Indiana’s Project Health struggles to stay alive

In 2007, when Indianapolis body shop owner James McConkey learned he had two egg-sized brain tumors, he didn’t know what to do. In fact, he almost didn’t do anything because he was uninsured and couldn’t afford surgery.

McConkey contacted Project Health and was able to receive neurosurgery, which could cost as much as $38,000, for free.

Today, Project Health, which finds doctors who will provide free medical care for uninsured and low-income Marion County residents, is struggling to stay open.

Before Project Health started, many uninsured patients weren’t able to receive emergency room treatment, Logsdon said.

“The emergency room would just tell them ‘You need to see a surgeon or an ophthalmologist,’” Logsdon said. “They didn’t have any money so they weren’t having these procedures.”

Since opening about six years ago, Project Health has donated nearly $14.5 million of services to about 1,663 patients, Logsdon said. Services include 11 open-heart surgeries, 2 brain surgeries, 91 gall bladder removals, many cancer treatments and more, she said in an e-mail interview.

Project Health has been funded primarily through grants. However, grant funding has become very competitive because of the economic downturn, Logsdon said. Because Project Health is not a clinic, it can’t qualify for federal money.

Logsdon said it has sent out more than 126 grant applications this year. About one-third of the applications have been rejected.

Project Health needs more funds to support them throughout the year.

“It will dissolve if we are not able to get the money to go on past April,” Logsdon said.

If the program can’t receive adequate funding, it will leave patients like McConkey on their own to pay for medical care, Logsdon said.

McConkey, now 67 years old, said he had brain surgery the morning after he met with the neurosurgeon. He was released from the hospital after two days, he said.

“They just took care of me as if I had the best insurance in the world,” he said. “It showed me there’s still good in the world.”

Project Health costs about $250,000 per year. So far, less than half has been raised for this year, Logsdon said.

Project Health’s lack of funding is a huge concern for the Marion County Health Department, said Director Dr. Virginia Caine.

Project Health alleviates some of the excess burden on an already overwhelmed system that serves the uninsured, Caine said.

“We need a much greater number of specialty care,” Caine said. “And Project Health has a niche for specialty care.”