The College of Health strives to provide not just the highest quality education for its students, but opportunities to extend professional health services into our community—particularly when the community is in need. Ball State already houses four interprofessional health clinics on campus for the Muncie community and plans to continue this work away from home.
With a new grant from the Indiana State Department of Health, a combination of faculty and practitioners from all departments in the College of Health will provide health services to rural and underserved areas of Blackford, Delaware, Grant, and Jay counties. Ball State faculty Dr. Karrie Osborn, Dr. Justin Tobyas, Dr. Blair Mattern, and Dr. Glenn Stone headed researching and obtaining the grant and are looking forward to the important work ahead.

“We are very excited to expand the services outside the walls of the Health Professions Building and meet people where they live and work,” said Dr. Karrie Osborne, assistant professor of nursing at Ball State.

 

This program is partly concerned with developing a Rural Health Network—a collaboration with area universities and health-programs to determine the health needs of particular communities and provide adequate services to meet their needs. These services include, but are not limited to:

• Injury rehabilitation services
• Water safety
• Fitness and physical activity training
• Diet and nutrition counseling
• Smoking and vaping cessation
• Mental health counseling
• Substance abuse disorder screening and/or home health visits
• Speech and communication services
• Hearing and balance services

Outside of Ball State’s Health Professions Building, there exists a world of opportunity for our professionals to provide necessary services to the many people who do not have easy access to them. While the Interprofessional Community Clinics provide some limited mobile services, the money awarded from the Indiana State Department of Health allows the work to expand to more communities.