History
The Center for Healing & Hope began in 1999 as an outreach of St. John’s Catholic Church in Goshen, Indiana. Led by Father Ricardo Medina, Dr. John Mann, M.D., and parish nurse Terry Wedel, R.N. Here’s a brief summary of our history since then:
- 2002: The center became a nonprofit and moved its clinic to The Window in downtown Goshen to accommodate the large patient volumes.
- 2003: The center became known as the Center for Healing & Hope.
- 2004: The need for additional space required another move to the The Lighthouse Church of Goshen.
- 2005: We expanded services to Elkhart by opening a clinic at Grace Lutheran Church.
- 2011: We opened a second clinic in Elkhart at Belmont Mennonite Church to provide additional services to the Elkhart community.
- 2012: Goshen clinic and office staff moved to Plymouth United Church of Christ.
- 2014: Due in part to the opening of Heart City Health Center’s second office, Scenic Health in Elkhart, more of the needs of Elkhart residents were being met. We closed both clinics in Elkhart.
- 2016: With seven paid staff, we rely on more than 200 volunteers to carry out our mission. The clinic is open four times a week to offer urgent medical care.
- 2017: Center for Healing & Hope embraced Elkhart County HOPE (Helping Our People Everywhere) and extended our services beyond medical clinics to also include resources and assistance for immigrants. In December we launched the GRID (Goshen Resident Identification) card.
- 2018: Center for Healing & Hope launched its Chronic Care clinics, employing a physician and medical assistants for the first time to provide consistent, ongoing care to people with diabetes and other chronic conditions.
- 2020: Center for Healing & Hope becomes a state affiliated COVID-19 testing site, offering drive-thru testing for all, and performing more than 25,000 tests in less than a year to help the community combat the pandemic.
- 2021: Center for Healing & Hope relocates to a modern medical facility on Lincoln Avenue as the sole occupant. A successful fundraising campaign in the fall of 2020 allows CHH to lease the building for 3 years with a goal of purchasing in 2024. We remain grateful for Plymouth United Church of Christ’s partnership over the last 10 years, helping to elevate our mission and care for the community.
