Carla S. Payne, RN, MSN, FNP-BC

Carla Payne, FNP was born and raised in southwest Michigan and moved to Indiana in 1995. She attended Western Michigan University and Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis for prerequisite coursework. She transferred to the University of Indianapolis (U of I) where she completed her associate and bachelor's degrees in nursing. In 2009 she returned to U of I in the Family Nurse Practitioner track. Carla has been in the nursing field for over 20 years. She is board certified by the American Nurses Credentialing Center as a Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP). 

Carla focused her expertise in mental health treatment while working in a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) as an FNP.  Her experience was gained in a variety of settings including outpatient offices, assisted living facilities, residential facilities, and long-term care facilities. She applied this experience during the pandemic in urgent care settings managing teams of medical professionals both at the state and National levels for the Indiana COVID-19 Hotline and the National COVID-19 Vaccine Hotline.

Carla  began managing psychiatric patients in a variety of institutional and home settings when she discovered that a large number of individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD) were losing their psychiatric care providers.  Because Carla has personal experience with her own child with IDD managing mental illness, she recognized the difference she could make serving this population exclusively. IDD patients are complex and have a unique set of needs in their healthcare. It affects not just their mental health but also their physical health, and requires a collaborative team approach to provide the appropriate care.

Married to her husband, Tom,  for 25 years, they have raised 3 boys, all high school graduates. The family includes 3 cockatiels: Doolie, Tango, and Blizzard;  3 rescued fur babies: Bella, Stella, and Chili; and 3 grand dogs: Sage, Jasper, and Chico.