Our Mission & History
Healthcare with Heart: The CHC Story
The Community Health Clinic, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization providing specialized care primarily to the Plain communities in Northern Indiana.
Founded in response to the unique healthcare needs of the Amish and Mennonite populations, The Community Health Clinic bridges the gap in access to essential services while respecting cultural traditions. Through community-driven support, fundraising, and partnerships with medical professionals, our clinics offer compassionate, high-quality and affordable care without the reliance on insurance.
Local, affordable, well-coordinated, and culturally sensitive healthcare.
Our goal is to serve with dignity, enhance health outcomes, and uphold the values of community-based healthcare.
Our Mission
To provide excellent and affordable medical care consistent with the needs of the Amish, Mennonite, and other rural northern Indiana communities, with a focus on individuals and families with special healthcare needs.
The CHC embraces, incorporates, and promotes participation in research to advance medical knowledge and improve care.
Early Diagnosis, Tailored Care
Early diagnosis is a key component to CHC care and is critical to improving health outcomes, reducing time to intervention, and ensuring families can make informed care decisions from the very beginning. Carrier screening and newborn screening follow-up are two ways we facilitate a timely diagnosis for our patients.
Carrier Screening
Of the couples screened at the CHC, 23% are carriers in common for a recessive disorder, and tools like the Plain Insight Panel help identify shared risks and guide next-step planning. Examples of conditions uniquely common in the Plain community include GM3 Synthase Deficiency, Galloway-Mowat Syndrome, Limb Girdle Muscular Dystrophy (LGMD) type R1, Nonketotic Hyperglycinemia, and Zellweger Spectrum Disorder (ZSD). Couples who know they are at risk to have a child with one of these rare conditions can better prepare to give their child a healthy future.
Newborn Screening Follow-Up
Miracle Dots is the nation’s only rural newborn screening follow-up program for inborn errors of metabolism. Miracle Dots provides responsive screening and fast, affordable confirmatory molecular testing integrated with ongoing supportive care. When both parents are known carriers for a recessive condition, the CHC uses targeted cord-blood testing for rapid, accurate newborn diagnosis and tailors a care plan that may include in-utero treatment, treatment at birth, or palliative care when indicated.
Our Core Services
“This is the future of medicine. We are chalking the line on how we can use the best science to the greatest benefit of our fellow people on this earth. And ironically, a group of people who have chosen to eschew many modern conveniences … are actually at the very leading edge of some of the biggest innovations of genomic medicine in the world. ”
Our History
Help sustain hope for future generations
Your support will help sustain the Clinic’s mission, ensuring every individual continues to receive compassionate care, and each 1 in 21 person with a rare genetic disorder has a chance for a brighter future.