Well Care Community Health Acquires Foundations Family Medicine in Austin

Foundations has offices in Austin and Henryville

RICHMOND, INDIANA -- Foundations Family Medicine, located in southeast Indiana, has become the most recent organization to join Richmond’s Well Care Community Health family. Foundations Family Medicine is now a division of Well Care Community Health, Inc.The merger was effective January 1.

While Foundations Family Medicine’s two locations in southern Indiana and Well Care’s flagship in Richmond are more than two hours apart, the organizations are closely aligned in purpose and philosophy. It was this shared mission that brought them together: ensuring that all individuals have access to quality, up-to-date, evidence-based, compassionate, and affordable healthcare in their respective communities.

Well Care Community Health, Inc., founded more than 30 years ago in Richmond, is a certified Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) by the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration. Led by Eric Coulter, CEO, Well Care Community Health in Richmond provides medical, dental, and behavioral healthcare services to nearly 10,000 patients in East Central Indiana and Ohio. Some patients are fourth-generation families that have sought care at the facility.

Well Care was previously Wayne County Community Health Center. It first received FQHC designation in 2015, then became an independent medical practice in 2020 and began expanding services. The mission of an FQHC is to improve the quality of life for underserved patients and to serve as a safety net for underserved, uninsured, and homeless individuals and families. However, Well Care Community Health locations also provide care for all people with all insurances, regardless of socioeconomic status. Preventive health care, dental, mental health, and transportation are provided to anyone without regard for their financial status.

As recognized by its certification, Well Care places heavy emphasis on the management of specific health conditions, such as diabetes, hypertension, asthma, and prenatal care. Its preventative care ensures access to affordable immunizations, mammograms, colon cancer screenings, Pap tests, and other screenings, as well as health education.

Foundations Family Medicine, established in 2004, has offices in Austin and Henryville, Indiana, with populations of 4300 and 1700 respectively. William Cooke, MD leads a team of seven nurse practitioners and a physician assistant who care for approximately 7000 patients in eight counties through these offices. Similar to Well Care Community Health, Foundations Family Medicine provides primary care to all ages, prenatal care, women’s health, behavioral health, and focused care of conditions prevalent in its communities. HIV, Hepatitis C, substance use, and recovery support are among their focused areas of care.

Cooke was the sole physician in Austin, Indiana when in 2015, the rural southern community became “ground zero” of the worst opioid crisis and drug-fueled HIV outbreak in US history. In the midst of that crisis, Cooke and his team launched grassroots initiatives and services to care for HIV, hepatitis C, and opioid/substance use disorder and integrated them with their established primary care practice. Cooke has since written a book, “Canary in the Coal Mine,” documenting what he learned during the experience about improving access and hope for individuals with adverse health and socioeconomic disparities.

Foundations Family Medicine has worked hard to make healthcare services accessible to communities that inherently have barriers to reliable transportation, education, jobs, and prosperity. Improvements have been made through creative initiatives like telemedicine and collaborative medical care management. When they have seen a need in their community, like Well Care, they have researched, partnered, and found ways to remove barriers and provide the needed services.

In 2017, Coulter reached out to Cooke to learn from his experience and to have him provide an in-service to Well Care staff about HIV and substance use. Cooke spent two days with the team and stayed in touch afterward. “Over time, we developed a good relationship and mutual respect,” Cooke said.

The decision to align came after several years of working together and sharing ideas. Within the past year, Coulter and Cooke began talking in more detail about how they could best collaborate to help their respective communities expand and improve health services and quality of life.

In separate interviews, Coulter and Cooke each talked about how their missions and culture align and their excitement about what they can do together to help their respective communities. They both emphasized that mission and culture were the driving forces that fueled their collaboration.

“Well Care Community Health and Foundations Family Medicine will benefit greatly from our shared work in addressing the healthcare needs of the underserved, homeless, and uninsured,” said Coulter. “We will share expertise and resources such as technology, combined electronic medical records, and administrative staff. Our greatest assets are the knowledge and experience we bring to each other.”

“Foundations Family Medicine now falls under Well Care’s FQHC designation, which provides us with greater access to grant funding, enhanced Medicaid and Medicare reimbursement, reduced pricing, and National Health Service Corps health care providers,” Cooke said. “This will allow us to add and expand services. We’ve already started recruiting for additional professional staff.”

Well Care Community Health and Foundations Family Medicine will each retain its own identity and staff. “Patients at each facility will continue to receive the same services from the same dedicated staff. Over time, we believe our services will be expanded and our communities will benefit from our collaboration,” Coulter said.

“The one number that determines health outcomes more than any other number, including blood pressure, BMI, A1C, and lipid count, is a person’s zip code,” Cooke said. “Individuals in some zip codes, particularly small, rural communities, face barriers to transportation, housing, education, and healthcare, among others. I want people born in all zip codes to receive the same health, wellness, and opportunities for prosperity. I am committed to ensuring that Foundations Family Medicine will continue meeting the needs of our community into the future so we can be part of the solution to removing these barriers. I am confident our affiliation with Well Care Community Health will help us do that,” he added.

Foundations Family Medicine in Austin and Henryville are the third and fourth locations in the Well Care Community Health family. In July 2022, Well Care acquired the dental practice of Charles Hanneman, DDS in Centerville, Indiana. That practice, which now has close to 1500 patients, was renamed Well Care Community Health Dental. The collaboration has brought enhanced dental services not only to Centerville but also to Richmond.

Well Care Community Health, Inc. welcomes all individuals as patients in each of its four locations. To become a patient or schedule an appointment, call Richmond at 765-973-9294, Austin or Henryville at 812-794-8100, Centerville at 765-855-3435, or visit mywellcare.org for more information.