Organizations like the Emmaus Mission were created to be the safety net that catches the community’s less fortunate. Lately, executive director Jason Mitchell said, organizations like the Emmaus Mission seem to be taking on more responsibilities.
Mitchell was among four panelists who gathered in the library’s meeting room Wednesday evening to discuss the state of local healthcare organizations in a League of Women Voters round table.
Joining Mitchell on the panel were Mandi McMinn, practice manager of Indiana Health Centers; Rosa Perez, case manager for Indiana Health Centers; and Serenity Alter, Cass County Health Department’s administrator.
Building trust
Representatives from all three organizations said Cass County still needs expanded access to mental health resources and transportation.
Perez also said the county could also use more people to help patients navigate Cass County’s healthcare ecosystem.
The most important factor, the representatives said, is reaching people who could benefit from the organizations.
Indiana Health Centers, a nonprofit organization that aims to promote wellness regardless of a patient’s ability to pay for services, is able to provide its services regardless of which identification documents its clients are able to offer.
For example, it’s able to accept passports, birth certificates or work permits.
Still, Perez pointed out, some clients distrust healthcare organizations. She added it can take a while for people to warm up to the idea of receiving health.
“A lot of people don’t want to ask for help. You just have to meet them where they’re at,” Mitchell said. “Once they see that you’re a regular person, you care for them, you sincerely want what’s best for them, they’ll start coming around.”
Mitchell agreed with the sentiment, adding a big part of the Emmaus Mission is meeting people where they’re at.
It’s also a key component of Logansport Street Outreach, which Mitchell leads.
The coalition brings resources to a central location so people with housing or transportation issues don’t have to bounce around to several locations when they need help — resources can range from things like mental, physical and spiritual care alongside the opportunity to take a warm shower or pick up necessities like flashlights and fresh socks.
The goal, he added, is to bring in as many people as possible who can have a positive impact on people’s lives.
That helps us to show the folks who come to Street Outreach that we’re serious about this. We want to help you. We’re going to be there consistently,” Mitchell said, later adding, “It’s just that showing of community support that breaks into people’s hearts.”
He also said more time needs to be spent with clients seeking mental and physical healthcare. Whether it’s for insurance reasons, a lack of space or a lack of funding, he said, treatment is often rushed.
Alter said the Health Department’s mobile clinic has also brought new opportunities to help people, whether it’s offering services at community events or treating people with communicable diseases at their homes.
The Health Department also offers immunizations via appointments and Tuesday walk-ins.
In the future, Alter said, the department is also working toward offering a day for STI treatment walk-ins. Until then, treatment is still available via appointment.
Cuts to funding
Each of the organization representatives were also asked how cuts to federal and state funding will affect their services.
The Emmaus Mission shouldn’t be too affected by federal and state cuts to healthcare funding. Mitchell explained the organization intentionally avoided government funding because he knew how fickle those sources can be.
Asked whether the Emmaus Mission’s food pantry has seen an influx of clients since Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits were cut, Mitchell explained there hasn’t been that noticeable of an impact — roughly 10-15 new clients have begun to utilize the pantry that opens three times a month.
He explained most people who use SNAP were already using the pantry.
In general, roughly 130 families are served in each two-hour period the pantry opens.
There might be a bit of a jump near the end of the month, he added, but there’s usually an increase in need around the holidays.
Perez said Indiana Health Centers will be affected by changes to which Medicare programs it’s able to work with. She anticipated cuts to the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, also known as WIC, will also become an issue.
McMinn said roughly half of Indiana Health Centers’ funding comes from state and federal funding. She added the organization will likely see a trickledown effect as other organizations hit a lack of funding.
“It’s just very unfair, so advocacy is very important,” McMinn said.
The Health Department will see steeper cuts to funding.
Funding via the state’s Health First Indiana program allocated $75 million last year and $150 million this year to counties that opted in to the program with some locally matched funds. The Cass County Health Department received $240,000 last year and $880,000 from those pools of funding.
Next year, the statewide pool is expected to drop to $40 million.
Local health departments are able to determine how the funding is spent, with most focusing on preventative and health outcome-related programs.
With next year’s cut in funding, the local health department will rely more on county funding. It’s running on a tight budget this year in anticipation of tighter purse strings.
Still, Alter explained, Cass County won’t be hit as hard as other counties that granted out the state funds to other organizations that offered health-related programs.
Mitchell said he’s noticed an uptick in organizations meant to help vulnerable communities, from warming centers to organizations that offer clothes or food.
To him, it’s indicative of how things have been trending. Communities have begun to foot the bill for services that were once offered by the government.
“We were always supposed to be that net to catch people who fell through the systems. We could help them raise up,” Mitchell said. “Now we’re becoming the whole net.”
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