CROWN POINT Program director Raquel Gianfermi calls St. Clare Clinic “the best-kept secret in Northwest Indiana.”
However, partially due to the recent economic downturn but mostly because of a longtime reputation for helping the less fortunate, the secret is out about the services of the Saint Anthony Medical Center-associated clinic, so much so that St. Clare has outgrown its current location.
The clinic, which opened in 1996 following a community needs assessment by Dr. Ray Drasga, medical director, provides free, non-emergency primary health care for qualified, uninsured residents in a six-county area.
Annual patient visits have jumped to about 4,000, from 1,000 when St. Clare began operations, prompting the need for a larger location. The clinic’s new home is scheduled to open later this year at the former Crown Point Clinic, 1121 S. Indiana St. Current location is 1000 S. Court St.
Gianfermi, a veteran registered nurse who has been in charge of St. Clare for more than a year, acknowledges a patient increase due to the economy, but says expansion plans were in the works before the nation’s current financial woes took hold.
“We’ve outgrown our present location – we’re maxed out. I am looking forward to the move, which will help us provide even better care.”
Services come from a more than 50-person, largely volunteer staff that includes Saint Anthony physicians and nurses, as well as nurse practitioners, offsite professionals and reception and support staff.
The clinic is funded through Sisters of St. Francis Health Services, along with donations, gifts and the generosity of area service organizations. Patient donations of $5 per visit are appreciated, but not required.
“We have good people, good patients. You go into nursing to help people and this is a notch more. It’s so rewarding to hear good things about what we do here,” Gianfermi says.
Those include coming to the aid of people, who, just weeks or months ago, would not have sought or even have been eligible for the clinic’s services.
St. Clare case manager Teresa Sealscott notes the economy “is hitting everybody, from engineers to people who collect cans (to get money).”
“Many people are in transition these days. Some are embarrassed to ask for help and some don’t come in even after they have asked. We also refer people to Work One (state employment network) and to Crown Point Adult Education. We’re here for the clients. If they need it, we’ll get it.”
Clinic referrals also come from physicians, but mostly through word of mouth, Gianfermi says.
Normal client age range is 18 to 64 years, with most participants in their 40s and 50s, Gianfermi says, but adds, “lately, we’re seeing a lot of younger people.”
The clinic’s services go beyond providing health care. They also extend to uplifting clients’ spirits.
Saint Anthony employees, who routinely organize clinic fund drives, recently donated time and money to purchase, wrap and distribute Christmas gifts that were distributed to St. Clare-served families.
“It’s great to do something for a cause – a purpose. We all believe in what we’re doing,” Gianfermi says.
St. Clare Clinic currently is located near Saint Anthony Medical Center, at the corner of Court Street and Franciscan Drive. Clinic hours are 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Mondays through Fridays. Visits with health care providers are by appointment only.
For more information, call (219) 757-6272.
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