Fixes looks at solutions to social problems and why they work.
The Family Health Clinic of Carroll County, in Delphi, Ind., and
its smaller sibling about 40 minutes away in Monon provide full-
service health care for about 10,000 people a year, most of them
farmers or employees of the local pork production plant. About
half the patients are Hispanic but there are also many German
Baptist Brethren. Most of the patients are uninsured, and pay
according to their income — the vast majority paying the $20
minimum charge for an appointment. About 30 percent are on
Medicaid. The clinics, which are part of Purdue University’s
School of Nursing, offer family care, pediatrics, mental health
and pregnancy care. Many patients come in for chronic problems:
obesity, diabetes, hypertension, depression, alcoholism. Doctors
are trained to focus on a disease. Nurses are trained to think
more holistically. What these clinics don’t offer are doctors.
They are two of around 250 health clinics across America run
completely by nurse