By: Contessa Hussong

What does it mean to truly live life to the full?

It’s the question the Invitation Program has been asking since 2017, when the organization first opened its doors in Grant County. More recently, however, it’s a question being offered to Blackford residents, as well — because the pay-if-you-can clinic is anything but exclusive.

The Invitation Program was created in partnership with Taylor University, which, this year, is adopting the motto of “Life to the Full.” Yet it’s an idea the Invitation Program has modeled for years.

Scott Fenstermacher, assistant professor of kinesiology and co-director of the Invitation Program, has been involved with the project since its planning. His goal? To bridge the gap, not only between Taylor’s involvement with the local communities, but the poverty gap, as well.

“The primary purpose of our clinic is to train the next generation of healthcare providers,” Fenstermacher said. “But we don’t go away. The goal is that we’re there, right? And it’s a consistent connection.”

Despite minimal outreach from the university across the county line into Blackford, the Invitation Program has stepped up in a big way.

Yet, the impact it leaves is seen best on a personal level.

“Most of our patients who stick with the program for more than three months will achieve a weight loss goal of five to ten percent of their body weight,” Fenstermacher said. “We see almost all of our patients increase their physical activity. Both of those are big markers for reducing chronic disease and improving health overall. We had one patient who’s lost up to 120 pounds.”

Perhaps more remarkably, the program has seen some patients come off of or reduce their dosage of certain medications, simply by changing their lifestyle in small ways.

The physical results aren’t the only reason why patients keep coming back to the Invitation Program, however.

One Hartford patient, left unnamed due to healthcare privacy regulations, attended the clinic for two years, primarily because of the connections she developed with staff. To her, that was one of the best parts of the experience. 

“After the first few sessions, you’ve met everyone,” she said. 

And the students weren’t the only ones receiving an education at the clinic.

Over the course of the patient’s time with the program, she developed a book of building blocks, meant to change unhealthy behaviors in small ways.

Simple solutions such as keeping pre-washed veggies on hand (which help to deter from “noshing” on that cookie, as the patient pointed out) or starting equipment-free exercises at home have become practices the patient felt she could do on her own.

It’s why, when she left the program, she had reached a point of confidence to take her health fully into her own hands.

Still, she said, the one-on-one care, provided by Taylor students and supervised by a professor, was evident not only in the quality of treatment she received, but in the relationships she was building. 

These relationships are a major reason why Carolyn Nevins, a senior psychology major who works with the program, loves what she does.

“As a person who wants to go into counseling, I like working with the paperwork,” Nevins said. “I like working with the patients who are highly motivated. I like working with the patients who are a challenge to the grace that God has given me. I like all of it. I want to do all of this forever.”

The program has taught her a lot about what to expect in her field. 

Not every patient is willing to do the at-home work it takes to thrive in the program, just as not everyone likes to talk about their health-related habits. The paperwork Nevins enjoys isn’t so different from having to take therapy notes.

The experience has only confirmed her choice in major, and, even as it’s taught her about her own strengths and weaknesses, it’s also allowed her to routinely be part of the local community.

Taking down barriers is simply the name of the game for the Invitation Program.

“There are a lot of people in Blackford county that don’t even know that we exist, and . . .  that don’t know anything about our program,” Fenstermacher said. “A lot of people think, ‘Oh, health and wellness is expensive’ . . . . I want our tiny tagline to be, ‘Invitation Program – practically free.’”

Free for the first visit and only $5 for subsequent appointments, the program is meant to meet people wherever they are. 

Just as students are met in their schooling journey, so patients are met wherever their health needs may lie, from lowering blood pressure to losing weight to improving diet.

“We want to foster a healthy individual in a healthy community and not have dissonance between the two,” Fenstermacher said. “Here’s a program that’s going to help you kind of manage that and walk with you through that.”

The invitation is open. All you need to do is walk through the door.

The Invitation Program encourages patients to visit them at either their Upland or Hartford City locations, found at 1809 S Main St, Upland, IN 46989 or 116 North Jefferson Street, Hartford City, IN 47348, respectively. The Invitation Program may also be contacted via email at invitationprogram@taylor.edu.