By Suzanne Clem—
MUNCIE, IN—Residents in Blackford County now have a new option for primary care close to home, following the opening of an Open Door Health Services location in Hartford City.
The new health center site is located in the former IU Health Blackford Hospital emergency department space, at 410 Pilgrim Blvd.
Primary care for all ages is provided by Jackie Anthony, a family nurse practitioner. Women’s healthcare, birth control, contraceptive counseling, and STD testing and treatment are also available.
The public is invited to a ribbon-cutting on Tuesday, December 17, from 4:30-6 p.m. at the health center. Tours will be offered throughout the event, and Open Door and city leaders will speak at 5 p.m.
Open Door is a Federally Qualified Health Center, also known as a community health center. Community health centers provide care regardless of a patient’s health insurance status or ability to pay. Sliding fee discounts based on household size and income help ensure access to care.
Insurance is welcome, but not required at Open Door. Medicaid, Medicare, and most private insurance plans are accepted.
“We are thrilled to begin providing care in Blackford County, where we know the community is excited to see additional options for healthcare,” said Suzanne Clem, Vice President of Community Engagement. “We’re trying to be present in the community, spending time getting to know residents and building relationships, which we know is important when someone is trusting their care to us.”
Hours at Open Door’s Hartford City health center will be weekdays from 8 a.m.-5 p.m., with extended hours until 6 p.m. on Tuesdays. Appointments can be scheduled by calling (765) 286-7000.
The launch of the Hartford City location coincides with Open Door’s fiftieth year of operation in East Central Indiana.
Opening in 1974 in South Muncie, under the name Open Door Health Clinic, the idea for an affordable primary care clinic was brought to life by the Delaware Anti-Poverty Corporation. This nonprofit originally formed with intent to create an ambulance service in the community. After surveying residents and learning nearly 40% of respondents could not access affordable primary care, the Corporation shifted its focus to creating a health clinic.
On a shoestring budget, the clinic’s founders, including its first director and CEO Linda Shepherd, rented a house on S. Gharkey St. and transformed kitchen into exam rooms. The bathroom became a laboratory, and the living room became a reception area. Ten patients received care on the first day of Open Door’s operation.
Over the decades, a growing patient base results in multiple site moves and service line additions. This included addition of maternal and child health, dental, urgent care, family planning, behavioral health, chiropractic, pain management, substance use disorder treatment, and social supports like the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program. In 2000, Open Door became a Federally Qualified Health Center, resulting in federal support of programming and further growth in capacity.
Today, Open Door serves more than 30,000 East Central Indiana residents annually with healthcare and wraparound social support services. Care is provided across multiple sites in Delaware, Madison, and Blackford Counties.
Suzanne Clem is Vice President of Community Engagement at Open Door Health Services.