Indianapolis, March 12, 2024 – In honor of a lead gift of $2.5 million from Thomas and Arlene Grande, the new Eskenazi Health E. 38th St. health center location will be renamed the Eskenazi Health Thomas & Arlene Grande Campus.
The Grandes made their lead gift to Eskenazi Health Foundation’s Beyond Barriers campaign, an initiative that supports Eskenazi Health’s longstanding commitment to addressing the social drivers that impact the health and well-being of residents in Marion County and across Central Indiana.
“A healthy community is one where every neighbor can thrive, with access to healthy food, mental health and physical health care. We are delighted that this new facility and its programs will help members of this neighborhood achieve their healthiest lives,” said Tom and Arlene Grande.
Tom and Arlene Grande are committed to high quality care for all, with particular interest in the east side of Indianapolis. Their family business, now known as The Gene B. Glick Company, was founded in 1947 believing that quality, safe and affordable housing is the foundation for individual, family, and community stability. Tom Grande has been a dedicated member of the Eskenazi Health Foundation board of directors since 2015.
“Tom and Arlene Grande have been champions of the work of Eskenazi Health and the east side of Indianapolis for decades,” said Ernie Vargo II, CFRE, president and chief executive officer of Eskenazi Health Foundation. “We are extraordinarily grateful for their generous leadership gift to the Beyond Barriers Campaign and for their vision to promote healthy, thriving neighborhoods across our community.”
The Beyond Barriers campaign is centered around three areas of wellness including health care, mental health care and food as medicine. Efforts are focused within three recently established health equity zones – geographic areas in which Eskenazi Health and community partners work together to address social determinants of health including racial equity and economic mobility with the goal of increasing the life expectancy of those living within the area. By 2025, health equity zones will be implemented at three Eskenazi Health Center sites: Eskenazi Health Center West 38th Street – International Marketplace, Eskenazi Health Center Grande – Northeast Corridor and Eskenazi Health Center Grassy Creek – Far Eastside.
“Research has shown life expectancy for residents in certain areas of Indianapolis is significantly less than for those residing in communities north of the city. Sixteen miles to the north, life expectancy improves by 16 years,” said Kimberly McElroy-Jones, Ph.D., DMin, director of community partnerships for community health at Eskenazi Health. “The support from the Grandes will allow us to deepen our partnerships with organizations and our neighbors on the east side, all working together to advance health equity.”
In 2022, the Eskenazi Health Foundation Board of Directors approved the Beyond Barriers campaign – a $60 million initiative which demonstrates Eskenazi Health’s commitment to improving life expectancy equity for all residents of Indianapolis. The goal is to leverage Eskenazi Health’s strengths and partnerships through a first-of-its-kind integrated and sustainable model.
“Eskenazi Health’s support of health equity extends far beyond this campaign,” said Dennis Oklak, Eskenazi Health Foundation board chair. “Eskenazi Health has provided care to those in need for more than 160 years. The Beyond Barriers campaign is a longstanding commitment to achieve health equity one neighbor at a time.”
Set to open on the east side of Indianapolis in April, the state-of-the-art Eskenazi Health Thomas & Arlene Grande Campus is part of a $75 million investment in capital improvements to primary care facilities across Marion County announced by Eskenazi Health and Health & Hospital Corporation of Marion County in 2022. On the new health campus, Eskenazi Health Center Grande, which is a federally qualified health center, and Sandra Eskenazi Mental Health Center will have dedicated areas for primary care and mental health services. Additionally, the facility will have Marion County Public Health Department services available along with the Oklak Family Pharmacy, lifestyle wellness, social services, financial counseling, and access to other community services.
“Eskenazi Health strives to celebrate the many cultures and diverse populations that surround our health centers, and I thank Tom and Arlene Grande for their gift in support of our longtime partnership on the east side,” said Broderick Rhyant, M.D., chief physician executive and primary care physician at Eskenazi Health Center Grande. “I’m proud to work for a health system that listens to our community and partners with our neighborhoods in meaningful ways, and I am excited to be part of the move to the new campus.”
The Eskenazi Health Thomas & Arlene Grande Campus will welcome new patients and those currently served by Eskenazi Health Center Forest Manor and Eskenazi Health Center North Arlington. Eskenazi Health has collaborated with members of the immediate neighborhoods and community organizations throughout the planning and design of the building. Guided by community input, the facility will serve as a hub for community gathering, providing accessible care options and social amenities under one roof.
“Our purpose is to build communities and improve the quality of life in our neighborhoods, and that is exactly what the new Eskenazi Health Thomas & Arlene Grande Campus is going to do for the east side of Indianapolis,” said Ashley Gurvitz, executive director and chief executive officer for the Alliance for Northeast Unification. “We’re excited to be a part of it and to see the positive impact it will have on our community.”
The campus will be highly accessible, located at the corner of East 38th Street and North Arlington Avenue, and near the IndyGo Purple Line which connects patients to public transportation, walking trails and the Allen Whitehill Clowes Charitable Foundation Gardens.
“Traditional health care is only one component of a person’s complete health,” said Dawn Haut, M.D., CEO of Eskenazi Health Center, the primary care division of Eskenazi Health. “Being able to partner with our patients to address the barriers that prohibit them from living healthful lives is a holistic approach to overall wellness, and it’s everything we imagined with our patients as we designed the new east side health campus together.”
For more than 160 years, Eskenazi Health has served Indianapolis by investing in improvements that best meet the needs of patients and enhance the community’s quality of life. Eskenazi Health Thomas & Arlene Grande Campus is the second primary care center built under the Eskenazi Health name since the opening of Eskenazi Health Center West 38th Street in October 2013. The 95,000-square-foot health center will be the most innovative and community-minded facility to offer expanded services to the east side of Indianapolis.
“Everything we do at Eskenazi Health is in the interest of health equity. Making the opportunity of good health and access to care available to everyone in our community isn’t just a component of our mission, it is our mission,” said Lisa Harris, M.D., chief executive officer of Eskenazi Health. “We recognized, given the foundational importance of this work, that we needed to deepen our efforts and become more deliberate in tying it all together, working within and, most important, with our communities and the multiple organizations committed to various facets of this work, drawing on their resources and strengths. We are grateful to Tom and Arlene Grande for their generosity in support of this transformational collaboration with our east side neighbors.”
To learn more about the new Eskenazi Health Thomas & Arlene Grande Campus and the Beyond Barriers campaign, please visit EskenaziHealth.edu and www.EskenaziHealthFoundation.org.