ELWOOD, Ind. — When the Madison County Community Health Centers opened their Elwood center in 2001, their biggest concern was finding patients to keep it afloat.

After a recent expansion from a dilapidated 2,400-square-foot building to a state-of-the-art 7,200-square-foot facility, the tide has turned. Now they worry about meeting a growing need in the community, said Anthony Malone, MCCHC president and CEO.

The Elwood center — one of two federally-qualified health centers in Madison County — moved into its new building Jan. 1, helping it grow from three physician exam rooms to seven. The center were also able to add a dental facility with three exam rooms, a conference room, a pharmacy assistance program and behavioral health services, Malone said.

And Elwood isn’t the only center to see growth. The Anderson center, also experiencing growing pains, is in the midst of an expansion. More than $4 million has already been invested in the construction of both centers. But MCCHC needs more than $1.7 million to complete the Anderson expansion, he said. The hope is to have that facility — an expansion to the current Ohio Avenue location — opened by the end of this year by seeking loans and grants.

“We are investing in this community, this neighborhood,” Malone said, speaking of both the center in downtown Anderson and Elwood. “The centers are an economic engine. They provide a better quality of life, an expansion of health care and health care training opportunities here in Madison County.”

The growth in Elwood has meant the addition of physicians and staff, and they are continuing to work to get that facility 100 percent staffed, something they hope to accomplish by June, he said. Once the Anderson center is completed, there will be staff and physician additions as well.

Malone and Teresa Rodebaugh, new business development coordinator for the centers, said operations at the new Elwood center have been running smoothly, even short some staff and physician positions.

But one misconception that the centers are always trying to dispel, Malone said, is that they are a “free clinic,” an issue they have recently run into with the Elwood facility.

No policies, prices or procedures have changed in their new location, he said.

“We can’t and don’t deny services to anyone,” Malone said. “We provide access to affordable health care to everyone. We do give preference to uninsured or under-insured low-income persons. But we can not operate without an infusion of income. We have to pay our physicians and staff — they are not volunteers. The federal grant doesn’t cover all of our costs.”

Rodebaugh explained that the centers assess those coming in to see what pricing they qualify for, and if they are ill or need medical treatment they see a doctor. If they are trying to become established with the center, an appointment is made. Arrangements are then made for the patient to pay some sort of a fee if medical services are rendered.

Those falling below the poverty line pay a $25 fee. If they are unable to pay that amount, payment arrangements are made, she said. Patients who do not fall below that federally determined line pay a fee based on their income.

Malone said the centers’ motto has always been “hope, trust, healing.” The investment they’ve made in the two communities with the new centers is “the epitome of that motto.”

“We are providing hope to the community so they know they are not forgotten,” he said. “We are giving them trust by showing them we are here to stay, and we still believe in these areas. And we are providing healing of the physical, psychological and spiritual being.”

The goal with the expansions, Rodebaugh said, is to meet the communities’ needs.

“We have a lot of space to grow in,” Rodebaugh said. “We are building for the future. We hope to be a one-stop shop, a medical home for these communities.”

Contact Abbey Doyle, 640-4805, abbey.doyle@heraldbulletin.com.