Why would a county choose to deny their population $320,548 that would benefit public health? That same county is going to also forfeit $640,000 if the County Commissioners do not choose to participate in Health First Indiana.
Indiana Senate Bill 4 (SB4), is a bipartisan legislation strongly supported by both the House and Senate. The bill passed in 2023 by the state’s General Assembly. Public Health is for the public, not a specific political party, not a religious group, not one ethnic group. It is for every one of the approximately 28,000 Wells County residents age 0-100+. Inherently, many people depend on public health services. If one understands that basic concept, then why would a county not accept money designated for public health?
There may be residents who are unaware of the full extent of the public health system and what it offers to the community. The Department of Health provides essential programs and services in areas such as immunizations and communicable disease testing and prevention, food protection including restaurant inspections and other consumer protection programs, vector and pollution control abatement and keeping and providing vital records such as birth and death records. The health and stability of a community is important for the entire county; including schools, small businesses, large corporations and every individual.
Health First Indiana (HFI) is primarily tax free funds offered to all 92 counties in Indiana. The legislation provides monies so counties can determine the health needs of their own communities and implement evidence-based programs focused on prevention. Eighty six (86) of 92 counties in Indiana have chosen to participate, Wells County has not.
Allen County, our nearest neighbor, has received and allocated over $2,000,000 to 29 organizations in their county. Community Transportation Services, referrals for clinical care $75,000, Supershot INC $200,000 for immunization services, YMCA $25,000 for fatality review and prevention programs, School Care Team $100,000 for student health services and 25 other community organizations. That is Allen County, not Wells County.
For additional information please link to www.in.gov. Connect to this user-friendly HFI website to see for yourself what SB4 is all about and how beneficial this program is for the 86 counties who have chosen to participate. Interesting to note, not one of the 86 counties who opted in, have chosen to opt out. Do you wonder why that is?
The Wells County Department of Health would like to benefit from HFI. They understand the importance of a healthy Wells County and have the ideas and the experience to maximize the HFI funds.
Bottom line, HFI needs to be discussed, debated, and decided not by 3 County Commissioners but by all county partners. This includes but is not limited to: County Council, City Councils, School Corporations, Chamber of Commerce, Economic Development and the citizens of Wells County.
Jennifer Brink
Bluffton
