IU Health leaders told local residents at the Frankfort Rotary Club this week that Frankfort patients will gain new specialty and rehabilitation options close to home, including a full‑time dermatologist and a fully in‑house therapy team based in the expanded IU Health Frankfort facility.
Hospital officials said IU Health has signed dermatologist Dr. Schmidek to practice in Frankfort five days a week and begin offering Mohs procedures, a specialized skin cancer treatment that is not currently available elsewhere in the region. “Dr. Schmidek is going to be here full‑time, five days a week here in Frankfort, and we will start offering the Mohs procedure as well,” said IU Health Frankfort Chief Operating Officer Kristin Post, noting that patients already travel from Lafayette and Monticello for the service. She said the move is part of a broader strategy to “keep as much care close to home as possible” for Clinton County residents.
Keeping care local
Speaking to a local civic group, IU Health representatives emphasized that the critical‑access hospital in Frankfort handles far more than emergency stabilization and transfers, highlighting a wide range of diagnostic, rehabilitation and specialty services now available in town. They said the goal is to provide routine, follow‑up and recovery care in Frankfort whenever possible, even when patients must go to Lafayette or another facility for major surgery or intensive treatment. Officials also pointed to ongoing talks with the YMCA about possible community wellness partnerships, and said IU Health remains financially stable statewide despite pressures on rural health care.
Specialty and preventative services
Kristin said IU Health Frankfort has invested in updated imaging, cardiology and rehabilitation technology while adding specialty clinics designed to reduce the need for out‑of‑county travel. She noted that obstetrics and gynecology providers from Lafayette hold prenatal clinics in Frankfort several times a week so expectant mothers can receive most of their care locally. “All prenatal care can be done here at Frankfort and deliveries take place in Lafayette,” she said, adding that post‑delivery follow‑up also returns to the local campus.
Officials also responded to questions about other services. Dialysis is not currently offered in Frankfort, and a former contracted provider in Monticello has left, but Kristin said IU Health is seeking a new vendor there. She added that the system is developing a hybrid police and security force at some campuses, with long‑term plans for similar coverage in Frankfort and Monticello, although “not in the next year or two” locally.
Rehab, “swing bed” and community programs
Physical therapist Mitesh Soni, supervisor for rehabilitation services, said the Frankfort campus has transitioned from contracted therapists to a full IU Health in‑house therapy department since September 2024. “Currently we have a full team that’s in‑house IU Health,” he said. “So far we’ve added vestibular therapy, pediatrics ortho and neuro, and right now we’re looking for someone specializing in women’s health and lymphatic therapy.”
He described an expanded therapy space with three private treatment rooms, a speech therapy office and equipment to treat seven or eight patients at a time. The hospital’s short‑term rehabilitation or “swing bed” program allows patients who receive major procedures in Lafayette—such as heart or neurosurgery—to return to Frankfort for recovery. “You go to Lafayette, and then you come over here back home to get your recovery and rehab continued here in the county,” he said, noting that patients often continue with the same care team through outpatient visits.
Rehab staff also run a spring fall‑prevention class called “Stepping On” for older adults. Matesh said the program teaches participants “how to prevent falls and how to navigate those barriers,” and will be offered again this year.
Hospital role in rural health
Respiratory Therapist and Manager Johnna Richardson told the group that many residents underestimate how much care IU Health Frankfort can provide before and after major medical events. She listed services such as cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation, heart rhythm monitoring, sleep studies, pulmonary function testing and oxygen therapy. “The point is that we provide a huge amount of services here close to home,” she said, stressing that many patients need weekly or even multiple weekly visits that are easier to manage locally.
Johnna asked community members to share that message with neighbors who may assume specialized care requires leaving town. “IU Health is here for the long haul for rural medicine,” she said. “We’re here to help these communities…to make sure they know that we’re here to help people have the access to the care that they need and to help them recover and to support them living well right here in our home.”
Finances and future partnerships
Responding to a question about statewide finances, Kristin said IU Health remains on solid footing even as margins tighten across the health‑care industry. She said maintaining strong cash reserves helped the system weather the COVID‑19 crisis and positions it to continue supporting rural hospitals.
Several audience members raised the loss of the local CORE/YMCA facility and asked whether IU Health might partner on future fitness and wellness options. Kristin said she has already spoken with the YMCA of Lafayette “to see what kind of partnership we can have” in Frankfort. She and Matesh said a collaboration could extend cardiac, pulmonary and rehab gains beyond the hospital walls by giving recovering patients a place to continue supervised exercise and wellness programs in the community.