possible relocation to West Lafayette (Wabash, Butler: gynecologist, renters, selling a home)

[LiaS]

In Amberleigh Village you cannot put in a pool in your backyard. Vegetable garden shouldn't be a problem, I've noticed many people have one. We didn't experience any problems with the homeowners association. We didn't have any other interaction with them apart from the annual Amberleigh Village picnic that we went to every year.

Regarding schools, W. L. School District gets the highest scores in national testing. Also, it has a low percentage of children from low income families (lower than the other school districts). Many of the children's parents are associated with Purdue, which leads to a great parent involvment in children's education. Some people say that children should be exposed to "real life" and from this point of view is better to have them in other schools. Also, it seems to be regarded by some as "snobish" to be enrolled in W.L. schools. I am personally not very convinced by these arguments. Also, I think having a house in W. L. school district is better for resale. On the somewhat negative side, if you wish, W.L. doesn't have a "gifted and talented program"--not sure why, probably everybody is considered gifted there??. On the other hand, it offers the opportunity to study foreign languages, which for example Tipp. School Corporation does not.

[patken44]

As for the WL schools being good, there are two basic reasons: money and parental involvement. At one point, they spent the most per student out of all the public schools in Indiana. I don't think they're still #1 in that regard, but they are up there. Secondly, the parents are very involved in the schools and value education (I'd venture most Purdue employees are split between WL and county schools). Combine those two, and you get involved parents spending lots of money and making sure it gets the education they demand.

As for the hospital, you just stepped on a landmine. The short answer is that at this point, who knows. A slightly longer answer is that the Clarian/Arnett hospital isn't scheduled to be open until sometime in the fall, so if you're needing an OB before then, your only choice is to deliver at Home Hospital. For the full story, you'll need a history lesson:

Historically, there have been two hospitals in Lafayette: Home Hospital, and St. Elizabeth (owned and operated by the Sisters of St. Francis). Now, I'm of the opinion that Lafayette isn't big enough to support two full service hospitals, which is what by the 1990s both of them were trying to be. Long story short, the competition was killing them both.

The other player in this tale is Arnett Clinic, which at the time was the largest multi-specialty physician groups in Indiana (still one of the largest), and easily the biggest group of physicians in Lafayette. The one thing you need to know here is that there is no love lost between Arnett and the Sisters. Consequently, in 1997 (I think, it might have been 95-96), Arnett entered into an exclusive preferred provider arrangement with Home Hospital. Basically, if you went to an Arnett doctor (which many/most people in town did), you pretty much had to go to Home Hospital if at all possible. This was Arnett's first really overt move to drive the Sisters out of town.

In 1999, the hospitals merge in a 50/50 sharing agreement between the Sisters and North Central Health Services (NCHS, the parent company of Home Hospital). Not a big deal for Arnett yet, but there are two big occurances that do spell trouble. First, in 2001 a lot of the doctors in town that weren't part of Arnett form Unity Medical Center. Arnett for the first time has another large multispecialty group to compete against. But the big blow comes in 2003, when the Sisters buy out NCHS and become the sole owners of both St. Elizabeth and Home Hospitals. Essentially, Arnett bet on the losing side of the merger. Their preferred provider arrangement contract carries over, and is still honored. However, it ends in 2006 (again, could be off a bit on the year here). This is where the current hospital saga begins.

Now you have the confluence of Arnett's contract with the hospitals expiring combined with a new competitor. I don't know how much they tried to renew the contract, but anyone with half a brain knew that there was no way the Sisters would, or at least certainly not resembling anything like the old contract. Faced with this, Arnett's leadership announces that they're going to build their own hospital. Now at this point, the story gets ugly with lawsuits flying, rumored mergers of Arnett with various out-of-town hospitals, etc. When the smoke clears, the Sisters have some kind of partnership with Unity and have announced that they will be building a new hospital on land next to Unity's campus, eventually closing (or something, yet to be determined) their two existing hospital campuses. Arnett has partnered with Clarian, and Indianapolis-based hospital group, to build their new hospital.

You can click here for a timeline of the story, at least through 2005. So, where do we go from here? Which is the better hospital? Nobody knows. Arnett is claiming that anyone using one of their physicians won't be required to use their hospital once it's up and running, but I don't know too many people who actually believe that will last.

[patken44]

Originally Posted by LiaS

On the other hand, it offers the opportunity to study foreign languages, which for example Tipp. School Corporation does not.

Both TSC high schools do have established foreign language programs. Not sure about whether it has extended any lower than that.

[LiaS]

Yes, I am sorry, it may be the case that they do have it at the high school level. We are at the elementary school level now and they don't have foreign languages. Some friends of ours were interested in Spanish at Klondike and didn't have the opportunity.

[phlute23]

wow, thanks for the history lesson patken. I had heard a little about that while we were there but you really cleared it up! Bottom line for me though, does any of this really effect the quality of the healthcare I would be receiving? I need to find a good high risk ob right away, so I am a little anxious to figure that out.

[patken44]

Unfortunately, the bottom line is nobody really knows. Until the new hospitals open, it's business as usual, and all obstetrics takes place at the Home Hospital campus (where the neonatal ICU is located). So if you're planning on giving birth anytime this year, that's where it's probably going to be. And I'm the last person to ask about finding an OB. I'm going to assume you'll be on your husband's insurance through Purdue. My suggestion would be to check out their providers and see who they support. Similarly, check with your husband's new co-workers, since they presumably have some experience with it, and see what they have to say.

[ndb]

Originally Posted by phlute23

wow, thanks for the history lesson patken. I had heard a little about that while we were there but you really cleared it up! Bottom line for me though, does any of this really effect the quality of the healthcare I would be receiving? I need to find a good high risk ob right away, so I am a little anxious to figure that out.

This place is in Indy but he's supposedly the best around as far as fertility. I would if he coundn't help that he may be able to point you in the right direction.

[sponger42]

As of 1998, TSC offer[ed] Japanese, Spanish, French, and German Highschool (4 years/levels) classes at Harisson HS. Since the school is growing, I can't imagine they reduced their offerings.

The school occasionally participates in foreign exchanges if there is a particularily motivated language teacher.

[Hokieed]

I've noticed a few older, maybe historic homes right in or near downtown Lafayette. Is that a place to completely stay away from? Is there any chance of the historic downtown area going through a revitalization like many other towns have gone through?

[patken44]

Generally, the trend in Lafayette has been that subdivisions have sprouted up all over the south and east sides of town. People moved from the older parts of Lafayette into these new homes, leaving a glut of homes in Lafayette. Whether they're fleeing crime, moving to better schools, or just want a new home, that's how the population has moved. Basic supply and demand. Do I see a revitalization? Not unless the county does something to try to regulate the market (i.e., make it illegal to build new subdivisions and try to force people to not leave Lafayette), and despite the pleas of Lafayette residents who are seeing their home values stagnate at best, they have shown no inclination to do so.

As for historic neighborhoods, I would guess that the movement has been less, but I can't say I have any hard data to back that up. Generally, people in those neighborhoods have a little more pride in their community and generally take better care of their homes, have community watches, etc. I'd be less wary of moving here than some other parts of "older" Lafayette. You would also be in the Lafayette School Corporation if that is an issue.

I should say there has also been a lot of work done in the past 10 or so years trying to revitalize downtown, especially from a commercial standpoint. It is tons better than it was 20 years ago, but still not fantastic, especially from a residential standpoint. Case in point: they can't get a grocery store to move in. There was one a few years ago, but it went under in about a year. Despite efforts to the contrary, downtown is very much a destination in Lafayette, and still needs work on that front. Also, most of the social services are located downtown, especially in/around the Centennial Neighborhood.

Now, with all that said, should you stay away from it? Not necessarily. If you're comfortable with LSC schools, or are willing to transport to the county schools or pay the tuition for West Lafayette or private schools, than your next step should be to contact the neighborhood association and see what the residents have to say. Now, I'm generally pessimistic on living in Lafayette, and they'll probably be much more optimistic, so the reality probably lies somewhere in between.

A couple links:
Quick synopsis (pdf) of some Lafayette historic neighborhoods. This site has some links some to neighborhood association websites.