BEDFORD – Celebrating critical healthcare access and continuity of care in the Bedford region, executives and community officials from Southern Indiana Community Health Care (SICHC), IU Health Bedford Hospital, Indiana Health Centers (IHC), the city of Bedford, and others gathered at the new SICHC facility on Monday.
“With our expansion to larger facilities from our first Bedford clinic, we are grateful to be joined by our friends and fellow collaborators to celebrate our mutual efforts to preserve the continuity of care in Bedford,” said Nancy Radcliff, SICHC CEO.
Beginning in 2022, SICHC, IU Health Bedford Hospital, and IHC all tirelessly worked together to help fill the healthcare accessibility gap left by the closure of the Ascension St. Vincent Dunn Hospital. The former Ascension Bedford hospital closed all practices, including obstetrics, potentially leaving Lawrence County residents without some essential healthcare services.
In addition to quality of life issues, the hospital closure threatened to impact the region’s economic and workforce development with the potential loss of OB and accessible primary care services. That scenario was averted, according to Radcliff.
SICHC first expanded its obstetrics and family care services into Lawrence County clinics in Bedford and Mitchell in late 2022. Moving from its former Bedford Ascension facility, SICHC moved into its new 7,820 sq. ft. Bedford facility at Lincoln Plaza earlier this year.
SICHC is helping to sustain the availability of obstetrics, prenatal, and well-mother healthcare services following the Dunn closure. In addition to offering a broad spectrum of OB and pregnancy services, SICHC physicians provide delivery services at the IU Health facilities in nearby Paoli and partner with deliveries at the IU Health Bloomington Hospital and Schneck Medical Center in Seymour.
“It was a disruptive time, but the community is grateful for the collaborative efforts of Southern Indiana Community Health Care, IU Health, and Indiana Health Centers to preserve accessible healthcare in Bedford,” said Mayor Sam Craig at the ribbon cutting for SICHC’s expanded Lincoln Plaza.
“The alternative could have been a challenging one for our community, as the availability of quality healthcare represents a critical service to the community that attracts and helps retain a critical workforce,” said Shance Sizemore, CEO of the Lawrence County Growth Council. “We at the Bedford Chamber and the Growth Council applaud the three healthcare groups for stepping up and working together to sustain healthcare services.”
“It was an exciting but challenging time,” recalled Radcliff. “Our staff at SICHC worked tirelessly to confidentially process the records and patient needs of some 4,000 patients in Lawrence County in a very short period.”
“We counted it a privilege to have this new opportunity to bring our established OB and primary care services to Lawrence County, and we appreciated the collaboration IU Health, IHC, and others demonstrated in working together to address this critical need,” said Yolanda Yoder, M.D., medical director of Southern Indiana Community Health Care. “We are grateful that Lawrence County residents today have viable options to continue local health care services.”
With ten health centers across Indiana, “IHC was founded specifically to provide high quality, affordable, patient-centered health care to underserved areas of Indiana,” said IHC President and CEO Ann Lundy. The Indiana Lawrence County Women Infant Child (WIC) program was transferred from Ascension St. Vincent to IHC. The IHC Bedford clinic was recently refurbished to expand integrated primary care services.
“The closing of Dunn Hospital brought a big change in Lawrence County’s healthcare landscape, but we have collaboratively sustained a great support system to care for our neighbors, friends, family, and community,” said Larry Bailey, president of IU Health Bedford Hospital.
The SICHC CEO noted that Bedford providers could retain the services of several former Ascension healthcare professionals, thus helping maintain a high quality of continuity of care. At about the same time SICHC opened its first clinic in Bedford, the nearly 50-year-old medical group expanded into Mitchell in Lawrence County.
“We were grateful to bring Dr. Carrie Browne and nurse practitioners Amanda Bowman, Lori Day, Kristi Nissley, and Tricia Spoonmore from Ascension to join SICHC in Bedford and Mitchell,” said Radcliff. “We have since been able to bring on additional professionals in Bedford and the region, including Dr. Nancy Sterling.”
SICHC today operates clinics in Crawford, Lawrence, Orange, and Washington counties. Physicians, family nurse practitioners, behavioral health counselors, and other professionals work in seven regional offices. SICHC accepts all forms of healthcare insurance.
Founded nearly 50 years ago, SICHC serves as a “safety net” provider for vulnerable populations in the southern Indiana region it serves. SICHC received Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) status in 2017 and today focuses on increasing access to primary care services for Medicaid and Medicare patients in rural communities.
After opening its clinic in a former Ascension Bedford facility, SICHC laid plans for remodeling and expanding into a facility in Lincoln Plaza at 629 Lincoln Plaza in Bedford. The newest SICHC facility is adjacent to the Engleking Pharmacy and the Hope Resource Center, a pregnancy care center and medical clinic offering free pregnancy testing and other services.
