Health First

Dec. 8—ELKHART — On their 92-county tour, Indiana State Health Commissioner Lindsay Weaver and her staff spent some time with Elkhart County health leaders and local officials learning more about the Health First Indiana Initiative and the needs locally that the funding might help address.

The funding, approved by the state legislature in September, is an increase in state public health funding supported for the next two years, although, Weaver said they expect it to continue for many years to come.

Others are watching and waiting to see how the first two years go.

"This was not meant to be a one-time investment," she said. "We've underfunded public health and if we're going to change direction for health in Indiana, we have to make an investment."

Counties had to opt in or opt out of the funding, $225 million statewide. Six counties opted out, Weaver said mostly due to concerns of whether the funding would continue or not, and being able to maintain initiative they might start with that unsecured funding.

Elkhart County has previously received around $146,000 in state funding, but this year is expected to receive about $2.5 million, and next year about $4.8 million.

The website for the Indiana Health First initiative further explains more about the ways the initiative is designed to support counties and includes County Health Scorecards for each of Indiana's 92 counties, whether they've opted in to the funding or not.

"These are just comparing counties to each other," Weaver said. "I think it helps to know, but then it's 'Okay, what does it mean?' But in general, Indiana ranks low across the nation so we're already starting out behind."

The scorecard rates from 1 being best, to 100 being the worst. In Elkhart County, for example, adult obesity is ranked 59th, with roughly 37% of adults falling into the obese category.

In infant mortality, Elkhart County is ranked 34th, although one zip code is ranked highest in the state.

"What I learned about infant mortality it is it actually very unique and specific when you look at the different areas," Weaver said.

The team is reaching out to the Top 10 infant mortality zipcodes in the state to get more data to better understand the unique causes in each region. So far, they've discovered that in one zip code, the most common cause is unsafe sleep, where babies are placed with blankets or on couches to sleep and suffocate.

In another community, preterm births leading to infant death are prevalent due to maternal substance abuse.

"It is not a one-size-fits-all," she said.

Life expectancy statewide is 76.5, while Elkhart County expectancy is 78.1 years, putting the county at 17th.

Many local health officials attended and asked about future plans related to their niche community. Council on Aging CEO David Toney asked what plans are for seniors.

"We know the leading cause of trauma and injury in the state of Indiana is falls," Weaver said. Some counties, she said, are using paramedicine to go into senior's homes and put in nonslip throw rugs and railings, and helping seniors enroll in strength training programs.

The smoking rate is 20.2%, putting the county at 27th in that category; while the suicide rate per 100,000 people is 11.7, putting the county at 7th.

Surveys also showed that statewide 11.8% of high school-aged children have attempted suicide.

"This was a really alarming stat for us to learn for our high school students," Weaver said.

Legislators last year increased funding for mental health services and continue to seek other ways to support mental health statewide. Weaver said as services across the state expand, the need for healthcare workers will also increase, so improving the pipeline is also a concern and ensuring that students are exposed to all aspects of the healthcare sector.

"I don't share this to be negative," Weaver added. "I'm a big data nerd and I think we should be putting out funding and our resources to where we need it and this helps us figure out where that is."

Through the new funding, counties can decide what in public health they'd like to invest in and the health department hopes that the scorecard will help to make that determination of where funds should go based on the rankings.

"It is our taxpayer dollars that are going back to all of us to support public health," Weaver added.

When asked how it might change funding opportunities, Weaver explained that no grants have changed.

"We just were not investing enough into our health and into our people," she said.

She added that an investment in public health is an investment in the economy.

"That being said, it is up to our legislators," she said. "They have to pass a budget every two years... They do expect to see a return on investment... Our goal is to have a healthier Indiana."

For more information or to view the scorecard, visit www.healthfirstindiana.com.

Dani Messick is the education and entertainment reporter for The Goshen News. She can be reached at dani.messick@goshennews.com or at 574-538-2065.