Urology of Indiana awarded a $10,000 charitable grant to Heart and Soul Free Clinic, a not-for-profit organization in Hamilton County that provides medical, dental and mental health services to the uninsured and underinsured population regardless of location, social, cultural and economic status. Funding is going toward the purchase, delivery and installation of a new dental hygiene chair for the clinic.
“Dental care is an important component of overall health and well-being. We were happy to have the opportunity to provide this for the community,” says Urology of Indiana Chief Executive Officer, Britt McDermott.
The grant was made via a blind donor matching process in conjunction with the Central Indiana Community Foundation. Urology of Indiana is the largest urology private practice in Indiana with over 60 providers. It operates 14 locations across Indianapolis and central Indiana to provide patients with cost-effective, comprehensive urologic, urogynecologic and cancer care.
“We are so appreciative of this grant. It is very difficult to get funding for dental equipment, and chairs are very expensive. The new chair will be replacing one of our current chairs that is 30-years old. This funding is really significant and will make a big impact on our ability to care for patients. As we have grown, dental care was added to our menu of services in 2015,” says Heart and Soul Executive Director, Lisa Kreag.
Located in Westfield, IN, Heart and Soul was founded in 2009 and began in a small house. The clinic has continued to grow over the years and is now located in a building that includes two exam rooms for general medical care, two dental chairs and a small area for clinic staff operations. According to Kreag, 90% of their patients are uninsured. The clinic’s services are completely free of charge to anyone, and they see patients of all ages for medical care, ages 12 and up for dental and 13 and up for short-term mental health support. Patient care is provided by licensed professionals including physicians, dentists and nurse practitioners who volunteer their time. The clinic had over 1,500 patient visits in 2021.
“Our goal is to keep people out of the emergency rooms. We treat both chronic and acute conditions, offer a monthly women’s OB/GYN clinic, provide patient education as well as assistance coordinating resources for payment of medications. Dental services include mostly fillings and tooth extractions,” Kreag continues. Heart and Soul also operates a mobile medical unit that travels to two Hamilton County locations in order to bring care to people who have challenges getting to the clinic.
While the majority of patients reside in Hamilton County, people come from all around Indiana. Because Heart and Soul does not charge for services, they are funded via grants, donations and fundraising events. “The timing of this grant is especially important to us. During the COVID-19 pandemic we were not able to do our 2020 gala fundraiser, which provides a large part of our funding,” Kreag concludes.