Sally Kinghorn, the first nurse practitioner of the Switzerland County Nurse Managed Clinic and a member of the clinic’s governing board, was honored last week on the occasion of her retirement from the board.
The Switzerland County Nurse Managed Clinic has been operating in Switzerland County for just over a decade, serving many residents of the county.
Switzerland County was designated by the State of Indiana as a medically underserved area in 1995-96. A grant was prepared by Betty Lucas of the local health department to provide a Nurse-Managed Clinic for the medically indigent and uninsured.
In the search for a nurse practitioner to provide this service, a call was made to Sally Kinghorn, who lived in Lawrenceburg at the time, seeking information for a person to fill this vacancy.
The search committee knew that Sally Kinghorn was a nurse practitioner and after explaining the circumstances, she was interested in taking the position.
Sally Kinghorn already had ties to Switzerland County, with two brothers and their families already residing here. She was asked to come to the health department for an interview and to view the site where the project would take place. She accepted the position, and the clinic began in March, 1996.
At the time, the office was located at 801 East Main Street in Vevay in the rear of the building at the health department. The county had no funds to maintain office space for this project.
A grant was requested from the Ogle Foundation, which Jack Sullivan was an advocate in procuring a grant to renovate the office space for the clinic in the health department.
Sally Kinghorn was very involved in establishing the clinic with the staff from the health department. There was no charge for the first year; there was a $10 charge for the second year; and to meet the criteria for the clinic to continue receiving the grant in future years, a sliding fee scale was instituted the following year for collections for services rendered.
From January 1st, 1997 through November, 1999, Sally Kinghorn treated 7,175 patients, providing services to those people who did not have access to medical care because of medical indigency or uninsured. Patients held her in high esteem for her ability.
The governing board of the Switzerland County Nurse Managed Clinic was disappointed when Sally Kinghorn announced her retirement, but she was very instrumental with her kindness and compassionate manner in establishing the nurse-managed clinic for Switzerland County.
The clinic is still in operation in the medical building at 727 State Road 56 for the treatment of the uninsured and medically indigent.