Subscriber Benefit
As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe Now
Top honoree, physician
Dr. Robert Cater
Medical Director, Rophe Free Clinic
When Dr. Robert Cater, an occupational medicine doctor with Eskenazi Health, was asked several years ago to serve as a board member for the Rophe Free Clinic, he insisted on
seeing patients.
He also wanted to lead development of a medical policy that ensured patients felt truly valued and that allowed physicians to take their time providing comprehensive and quality care.
Today, as medical director of the clinic, Cater spends three Saturdays a month voluntarily treating uninsured and underinsured Pike Township residents.
Rophe Free Clinic has been offering free, quality, Christ-centered health care in Pike Township since 2018. At the beginning, Cater was the only practicing physician and worked every Saturday.
“Dr. Cater works tirelessly to ensure that the free medical care we provide is not synonymous with inferior care,” Curtis McManus, president and CEO of Rophe Free Clinic, wrote in his nomination of Cater. “So, volunteers are carefully screened. They must be aligned with our mission to ‘provide quality, Christ-centered health care.’”
Cater, who is originally from Chicago and graduated from the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Chicago, completed his residency training at Emory University in Atlanta and practiced in Georgia for about 10 years.
In 1994, he moved to Indianapolis. He didn’t have any patients at first, so he worked at Gennesaret Free Clinics, which is based downtown. That experience introduced him to the free clinic model.
“I believe it’s an important ministry to provide health care to people who don’t have it,” he said. “I never thought I’d be doing it again.”
Eventually, Cater opened his own practice in Indianapolis, which he then closed in 2013 when he moved to occupational medicine. But he missed primary care.
A group of his friends from Solid Word Bible Church saw the need in Pike Township and began working on the Rophe Free Clinic in 2015.
The clinic provides hands-on clinical care and support, like prayer and access to a food pantry.
Because it’s staffed by volunteers, it’s open only on weekends.
Cater said that the care doctors and nurse practitioners provide is comprehensive, so they see only about eight patients each Saturday. But it’s a full day for him.
He said everyone deserves access to good health care, but the country’s current system isn’t set up to provide that.
Stepping up to fill the gap is “about doing what’s right and trying to provide some equity, especially when it comes to people’s health and life longevity,” Cater said.
And the work Rophe is doing is making a difference.
The clinic received a grant in 2021 from the National Association of Free and Charitable Clinics for a study that aimed to achieve over a year improved health outcomes for patients with diabetes, hypertension or both.
Of the 27 patients involved, eight met the blood pressure goal, eight met the diabetes goal, seven lowered their A1C level, and four lost weight.
In his nomination, McManus said Cater actively listens to his patients to understand their needs and concerns. He explains their diagnosis and care plan in a language they understand.
And when necessary, he works to help them navigate the health care system to find specialists and secure physical therapy appointments. He also works with the clinic’s social worker to connect patients with necessary services.
“Many of our patients are seen at the most vulnerable points in their lives,” the nomination reads. “Dr. Cater makes them feel cared for and that he’s on the journey with them. He truly cares about their well-being and what happens to them.”•
Please enable JavaScript to view this content.