Marram Health Center recently opened its doors in Gary, IN in early December 2015. The health center, which is federally qualified and funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Health Resources and Services Administration, offers complete health services to individuals of all ages and walks of life, regardless of their ability to pay.
Services that are offered at Marram Health Center include:
- Adult Primary Care
- Medical Screening and Diagnostic Lab
- Voluntary Family Planning
- Immunizations
- Well Child Checks and Pediatric Care
- Behavioral Health Screening & Treatment
- Care Coordination and Referral for Specialty Services
- Health Education and Nutrition Services
- Health Insurance Enrollment Access
“We have a very good model of integrative care where we work at treating the mind and the body and we wanted to provide the community with additional health care using models that have been proven successful,” Rocco Schiralli, President and CEO of Marram Health Center said. “We researched Northwest Indiana to find out where there were shortages of healthcare and one of the areas that was most in need was Gary. We had an opportunity to apply for a grant for our model and we were lucky enough to receive the grant.”
The inception of the health center arose from the need for medical homes, or ongoing preventative care, for individuals. When medical homes aren’t available, individuals end up going to the emergency room more due to poorly monitored health. This can lead to unnecessary medical bills and an ill-informed public.
Individuals and families are able to afford care at Marram through Medicaid, Medicare, commercial insurance, Indiana HIP 2.0, Medicaid, as well as through a sliding fee scale. There are outreach coordinators who can help patients get enrolled in insurance if they don’t have any.
“It’s our job to help individuals get the access to the care that they need with or without insurance,” Will Miller, Coordinator of Community Outreach and Enrollment said. “For those who do want insurance, we help people get enrolled for care in the Federal Insurance Marketplace, Indiana HIP 2.0, or Medicaid.”
There are three nurse practitioners and four doctors on staff currently at Marram Health Center. Click here to see more about the providers at Marram. Marram has multiple partners that help to provide additional services for patients like dental care, short-term therapy, lab tests, radiology, diagnostic X-ray services, obstetrical care, and hospitalization. Click here to read about the partners of Marram Health Center.
“Methodist Hospitals, one of our partners, has been very supportive of this from day one,” Schiralli said.
Roland Walker, M.D. is the Medical Director of Marram Health Center as well as a private physician at Methodist Hospitals, which is right down the street from Marram. Dr. Walker graduated from the Chicago School at the Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science in 2001, and he completed part of his residency at Methodist Hospitals.
“The need in the community is so great that you need collaboration to make any sort of thing happen,” Dr. Walker said. “Methodist is helping us with medical records as well as lab tests and other procedures so anyone from Gary or Merrillville or the surrounding area who use Methodist Hospitals are in the system and we have access to those records. And the people here understand the need and they are willing to partner together for the greater good of our communities.”
For more information on the Marram Health Center, visit http://www.marramhealth.org/, call 219-806-3000, visit them on Facebook, or check out their Partner Profile on NWIndianaLife.com.