Valley Oaks Health – IHC Grant Funded Positions

The Family Health Clinic of Carroll County is a federally qualified health center affiliated with and managed by the Purdue University School of Nursing. Many of the clinic’s patients are uninsured or under-insured. Faculty from the Purdue School of Nursing launched the clinics in the mid-1990s to respond to this patient population, and some faculty continue to practice in them. They oversee Purdue students from multiple professions, such as nursing, pharmacy and nutrition science, who have the opportunity to learn how primary care works, and how their roles can complement each other to provide high-quality healthcare. The main center is in Delphi, located 20 miles northeast of Lafayette. Advance Practice Nurses consult with and refer to their collaborating physicians. In addition, referrals are made to specialists in the Greater Lafayette area. The clinic has a mental health staff consisting of two LCSW’s and an MSW, as well as a consulting psychologist. Of note, the director of the Valley Oaks Delphi office, who is a psychologist, has been providing substance abuse services at this clinic one day per week for the past year. Established in 1995 the Family Health Clinic has developed a history and reputation for offering quality medical care in the community for over twenty years. Starting with a staff of three people, the clinic expanded opening a satellite location in Monon, Indiana in 2006. Employing over 40 staff members between the two locations, the Family Health Clinic has grown to accommodate the communities it services offering high quality medical care, laboratory services and expanded services. Recently two more part-time satellite clinics have been established in Wolcott and Burlington, Indiana. Like the FHC’s full-time behavioral health staff, the intern will spend one day a week providing services in one of the satellite clinics.  In March 2009, the Family Health Clinic received Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) Designation, which allows comprehensive primary and preventive health services to be provided in a preferred alternative to out-of-town providers. Being conveniently located in the community, the Family Health Clinic helps reduce emergency room visits for local residents. In June 2014 the Family Health Clinic received the National Committee for Quality Assurance Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) Level 2 Designation. The Clinic also provides training opportunities for more than 30 Purdue School of Nursing students throughout the year as well as Purdue College of Pharmacy Fellows and Interns at each site. The clinic provides basic healthcare services to the growing Hispanic and Latino populations in that medically underserved area. Several of the Monon clinic staff are bilingual and provide translation. About 3,000 uninsured and under-insured patients are seen here each year. The center recently received federal grant money to address the opioid epidemic as well. Psychologist supervision will be by VOH psychologists who work off-site at VOH outpatient offices, so an intern at this location will need to be someone who is comfortable working relatively independently, though one of the Valley Oaks supervisors also provides services at the FHC and is very familiar with their system as a result.  Each integrated healthcare intern will have two different VOH supervisors, as well as supervision from the clinic social workers. The emphasis will be on bringing psychological perspective and interventions into the treatment of patients in primary care.  Traditional scheduled therapy, consultations, warm handoffs, and crisis interventions will all be a part of the services the intern will offer. While the clinic serves patients of all ages, there is some flexibility to specialize in a particular age range depending on the intern’s interests and training goals. An intern’s ability to speak Spanish would be a bonus at this site, but not a need, as the clinic has some in-house interpreters as well.

Riggs Community Health Center in Lafayette, Indiana is one of over 8,000 community health centers nationwide helping patients avoid emergency rooms and offering preventative care. The Community Health Center model of health care is patient-focused, coordinated, and proven to yield better health outcomes, remove barriers to needed care, minimize health disparities, and lower overall costs. Riggs CHC has a mental health staff consisting of 3 full-time LCSW’s, one of whom is also credentialed in addictions. There is an addiction program featuring Vivitrol injections and offering both individual and group therapy. The mental health staff are integrated with 8 full-time primary care providers consisting of one MD and 7 nurse practitioners. Riggs CHC has a rich 25-plus year history of providing high quality, comprehensive primary health care to the uninsured and underinsured men, women, and children of Tippecanoe County, Indiana. Wendell Riggs, M.D., a pediatrician after whom the clinic was named, envisioned increased access for the area’s uninsured and underinsured children and their families. With support from St. Elizabeth Medical Center and a few dedicated community members who shared his zeal to help, he was able to provide affordable primary care for women and children by opening a part-time prenatal and well-child clinic in 1988. This was the beginning of access to vital health care services for the under-served in Greater Lafayette and the surrounding area. From humble roots, through what was then known as the Community Health Clinic under the County Health Department, Dr. Riggs and his colleagues served 240 patients in the Clinic’s inaugural year. During the course of the following years, the clinic became known as the Tippecanoe Community Health Clinic, officially separated from County government, obtained status as a not-for-profit entity, became a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC), and in 1998, opened its own 19,000-square foot, epitomizing an outstanding public/private partnership with the community. From 1999 to 2017, annual patient visits at Riggs CHC increased from 21,000 to over 60,000. Psychologist supervision will be by VOH psychologists who work off-site at VOH outpatient offices, so an intern at this location will need to be someone who is comfortable working relatively independently.  Each integrated healthcare intern will have two different VOH supervisors, as well as supervision from the clinic social workers. The emphasis will be on bringing psychological perspective and interventions into the treatment of patients in primary care.  Traditional scheduled therapy, consultations, warm handoffs, and crisis interventions will all be a part of the services the intern will offer.  While the clinic serves patients of all ages, there is some flexibility to specialize in a particular age range depending on the intern’s interests and training goals. An intern’s ability to speak Spanish would be a bonus at this site, but not a need, as the clinic has some in-house interpreters as well.

 Dr. Rose is the Main Primary supervisor for the IHC position at Riggs CHC. She received her doctorate in Counseling Psychology from Purdue University. Her research emphases include grief and loss, and multicultural issues. On internship, she specialized in older adult issues and dementia / Alzheimer’s and worked in integrated health care. She has primarily worked in community mental health settings. She sees a diverse range of patients, including adults, adolescents, and children. She currently conducts individual therapy, family/couples therapy, and addiction groups.