David Regnier, MD, a family practice doctor with IU Health Arnett Family Medicine in Frankfort, volunteers regularly at the Open Door.

Situated a stone’s throw south of the IU Health Frankfort Hospital, the Open Door Clinic is an unassuming, single story limestone building making a huge impact in Clinton County.

Funded in part by IU Health, Open Door provides free primary care services to adults and children in Clinton County who are uninsured, underinsured or reside in a low-income household—individuals who might otherwise have little or no access to even the most basic healthcare.

“These are people who would otherwise ‘fall through the cracks’ in healthcare,” explains David Regnier, MD, a family practice doctor with IU Health Arnett Family Medicine in Frankfort who volunteers regularly at the Open Door. “We want those people—our neighbors—to know: We are here for you.”

Regnier has volunteered at the clinic since 2004, after a nurse on his team at the Frankfort family medicine practice challenged him to consider doing so. He hasn’t looked back since.

Staffed with a combination of full-time team members and a number of volunteers, including several from IU Health like Regnier, Open Door serves an average of 60-70 patients each week, providing dignified medical care to the community through more than 4,000 visits to the clinic each year.

In addition to primary care services—“lots of diabetes management and women’s healthcare,” shares Regnier—the clinic also provides free medication assistance and management, and IU Health provides lab services at no cost. Because Clinton County has a large Hispanic population, Open Door also provides Spanish-language translation services.

Even at the height of the pandemic, knowing how critical their services are for their patients, the Open Door team found creative ways to provide services, going so far as to meet patients in the parking lot at their car to provide care one-on-one in a safe environment.

“If all physicians and providers took the time to get involved with organizations like this, it would change a lot in healthcare,” shares Regnier, reflecting on his nearly two decades at Open Door. “We make a significant difference for our community. From basic nuts and bolts medicine to occasionally diagnosing advanced stage disease in individuals, by providing them quality care and treatment, we improve their quality of life drastically.”

Sharon Hayden, RN, director of Open Door, who has been with the clinic for more than 25 years, agrees. “The best part of being on this team is being able to serve our community, some of whom have been coming here as long as I’ve been here. The Open Door is truly a lifeline for some of Clinton County’s most underserved residents.”

Each year, IU Health team members like Regnier give back to their communities by volunteering more than 10,000 hours of their time and talent through the IU Health Serves program to improve the lives of others.

“I am proud and grateful that IU Health supports the Open Door Clinic financially and that I am empowered to represent IU Health while giving some of my time to these deserving residents of our community,” shares Regnier. “It’s important for us as an organization to find ways to increase access to healthcare for all, including through the support of organizations like Open Door.”

Open Door Clinic

2 E. White St.

Frankfort, IN 46041

Monday – Wednesday: 11 am – 4:30 pm

Friday: 9 am – noon

For an appointment, call 765.654.9544

“Everybody deserves to be loved, and everybody deserves to feel good about themselves—no matter what that means to them.”

That mentality drives Lori Terrell, IU Health Community Health Family Vitality Initiative Clinical Manager, to do what she does.

Her program connects pregnant individuals with substance use issues to the resources they need to start on a path to recovery. And it is a completely judgment-free zone.

“There’s a lot of self-inflicted judgment and guilt, particularly with substance use during pregnancy,” says Terrell. “The most important thing to know is that no matter who you are, you need to be humble because you don’t know what may be in your path.”

And while pregnancy is a major motivational factor for making changes in a person’s life, substance use can be difficult to stop—pregnant or not.

Terrell currently supports 35 individuals and helps them connect to services, education, and programs.

“I meet with them face to face for our first meeting, and we talk about services and making those connections to home support programs,” says Terrell. “We talk about the car seat safety program and safe sleep—we want to make sure we connect them to all those services to get the resources they need to protect their child.”

After the pregnant individual is enrolled, Terrell follows up with them depending on their unique circumstances. She calls moms before and after court dates, checks in to see how everything is going with cessation efforts and is a point of support during this challenging time in their lives.

Most of her time tends to be focused on helping these moms navigate mental health resources. This includes finding therapists that will accept their insurance, helping them get on expedited waitlists and being that connection point between them and this essential support for their mental health.

Terrell says, “My family has experience with substance use with loved ones in our household, and it’s tough to navigate the healthcare world. In my private life, healthcare has been the most stigmatizing to my family members and made them feel the worst of any place they’ve ever been.”

That experience drives her to fight against the stigma people face when fighting their addictions to substances, which makes their journey even more difficult.

“Substance use is out amongst us. Mental health issues are out amongst us. We need to have conversations like it’s something that is part of our daily life,” says Terrell.

She emphasizes her detest of the phrase, “You just need to quit.”

Terrell says, “We don’t treat it with the same passion that we do other diseases. Everybody knows they need to quit, but they need tools, support, and people who believe in them to help them quit. We have to figure out how to help them find their path to treatment and recovery.”

One of the Family Vitality Initiatives’ most recent endeavors is their Moms Heal Together program. This clinic for pregnant and postpartum women was made possible through funding through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA).

Participants have access to a certified nurse-midwife who supports them through general obstetric education and can prescribe Medication Assisted Treatment when needed. They also have a licensed social worker who conducts group therapy sessions specifically related to substance use in women.

Group therapy is particularly appreciated as it focuses on building peer support and helping them realize they aren’t alone.

Terrell says, “Our goal is to provide a non-judgmental place for pregnant and postpartum individuals to get help with substance use issues. We want to help them meet their goals by providing quality treatment and support.”

Learn more about the Family Vitality Initiative.

Each spring, Stephen Leitch, clinical assistant professor in the School of Hospitality and Tourism Management at Purdue University hosts a class on selling and sales. The idea is that students develop a product and then sell it—meeting a specified sales goal.

Two students, Zach Singer, a senior from Illinois, and Ha Ho, a senior from Vietnam, were struggling with the project. Both seniors missed the first few weeks of the semester due to COVID-19. By the time they returned to the classroom, groups had been assigned and products were being developed. Both felt left behind and unmotivated. Nothing was sparking their interest.

And then Abby Hayes, senior experience design consultant at IU Health Arnett walked into their class. “Her presentation was awesome. I didn’t even know that a career likes hers even existed, and suddenly it became what I want to do with the rest of my life,” shares Singer.

Singer requested a meeting with Hayes to talk about future career opportunities. Their discussion sparked not only career inspiration, but also an idea for how Singer and Ho could make their class project meaningful.

Over five days and a few key discussions, the Thank A Nurse project came to life: Customers could buy a nurse a cup of coffee via a voucher for $5. The customer could then decorate or write a note on the coffee cup sleeve offering their thanks and appreciation for a nurse. That sleeve serves as the voucher for the nurse to enjoy a favorite beverage.

“This project means so much more to us than the traditional projects. We are giving back. We want our customers to be able to show their appreciation for our nurses,” shares Ho. “To us this project carries more weight.”

“I have four classes but honestly, this is the only one I think about every day,” adds Singer.

The goal is to sell 100 vouchers. The $5 vouchers will be for sale at Market Day, which is Thursday, April 7 from 10:30 – 11:45 am at Marriott Hall on Purdue’s campus. Singer and Ho will also visit IU Health Arnett Hospital to sell vouchers. Vouchers may also be purchased through Venmo @ThankANurse. Remember to include a note with payment and the message will be handwritten on a cup sleeve.

Nurses’ Week is May 6 – 12. It is also finals week at Purdue. Singer and Ho will be in the Banyan at Arnett Hospital to personally deliver the Thank A Nurse vouchers to the nurses on their way to get coffee at the Banyan Brew & Bistro.

“The timing on everything is perfect,” explains Singer. “I took a gap year during COVID-19 because who wants to start a sales career during a pandemic? I was delayed in getting started with this class project because I contracted COVID-19. I met Abby because of this class. I now have a project that I am passionate about and a career option that excites me.”

“And we get to thank our nurses who have worked so hard during this pandemic on Nurses’ Week,” adds Ho.