By Dan Spalding
News Now Warsaw
WARSAW — Health First Indiana, a robust funding mechanism that’s opened the door for new health services in counties across the state, is now preparing budgets for its second year.
Kosciusko County Heath Department received roughly $900,000 for new services last year year and will see twice as much for the upcoming year as it continues to ramp up its customized offerings.
The county health department hired former Bowen Center executive Kurt Carlson to oversee HFI, which they have rebranded as Health First Kosciusko.
Carlson spends much of his time developing policy approaches and has the support of an administrative assistant, Liz McCullough, who focuses much of her time documenting exactly what the county is doing with its new-found source of money.
Carlson and McCullough were this week’s guests on In the Know, the public affairs show you can hear this weekend on Kensington Digital Media radio stations.
Carlson is expanding health services in Kosciusko County with numerous new initiatives, relying on existing service agencies and many of the efforts involve supporting newborns and youth.
HFK is providing new money to school corporations in the county for health-related services and is providing money to Breathe Well Kosciusko for campaigns against smoking and vaping.
One focus has been on prenatal care after officials realized many mothers in Kosciusko County are showing up at hospitals ready to give birth, having never received prenatal care.
HFK has now lined up several ways to break down barriers, including an ultrasound machine that gives mothers an initial chance to realize they’re carrying a baby fully. Carlson also lined up support to provide transportation through KABS and vouchers to help cover the cost of doctor’s visits at both local hospitals.
“Yesterday (Tuesday), we gave out our first voucher, somebody who had come through the clinic — again, trying to remove the barriers of cost from them receiving care,” Carlson said.
Carlson is also delving into details involving review boards that track how people are dying in the county. One involves suicide and overdoes while another looks at how infants die.
He said he learned earlier this week that two infants had died as a result of co-sleeping with their parents.
He said publicity efforts warning parents often don’t make a big difference.
“Unfortunately, even when they’ve had very robust campaigns in other counties, it doesn’t seem to move the dial very much,” he said.
Health First was proposed by Gov. Eric Holcomb and adopted by the state legislature, but even after its passage, there has been lingering concerns at the local level and elsewhere over whether the state would continue providing counties with the large infusion of money to support new services under future General Assemblies and/or the next governor who takes office in January.
Carlson said he’s seen such political uncertainty in his previous jobs in the mental health industry and is setting aside the typical political concerns to focus on the task at hand.
“I’ve ridden those waves and bucking horses over the years and so I, in this case, have faith that it will be funded at this level and there may even be some additional grant funding aside from Health First Indiana,” Carlson said.
