The Marion County Public Health Department will receive $11.7 million in new funding this year through Health First Indiana, a statewide investment in public health.
It represents a 10% boost to public health in a county that has struggled with several health measures, including life expectancy, mental health and infant mortality.
The department’s internal spending priorities include food protection and addressing the county’s shortage of public health nurses, said Karen Holly, director of operations. The agency plans to hire six additional food inspectors and fill 18 vacant public health nurse positions.
The department also will use funds to partner with community groups that work on public health issues.
“Clinical care, improving community mental health, maternal health and violence prevention are the subject and priority areas where we want to partner with outside organizations,” Marion County Public Health Director Dr. Virginia Caine said.
Marion County ranks in the top 20 worst counties in Indiana for life expectancy and years of potential life lost due to injury, according to Health First Indiana’s report card. Caine said the department will focus on preventing suicides and reducing accidental gun deaths or injuries among children.
The county’s infant mortality rate is middling — 7.59 deaths out of every 1,000 live births — though Indiana ranks as one of the worst states for infant and maternal mortality in the country.
“We need to improve our maternal and birth outcomes,” Caine said.
The Indiana General Assembly passed legislation in 2023 to create Health First Indiana, which will increase public health funding in 86 counties by a total of $75 million this year and $150 million next year. Local health departments that opt in get to determine how their county spends the money, though at least 60% must be used on core services like disease prevention, immunizations, lead case management and fatality review.
“Indiana’s public health system has been chronically underfunded and undervalued,” said Valerie Yeager, a professor in health management and policy at the Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health at IU Indianapolis. “We’ve been spending our money in the least effective ways and have some of the worst health outcomes.”
Her work with colleagues to review Indiana’s public health system and workforce informed the Governor’s Public Health Commission, whose findings led to the new public health investments under Senate Bill 4 last year.
“Changing the population’s health will take time and long-term investments,” Yeager said. “We will have to be patient in letting agencies put these dollars to work.”
The Marion County Public Health Department will release an annual report tracking the impact of the funding, including how it has increased access to services or reduced negative outcomes.
Mirror Indy reporter Mary Claire Molloy covers health. Reach her at maryclaire.molloy@mirrorindy.org. Follow her on X @mcmolloy7.
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
