Passion for Family Medicine and Advocating for a Healthier Indiana

Early Life and Education

Cynthia Meneghini, M.D., FAAFP, is a Family Medicine Physician and Family Medicine Residency Program Director at Community Health in Indianapolis, Indiana. Originally from New Jersey, she has ties to other locations, including Chicago, Illinois, and Munster, Indiana, as her family relocated frequently during her childhood. She attended Indiana University for undergrad and IU School of Medicine for her doctoral training.

Finding Her Path in Medicine

Dr. Meneghini had wanted to be a veterinarian initially, but decided to take care of humans instead. She loved science and the idea that doctors take care of people even if they don’t have the money to pay. She loved her time in medical school, as well as her residency and fellowship, which she completed at MacNeal in Chicago.

After her Women’s Health Fellowship, she came back to Indianapolis to work for St. Vincent, where she delivered babies and other procedures. She moved briefly to Connecticut before returning to Indianapolis and St. Vincent, eventually joining Community Health to start a residency program in addiction medicine, where she is today.

A Passion for Teaching and Mentorship

Dr. Meneghini has always had a love for teaching and mentoring others. From her time in residency and on, she has been involved in shaping other doctors. She described how she never would have gotten where she was without the people who taught her in medical school and in residency, and she wanted to be that person to pass knowledge and mentorship on.

She was a chief resident and helped teach and lecture medical students and fellow residents. Even within the residency program now at Community, they provide guidance on both medicine and the business side of getting a job in medicine, contract negotiations, etc. She’s very proud of the environment Community Health provides its residents; it is one built on trust, respect, and open communication.

“Residency is hard work, so you want to have an environment where you’re going to have a good time and people are supporting you,” she said. "If you make mistakes, you want to learn and feel supported."

A sweet story she shared illustrates that trust: one resident rescued four kittens they found in a box in the dumpster behind the hospital. Unsure where to take them, but they brought them to Dr. Meneghini, who kept them in her office until they could be taken to the Hamilton County Humane Society. Sidenote: One resident even adopted two of the kittens!

Advocacy and Addiction Medicine

Beyond helping her patients and teaching fellow physicians, Dr. Meneghini is an active advocate in the healthcare space. Her passion started during her residency, where she worked at a high school health center and became passionate about the medically underserved.

We talked about her extensive work in helping with substance use disorders in the state of Indiana. She started both the Addiction Medicine Residency and Fellowship at Community Health. At the time, addiction medicine wasn’t really a thing. It was hard to find treatment for opioid use disorder, which was a major problem in the state.

These patients were treated very differently from other patients, usually sent to a methadone clinic and not treated at a hospital or in an office. Dr. Meneghini talked about how patients could be started on treatment the day they walked in. Doing so made an incredible impact on their health in just that one visit, which was so rewarding for her and others.

Additionally, Dr. Meneghini advocates within the Indiana Statehouse, including raising the tobacco tax. This kind of advocacy is represented in the Community Health Family Medicine Residency Program, as she told me they have an advocacy-like elective. They encourage residents to be active in decisions being made within the state. They have the residents participate in Physician Advocacy days at the state house, as well as being involved with the Indiana State Medical Association (ISMA). She believes in helping residents grow that passion for staying active in the legislature that affects them and their patients.

The Variety of Family Medicine

Dr. Meneghini spoke passionately about Family Medicine and why she loves the specialty. She originally decided on her path after shadowing an Army doctor at the end of her third year of medical school. She loved that the doctor was seeing all life stages, performing deliveries, and seeing a wide spectrum of cases each day.

She wants others to know there’s a lot of variety to being a family physician. It’s more than flu shots, colds, and bruises. Cases are complicated, with all organ systems involved, multiple diseases or disorders in some patients, medications to manage, etc.

“I think people sometimes think, well, Family Medicine is this one job, but it could be 50 different jobs,” she says.

She described what makes her job so great: every day is something different. In addition, she spoke on some of the subspecialties within Family Medicine. There are so many fields to get involved in, such as women’s health, geriatrics, menopause care, hospice, sports medicine, and the list goes on. There is truly an area of interest for everyone.

Life Outside the Hospital

We spoke about her personal life and who she is outside of the hospital. Dr. Meneghini is married to another family physician, and they have three children, one of whom is applying to medical school right now.

She enjoys her advocacy work, family time, and attending concerts. She loves both Dave Matthews Band and Blink-182; although Blink-182 has been one of her absolute favorite bands since medical school. One fun story, in the late 2010s, they were in Indianapolis, and her husband gifted her tickets to meet the band for Mother’s Day. When it was her turn, she got less than a minute with them, where she admitted to telling them she loves their music and how they got her through medical school. On the way out of the meet and greet, the lead singer, Mark Hoppus, stopped her and asked, “If you come on stage, will you promise not to stage dive?” She agreed, of course, and she was allowed to be their special guest on stage during the show, a once-in-a-lifetime dream.

Advice for Medical Students

Finally, for those going into residency application season: pick a program you’re passionate about. Don’t choose a specialty based on money or what the perceived lifestyle is. She points out that there are so many different jobs in each specialty and that if you find something you’re passionate about, the money and schedule will work itself out. There are also other aspects behind the scenes, such as loan repayments, sign-on bonuses, etc., that can help financially. If you love your specialty, you’ll be much happier and more fulfilled than if you choose one based on money or perception.

About the Author

Madison Herschberger is a second-year osteopathic medical student at the  Marian University Tom and Julie Wood College of Osteopathic Medicine. She is passionate about women’s health, specifically those who are underserved in the healthcare system. In her free time, she enjoys reading books, traveling with her boyfriend, finding new study spots with her friends, and spending time with her three cats, Lucky, Mandarin, and Callie. Feel free to email her at mherschberger932@marian.edu with any questions.