Discussion on Indiana’s poor health and wellness report planned at VUJ
On Wednesday, November 2, Dubois County Council and Commissioners will host a presentation on the final report of the Governor’s Public Health Commission at the VUJ Center for Innovation, Technology and Manufacturing in Jasper next Wednesday, November 2, at 2 p.m. in Jasper.
State Health Commissioner Dr. Kristina Box and former State Senator Luke Kenley will be making the presentation on the finalized report. You can view the report here.
Governor Eric J. Holcomb established a 15-member commission to examine the strengths and weaknesses of Indiana’s current public health system and make recommendations to improve the delivery of public health services across the state. The commission met with communities around the state earlier this year.
Based on their findings, in August, the commission recommended more than $240 million for improvements to Indiana’s public health system. The report focused on six key areas: workforce; funding; governance; services and infrastructure; emergency preparedness; childhood and adolescent health; and data and analytics.
Among the findings in the report were several areas highlighted to improve Indiana’s overall health to increase public health spending from the average of $55 per capita in Indiana to approach the national average of $91 per capita. This spending would be used to address issues like the decreasing life expectancy of Hoosiers as well as accessibility to healthcare, better funding to local health departments, increasing the nurse to student ratios in public schools, improve the school counselor, social worker, and psychologist to student ratios and much more.
The report indicates that while Indiana ranks near the top in affordability and in K-12 education in the nation, the state’s records on health and wellness are near the bottom. We are nearly last in environmental health, 35th in mental health, we have the 38th highest infant mortality rate in the U.S., 41st in early adult mortality, and 40th in obesity. See the table from the report below.
Area legislators and anyone potentially affected by legislation resulting from this report, including health departments and political leaders of neighboring counties, are invited to attend. Any member of the general public with an interest in this presentation is also invited to attend.
This is an important report and proposes major changes in the way we address public health in the State of Indiana. If you have not yet seen the final report, it is available on the web at: https://www.in.gov/health/about-the-agency/boards-and-commissions/gphc/
You may want to voice your thoughts to your legislators who will be considering this report during the 2023 legislative session. This would be a great opportunity for you to hear the details of the report and any discussion or concerns voiced by those in attendance.