Core Beliefs

Our Mission

First Choice for Women is a compassionate, faith-based organization that offers free physical, mental, and spiritual support to empower individuals facing difficult relationship, pregnancy, and parenting decisions in the East Central Indiana Region.

Our Vision

First Choice for Women seeks to achieve a community in which every individual is respected and every child is wanted, cared for, and nurtured.

Ministry Overview

For over 30 years, First Choice for Women has existed to empower women to create thriving relationships, pregnancies, and parenting practices in the East Central Indiana Region. First Choice for Women was originally founded in 1986 as Heart to Heart Pregnancy Resource Center with the primary purpose of creating a safe, confidential environment for women experiencing unplanned pregnancies. We were founded on the belief that a woman’s life should be valued just as highly as the child she carries. We continue to hold true to these values. 

Our confidential services meet each individual at their unique point of need, with a loving, non-judgmental approach, by offering free pregnancy tests, ultrasounds, pregnancy options education, parenting classes, material assistance, abortion recovery support, healthy relationships education, and Bible study.  

We seek to achieve a community in which every individual is respected and every child is wanted, cared for, and nurtured. First Choice for Women welcomes and accepts all individuals in our region facing difficult life decisions, regardless of age, race, religion, or ability to pay. 

Commitment of Care and Competence

Clients are served without regard to age, race, income, nationality, religious affiliation, disability or other arbitrary circumstances.

Clients are treated with kindness, compassion and in a caring manner.

Clients always receive honest and open answers.

Client pregnancy tests are distributed and administered in accordance with all applicable laws.

Client information is held in strict and absolute confidence. Releases and permissions are obtained appropriately. Client information is only disclosed as required by law and when necessary to protect the client or others against imminent harm.
Clients receive accurate information about pregnancy, fetal development, lifestyle issues, and related concerns.

We do not offer, recommend or refer for abortions or abortifacients, but are committed to offering accurate information about abortion procedures and risks.

All of our advertising and communication are truthful and honest and accurately describe the services we offer.

We provide a safe environment by screening all volunteers and staff interacting with clients.

We are governed by a board of directors and operate in accordance with our articles of incorporation, by-laws, and stated purpose and mission.

We comply with applicable legal and regulatory requirements regarding employment, fundraising, financial management, taxation, and public disclosure, including the filing of all applicable government reports in a timely manner.

Medical services are provided in accordance with all applicable laws, and in accordance with pertinent medical standards, under the supervision and direction of a licensed physician.

All of our staff, board members, and volunteers receive appropriate training to uphold these standards.

Privacy Practices

Your Rights
You have the right to:
- Get a copy of your paper or electronic medical record
- Correct your paper or electronic medical record
- Request confidential communication
- Ask us to limit the information we share
- Get a list of those with whom we’ve shared your information
- Get a copy of this privacy notice
- Choose someone to act for you
- File a complaint if you believe your privacy rights have been violated


Your Choices
You have some choices in the way that we use and share information as we:
- Tell family and friends about your condition
- Provide disaster relief
- Provide mental health care
- Market our services and sell your information
- Raise funds


Our Uses and Disclosures
We may use and share your information as we:
- Treat you
- Run our organization
- Bill for your services
- Help with public health and safety issues
- Do research
- Comply with the law
- Respond to organ and tissue donation requests
- Work with a medical examiner or funeral director
- Address workers’ compensation, law enforcement, and other government requests
- Respond to lawsuits and legal action


Your Rights
When it comes to your health information, you have certain rights.
This section explains your rights and some of our responsibilities to help you. Get an electronic or paper copy of your medical record.

- You can ask to see or get an electronic or paper copy of your medical record and other health information we have about you. Ask us how to do this.
- We will provide a copy or a summary of your health information, usually within 30 days of your request. We may charge a reasonable, cost-based fee.

Ask us to correct your medical record
- You can ask us to correct health information about you that you think is incorrect or incomplete. Ask us how to do this.
- We may say “no” to your request, but we’ll tell you why in writing within 60 days.

Request confidential communications
- You can ask us to contact you in a specific way (for example, by home or office phone) or to send mail to a different address.
- We will say “yes” to all reasonable requests.

Ask us to limit what we use or share
- You can ask us not to use or share certain health information for treatment, payment, or our operations. We are not required to agree to your request, and we may say “no” if it would affect your care.
- If you pay for a service or health care item out-of-pocket in full, you can ask us not to share that information for the purpose of payment or our operations with your health provider. We will say “yes” unless a law requires us to share that information.

Get a list of those with whom we’ve shared information
- You can ask for a list (accounting) of the times we’ve shared your health information for six years prior to the date you ask, who we shared it with, and why.
- We will include all the disclosures except for those about treatment, payment, health care operations, and certain other disclosures (such as any you asked us to make). We’ll provide one accounting a year for free but will charge a reasonable, cost-based fee if you ask for another one within 12 months.

Get a copy of this privacy notice
You can ask for a paper copy of this notice at any time, even if you have agreed to receive the notice electronically. We will provide you with a paper copy promptly.

Choose someone to act for you
- If you have given someone medical power of attorney or if someone is your legal guardian, that person can exercise your rights and make choices about your health information.
- We will make sure the person has this authority and can act for you before we take any action.

File a complaint if you feel your rights are violated
- You can complain if you feel we have violated your rights by contacting us.
- You can file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights by sending a letter to 200 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20201, calling 1-877-696-6775, or visiting www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/complaints/.
- We will not retaliate against you for filing a complaint.

Your Choices
For certain health information, you can tell us your choices about what we share. If you have a clear preference for how we share your information in the situations described below, talk to us. Tell us what you want us to do, and we will follow your instructions.
In these cases, you have both the right and choice to tell us to:
- Share information with your family, close friends, or others involved in your care
- Share information in a disaster relief situation
- Include your information in a hospital directory

If you are not able to tell us your preference, for example if you are unconscious, we may share your information if we believe it is in your best interest. We may also share your information when needed to lessen a serious and imminent threat to health or safety.

In these cases, we never share your information unless you give us written permission:
- Marketing purposes
- Sale of your information
- Most sharing of psychotherapy notes

In the case of fundraising:
- We may contact you for fundraising efforts, but you can tell us not to contact you again.

Our Uses and Disclosures
How do we typically use or share your health information?
We use or share your health information in the following ways:
Treat you
We use your health information and share it with other professionals who are treating you. Example:
A doctor treating you for an injury asks another doctor about your overall health condition.

Run our organization
We use and share your health information to run our practice, improve your care, and contact you when necessary. Example:
We use health information about you to manage your treatment and services.

Advertising & Promotion
For advertising and promotion, we may use your story and ultrasound images with all identifying information removed or de-identified to protect your privacy. www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/understanding/consumers/index.html.

Help with public health and safety issues
We can share health information about you for certain situations such as:
Preventing disease
Helping with product recalls
Reporting adverse reactions to medications
Reporting suspected abuse, neglect, or domestic violence
Preventing or reducing a serious threat to anyone’s health or safety

Do research
We can use or share your information for health research.

Comply with the law
We will share information about you if state or federal laws require it, including with the Department of Health and Human Services if it wants to see that we’re complying with federal privacy law.

Respond to organ and tissue donation requests
We can share health information about you with organ procurement organizations.

Work with a medical examiner or funeral director
We can share health information with a coroner, medical examiner, or funeral director when an individual dies.

Address workers’ compensation, law enforcement, and other government requests
We can use or share health information about you:
- For workers’ compensation claims
- For law enforcement purposes or with a law enforcement official
- With health oversight agencies for activities authorized by law
- For special government functions such as military, national security, and presidential protective services

Respond to lawsuits and legal actions
We can share health information about you in response to a court or administrative order, or in response to a subpoena.

Our Responsibilities:
- We are required by law to maintain the privacy and security of your protected health information.
- We will let you know promptly if a breach occurs that may have compromised the privacy or security of your information.
- We must follow the duties and privacy practices described in this notice and give you a copy of it.
- We will not use or share your information other than as described here unless you tell us we can in writing. If you tell us we can, you may change your mind at any time. Let us know in writing if you change your mind.

For more information: www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/understanding/consumers/noticepp.html.

Changes to the Terms of this Notice
We can change the terms of this notice, and the changes will apply to all information we have about you. Thenew notice will be available upon request, in our office, and on our website
HHS Model Form, http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/modelnotices.html



Leadership & Staff

Personnel

Kailee McKnight
Executive Director

Christa Lewis, DO
Medical Director

Bessie Smith, RN
Nurse Manager

 

Leslie Hatcher
Senior Client Services Director, Muncie

Melissa Smith
Client Services Director, Anderson

Shannon Bryan Fatherhood Administrator

 

Bethany Jones
Healthy Relationships Director

Cathy Grollimund, RN
Assistant Nurse Manager

 

Meghan Huffman
Operations Manager

Scotti Brooks Office Manager

 

Board of Directors

Michael Deutsch
Chair

Tom Davis, CRPC
Vice-Chair

Holly McCollum, CPA
Treasurer

 

Elizabeth Gardner
Secretary

Wilisha Scaife

Katy Maggart

 
 

Rebecca Bruce, Attorney