Urology of Indiana awarded a $10,000 charitable grant to Rophe Free Clinic, an Indianapolis not-for-profit organization located on the grounds of Solid Word Bible Church. It provides medical care primarily to uninsured and underinsured residents of Pike Township. Funding is being used for the purchase of a state-of-the-art pharmacy inventory system as well as supplies and resources for the clinic.
“The care that Rophe Free Clinic provides fills a gap and helps to keep people out of the emergency room. We are very happy to help fund their efforts,” 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 (CICF). 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.
“This grant has been so important. It’s allowed us to provide needed resources to our community and gain a critical system that will continue to move us forward. For four years, we’ve been searching for a pharmacy inventory system, and this grant has enabled us to purchase what we need. It is difficult to procure funding, so we are very grateful for this grant,” says Rophe founder and Chief Executive Officer, Curtis McManus.
Rophe was started in 2018 with the goal of providing compassionate and appropriate basic healthcare services and promoting patient education. Primary care health services are provided to patients of all ages by physicians, advanced practice providers, nurses and EMTs who donate their time. They treat general health conditions such as hypertension, diabetes and minor pain and also partner with local hospitals to provide vaccines and mammograms. The clinic also has a unique on-site pharmacy staffed by pharmacists and Purdue University pharmacy students that enables patients to receive their medications. Services are completely free of charge and scheduled by appointment on Saturdays.
The organization received top honors in the “Community Achievement in Health Care” category by the Indianapolis Business Journal’s Health Care Heroes last year.
“I did 25 years of medical missionary work in Haiti. We wanted to provide in the U.S. what we did there. Data showed that Pike Township was a very underserved geography, so that is where we placed our focus. The goal of the clinic is to help patients receive care for the short term. We have a great social services network to help them get signed up for health insurance coverage,” McManus continues. He adds that they will be expanding their offerings to include dermatology services. And, he hopes that later expansion plans will include mental health, legal and financial services as well as a stand-alone clinic.