BRAVE Alliance joining Alliance Health Centers to form new Federally Qualified Health Center Lookalike in Fort Wayne

New entity to co-locate with Northeast Indiana Positive Resource Connection

FORT WAYNE, IND. – June 11, 2024 – BRAVE Alliance, a local nonprofit program of the Allen County Drug and Alcohol Consortium, is teaming up with Alliance Health Centers to form a new Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) Lookalike in Fort Wayne. The new entity, Alliance Health Centers – The Brave Alliance Health Center, will share a location with Northeast Indiana Positive Resource Connection, 525 Oxford Street.

The Brave Alliance Health Center will continue to provide the care patients and clients have come to rely on at BRAVE Alliance and Northeast Indiana Positive Resource Connection, as well as full-service primary care, family medicine, mental health services and more.

“Together as The Brave Alliance Health Center, we can strengthen the care we provide our entire community,” said Dr. Eric Shoemaker, medical director of Alliance Health Centers. “This clinic is open to all, and we look forward to continuing to break down barriers to quality healthcare as the Alliance footprint grows in Fort Wayne.” 

The Allen County Drug and Alcohol Consortium’s BRAVE Alliance, currently located at 534 W. Berry St., offers mental health counseling, gender affirming care, group activities and other resources for the LGBTQIA+ community.

"This partnership strengthens progress in addressing health and mental health inequities in Fort Wayne,” said Kris Wise, licensed clinical social worker at BRAVE Alliance. “Addressing the gaps and reducing barriers to access for the LGBTQ+ community, and other vulnerable people, changes the landscape immediately."

The FQHC Lookalike expands on the existing partnership between Alliance Health Centers and Northeast Indiana Positive Resource Connection. The two organizations, along with the Allen County Health Department, provide non-medical case management for HIV and Hepatitis C, PrEP navigation and medical case management, and STI testing and prevention. Northeast Indiana Positive Resource Connection also provides treatment support, housing aid, food pantry benefits and more for HIV+ and Hepatitis C+ clients. The organization was established in 1985 and is the only agency of its kind in northeast Indiana.

The new clinic will be Alliance Health Centers’ fourth location in Fort Wayne. Alliance also operates a clinic inside Lafayette Medical Center, 2700 S. Lafayette St., inside The Rescue Mission at 404 E. Washington Blvd, and at Bridge of Grace, 909 Elmrow Drive.

Alliance Health Centers offers a sliding-fee-scale discount for services (available to those who qualify) and will not turn away anyone for inability to pay. A certified Indiana navigator is on site to assist all area residents, not just patients, with applications for Indiana Health Coverage Programs such as Medicaid. Additionally, the clinic refers patients to community resources for needs such as housing and utility assistance.

The Brave Alliance Health Center is expected to open in late June.