fort Wayne Medical Education Program’s Family Medicine Center to Neighborhood Health operations. Funding will keep this much-needed clinic open to the community until operations are fully integrated into Neighborhood Health.

This transition allows the Fort Wayne Medical Education Program to focus on the strong family medicine residency it has built over the past 52 years, training future generations of family medicine doctors for the community. Over 60 percent of Allen County’s current family medicine doctors were residents of the Fort Wayne Medical Education Program.
Unlike most other residency programs around the country, Fort Wayne Medical Education Program has historically absorbed the cost of running the Family Medicine Center as part of the residency program. Transitioning the clinic operations to Neighborhood Health will allow this center to operate more efficiently financially, while still providing an integral learning experience for residents to practice medicine and provide needed services for the community. This is a vital partnership to strengthen the physician talent that can be available to the Fort Wayne area and surrounding community.

“Neighborhood Health is a longtime partner of the Fort Wayne Medical Education Program, and the residents of this program have provided quality care and medical services, particularly for maternal care, for our patients for years and will continue to do so even after the transition,” said Angie Zaegel, CEO of Neighborhood Health. “Bringing operations of the Family Medicine Center under Neighborhood Health makes financial sense for both organizations, improving efficient delivery of services for the community at large.”

“The Family Medicine Center serves over 6,000 individuals each year and is essential to providing quality services for low-income, at-risk families,” said Meg Distler, executive director of St. Joseph Community Health Foundation. “Dollars invested today to ensure access to quality, family care are vital to the future health of our community. Together with PHP Foundation and The Lutheran Foundation, we are committed to the health of Northeast Indiana.”

The transition of the Family Medicine Center is expected to happen in May 2024. A portion of the funding is a matching grant from the Lutheran Foundation. Anyone interested in contributing to this ongoing need can contact Sarah Neace, Senior Director of Mission Advancement at Neighborhood Health, at sneace@nhci.org.

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The PHP Foundation is dedicated to building healthier communities by addressing the health and wellness needs of low-income, high-risk individuals in the neighborhoods that we serve. The foundation was established by Physicians Health Plan of Northern Indiana to further our corporate value of Social Purpose, and to ensure charitable support for community needs.

The Lutheran Foundation is a Christ-centered ministry of the member Lutheran congregations in northeast Indiana, dedicated to demonstrating the compassion of Christ by promoting, improving, and enhancing the quality of life of the individuals, families, congregations, and communities whom it serves.

The St. Joseph Community Health Foundation is sponsored by the Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ, and stewards resources to: respond to community needs with grants, leverage collaboration with community partners, and engage in transformational initiatives. We serve the poor in body, mind and spirit to achieve quality health and wellness, focusing on the community of Allen County, Indiana and may respond to needs among other underserved populations.