Our Mission:
The St. Joseph Community Health Foundation, sponsored by the Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ, exists to steward resources that strengthen, improve, and sustain long-term community health in Allen County, Indiana.
We invest in and collaborate with other community agencies to improve the physical, mental and spiritual health of the poor and underserved. | |
Initiatives
Meeting regularly with grantees and learning from their evaluations and studies, The Foundation’s Trustees and staff regularly uncover opportunities to improve health and healthcare services for the most vulnerable. To act upon some of these opportunities, the Foundation will initiate a project and possibly a grant or collaboration to address the issue.
Identified initiatives for 2006 include:
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Allen County’s Childhood Lead Poisoning Elimination Program
A unique public – private partnership between the St. Joseph Community Health Foundation with the Fort Wayne Allen County Dept. of Health and the City of Fort Wayne’s Office of Housing and Neighborhood Services to address concerns about the alarming number of local children poisoned by lead in their homes.
The Foundation serves as both fiscal sponsor and one of several donors to this important effort.
For more information, go to our website for this program:
http://www.allencounty-clpp.com
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Healthcare Access Program (HAP)
This is a collaboration aimed at strengthening Allen County’s "safety net" of healthcare providers who serve the most vulnerable in our community.
The Mission of HAP
is to convene local low-cost, no-cost
primary healthcare providers
to serve as a Center of Excellence
organizing and administering projects
that increase quality and efficiency,
and reduce the cost of healthcare
for the poor and uninsured in Allen County.
Members of the collaboration include:
- Fort Wayne-Allen County Department of Health
- Fort Wayne Medical Education Program – Family Practice Clinic
- Matthew 25 Health & Dental Clinic
- Neighborhood Health Clinic
- Parkview Health System
- Parkview Community Benefit Program
- St. Joseph Hospital – Emergency Dept.
- Lutheran Health Network
- St. Joseph Community Health Foundation
The Foundation serves as convener, fiscal sponsor and a major donor to this important effort. The most recent emphasis of HAP has been:
Project 1: Shared Electronic Medical Records
The Foundation together with other partners in the community has funded the installation of electronic medical record systems in each of the local "safety net" health clinics represented in the collaboration. Furthermore, in 2005 the HAP partners established a network to enable doctors and nurses to access the other HAP clinic’s medical record on a patient that they are treating to improve the overall quality and efficiency of each individuals’ health care. The Program continues today with pilot programs also linking the hospital emergency departments and the St. Joseph Medical Center Labor and Delivery Department.
Project 2: Low Income Health Assessment Survey of Allen County:
This survey was initiated as a project of the Healthcare Access Program (HAP) and funded by HAP Members: the Fort Wayne-Allen County Department of Health, Parkview Hospital Community Benefit Program, The Lutheran Foundation and the St. Joseph Community Health Foundation. The mission of HAP is to convene local low-cost, no-cost healthcare providers to serve as a Center of Excellence in organizing and administering programs that increase the quality and efficiency, and reduce the cost of healthcare for the uninsured and underinsured residents of Allen County, Indiana.
The purpose of this survey is to identify the health status, health behaviors, and access (utilization and barriers) to health care services of Allen County residents with household incomes up to 200% of the federal poverty level. This information should be used to identify strengths, gaps, and opportunities for improved health care delivery for low income residents of Allen County to improve the health status of our community.
Low Interviews were randomly conducted with 454 low-income residents age 18 and over in the following zip codes in Allen County, Indiana: 46802, 46803, 46805, 46806, 46807, 46808, and 46816. The survey results represent a maximum error rate of plus or minus 4.6% at the 95 percent level of confidence. A minimum of 100 surveys were completed for both African-American and for Hispanic respondents.
Areas Covered by the Survey
Mental Health
- Mental Health Status
- Chronic Depression
- Stress
- Mental Health Treatment
Death & Disability
- High Blood Pressure
- High Cholesterol
- Breast Cancer Screenings
- Cervical Cancer Screenings
- Prostrate Cancer Screenings
- Diabetes
- Asthma
- Injuries: Seat Belt Usage
- Injuries: Bicycle Helmet Usage
- Violent Crime
- Neighborhood Safety
- Family Violence
- Lead Poisoning Exposure
Infectious Disease
- Influenza Vaccination
- Pneumonia Vaccination
- HIV Testing
- Sexuality
- Sexually Transmitted Diseases
Modifiable Health Risks
- Nutrition
- Fruits & Vegetables Consumption
- Body Weight
- Overweight Status
- Weight Control
- Physical Activity Levels
- Fitness/Nutrition Programs
- Screen Time
- Alcohol Use
- Illicit Drug Use
- Substance Abuse Treatment
- Cigarette Smoking
- Smoking Cessation Attempts
- Environmental Tobacco Smoke
- Other Tobacco Use
Access to Healthcare Services
- Healthcare Coverage
- Lack of Health Insurance
- Impact of Poor Access
- Uninsured Rates
- Barriers to Healthcare Access
- Sources of Healthcare
- Utilization of Healthcare
- Prescriptions
- Emergency Room Services
- Dental Care
- Dental Insurance Coverage
- Vision Care
Health Education & Outreach
- Healthcare Information Sources
- Community Based
Identified Areas for Significant Opportunity to Impact
While data gathered will be helpful to many programs in the community, the following "areas of opportunity" represent recommended areas of intervention, based on the information gathered through this Low-Income Health Assessment and the guidelines set forth in Healthy People 2010.
- Cancer Screenings
- Lead Poisoning Risk
- Child Overweight
- Tobacco Use
- Affordable Prescriptions
- Specific Source for Medical Care
If you would like to participate in any ongoing conversations and/or research in the above area, please contact the St. Joseph Community Health Foundation at 969-2001 ext. 201 or any of HAP Partners.
On-line Access to Database, Reports and the Findings
The study was facilitated by Dr. Meg Wilson of the University of St. Francis and conducted by Professional Research Consultants, Inc. (PRC), a nationally recognized healthcare marketing research firm. PRC hosts the data and reporting for community-wide access through its data portal, www.PRCEasyView.com. Through this site, you will be able to:
- View the results of the 2006 Allen County Low-Income Community Health Survey
- Segment survey findings by demographics (e.g., age, gender, race), response characteristics (e.g., overweight adults, smokers, adults with asthma, etc.) or combinations thereof.
- View, download and/or print the full report generated for this study in Adobe Acrobat.
- View, download and/or print the PowerPoint presentation file.
Log on to www.PRCEasyView.com
using the following Username and Password:
Username = Allen County
Password = low-income
If you have any difficulty accessing this site, please send an e-mail to PRC through its corporate website at www.PRConline.com, or call PRC at (800) 647-3322 for assistance. You may also contact Meg Distler, Executive Director of St. Joseph Community Health Foundation at 260-969-2001, Ext. 201.
Low-Income Study Sponsored by
Fort Wayne-Allen County Department of Health
Parkview Hospital Community Benefit Program
The Lutheran Foundation
St. Joseph Community Health Foundation
For more information on any of the initiatives, contact:
500 West Main Street
Fort Wayne, IN 46802
260-969-2001
260-969-2004 FAX
Meg Distler, Executive Director
Connie Kronstain, Office & Program Assistant
Loaine Hagerty, Special Projects Manager 
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