Franciscan Alliance continues to find ways to better serve the communities in which it is located.
In Crawfordsville, it was announced early in 2016 that it would be investing approximately $15 million to update, improve and modernize Franciscan Health Crawfordsville’s services.
Now the group is announcing it will renovate its building at 1630 Lafayette Ave. and bring the providers from Northside and Greenacres practices together under one roof.
“While we will continue to be there to help guide and treat those with diseases, we’re trying to look at ways to prevent diseases from being problems in the first place,” Executive Medical Director Tim Tanselle said. “Wellness is something we all want for our lives, so we need to continue to make our services convenient and accessible to the patients we’re trying to serve.”
The renovation will cost Franciscan approximately $750,000 and will be conducted in two phases. The first phase will focus on the south side of the building; the second phase on the north.
The main focus of the remodel will be the primary care portion of the building, which will house 30 exam rooms and up to 10 physicians. Tanselle said the Franciscan Physician Network has an additional offer out to another provider and will continue to look for providers to bring into the building, but as of right now, it will be the six physicians from Northside and Greenacres — Emberton, Graper, Krumenacker, Richard Miller, Rae Anne Miller and Cain — who will have offices at the 1630 Lafayette Ave. address.
Tanselle said the hope is that, with all of these providers under one roof, Franciscan may be able to offer extended hours of primary care every once in a while. He also said this will help patients know that they will be well taken care of when they walk in the doors, even if their regular doctor is not there.
And, beginning today, the location will now feature OB/GYN services five days a week.
Currently, Dr. Jon Hoversland comes to Crawfordsville one day a week. He will continue that practice and will be joined by Drs. Scott Sinnott and Katie Towles, who will each be in Crawfordsville one day a week.
A certified nurse midwife, which is similar to a nurse practitioner in the field of obstetrics, will be at the location five days a week. Though she will not perform deliveries, she will be able to provide elements of prenatal care without the mothers-to-be having to drive to Lafayette.
“One of the things our community really regretted seeing go was the ability to do obstetrics here locally,” Tanselle said. “So we’re really excited about bringing a level of obstetrics care back to Crawfordsville.”
The other specialists who are currently located in the building will continue to see patients in that building. The only thing that will move to a different location will be the sleep lab, which will be transferred to the third floor of the hospital.
All current patients will receive a notification if something about their appointment, like the location or the door they should enter, changes during construction.
Tanselle said construction should start soon and be complete in late spring of 2017.
“We’re bringing more doctors into one space with a more convenient location,” Tanselle said. “We want to do this for our community.”
