Meridian is growing

Meridian Health Services is expanding its presence in Jay County.

“Meridian is growing,” said Sarah Fredrickson, practice manager for the new office at 406 W. Votaw St. in Portland, the urgent care center in IU Health Jay and Meridian MD-Family Medical Care in Dunkirk.

Right now, the new Portland office has one nurse practitioner providing primary care in collaboration with an off-site physician and is looking to add another. The building was constructed with that kind of growth in mind, Fredrickson said. There are six exam rooms (including special accommodations for larger or handicapped patients) and a point-of-care lab which can provide immediate results. The office also will do labs, drug screenings and vaccinations.

And it will offer more than primary care. 

The building has a dental wing with a panoramic X-ray machine and a lab that can prepare dentures. Fredrickson said a dentist has been hired and she expects dental care to be available in the office within the next few weeks.

Future plans also include having a pharmacy at the site, said Fredrickson.

In the mid-1970s, when the company first came to Portland, it was known for providing behavioral/mental health help. That service continues in the Water Street office (with private rooms available at the Votaw Street office for telehealth consultations for Water Street clients if required).

According to its website, the company began moving into other kinds of health services around 2010. Work on the Dunkirk primary care office was initiated in 2015 and the urgent care office in the hospital opened in 2017.

In recent years, dental care, pediatric care, women’s care and school health facilities have been added to Meridian’s offerings throughout the region. The Votaw Street building was one of half a dozen new offices opened around the region — Richmond, Marion, Fort Wayne, New Castle and Muncie — last month.

It’s all part of Meridian’s vision of providing “whole-person health,” Fredrickson said. “We don’t want any barriers to care.”

Meridian accepts all insurance. 

“When we have a patient that doesn’t have any insurance, we do our best to help them,” Fredrickson said.

The company offers a sliding payment scale for those who qualify and will help the uninsured apply for coverage. 

“We don’t turn anyone away,” she said.

So far, the new office is proving popular.

“We get new patients daily,” said Fredrickson. “The community has responded well.”

As the practice grows, so will the need for staff. Right now, four individuals work in the Votaw Street office. Fredrickson estimates there will be about 15 employees if all plans come to fruition. 

“We are hiring,” she said.