Our Patients

A family with several children moved to Elkhart from Chicago and were referred to the Center for Healing & Hope for school physicals. Here they were not only able to get the physicals, but also met with an insurance navigator, who comes to us from Heart City Health Center in Elkhart. The family was accepted into the insurance program on the spot and our patient advocate could refer them to physicians in the area who are taking new patients with that insurance.

A patient, whose A1C (blood sugar test result) was over 11 in Oct, had normal blood sugars in early December. He’s been coming to education sessions, making the changes in diet and exercise we’ve recommended, taking his medicines, losing weight, and following up. He said he’s feeling so much better, and feels so blessed to have found us. 

A new patient came for a BCCP (Breast and Cervical Cancer Program) exam. We also did a blood sugar test and found she has pre-diabetes. Her parents and siblings have diabetes, so she is thankful to have identified this problem early. She enrolled in DAP (Diabetes Alliance Program), so her future care will be affordable.

A patient who was diagnosed with pre-diabetes in Sept lost 12 pounds in three months and her A1C is normal.

Some of the characteristics of our patients are:

• Health insurance: nine out of ten do not have health insurance.
• Age: The majority — 78 percent — were between the ages of 18 and 64. Another 19 percent were under age 18. Only 2 percent were older than 65.
• Race: 65 percent are Latinx, 26 percent are Caucasian, 6 percent are African American, 3 percent are other.
• Income: 88 percent live below the Federal Poverty Guidelines.

Due in part to a shortage of doctors in Elkhart County, about 14,000 people do not have a primary care physician. Without a “medical home,” these people often go without preventive care and physical exams, may not receive consistent medical care to control or prevent a chronic illness, or may be suffering from poor life quality due to a condition that has never been diagnosed. It has been proven that people with financial constraints wait longer to get medical care, which often results in more significant health consequences. 

The Center for Healing & Hope is trusted and known by the people we care for as a place to receive medical care at a price they can afford. About 40 percent of our patients report that if we did not exist, they would go to a hospital emergency department. Another 40 percent said they do not know where they would go.