Earl Park
Only about half of nursing facility supplemental payments in Indiana were funneled to nursing homes, found a new federal report published Tuesday. Indiana reported the most nursing home facility supplemental payments in the nation, totalling about $1.02 billion, or 43%, of the $2.36 billion in total payments in 2022. But...
New Director Jennifer Dorfmeyer acknowledged continued challenges for the agency but shared progress and goals with lawmakers.
INDIANAPOLIS (WOWO) – Indiana is receiving more than $208.9 million in federal funding through the second year of the Rural Health Transformation Fund, part of a nationwide effort to strengthen health care services in rural communities. Federal officials announced Monday that $10 billion in awards will be distributed among...
Indiana University School of Dentistry is using a $2 million federal grant to expand oral healthcare for children across rural Indiana, where dentists are scarce and some community clinics have no dental provider at all. The five-year project will bring dental hygienists and dentists to community-based healthcare centers around the state, serving people in underserved areas regardless of insurance status.
Indiana nursing homes missed out on $205.2 million in Medicaid supplemental payments – funds that were intended to increase Medicaid reimbursement to participating nursing facilities. Instead, the money was recouped by county hospitals in the state, which operate a vast majority of these facilities in the state, a federal oversight agency’s report released Tuesday found.
The owner of a new hearing center wants patients to know their overall health can have a direct impact on their ears. Jordan Hughes, who has a doctorate of audiology from Ball State University, opened Hughes Holistic Audiology last month at 1505 W. Oak St, Suite 200. Her office offers a range of audiological services, including hearing exams, hearing aid consultations and ear wax cleanings. Hughes worked at Midwest Ear Institute in Indianapolis for five years. Her family moved to Zionsville last year.
(Greensburg, IN) – Decatur County Memorial Hospital (DCMH) is touting the success of its recent community flu vaccination efforts, providing flu vaccinations to community members and local employees to help protect against seasonal illness. Over the past month, the DCMH team hosted two drive-thru flu vaccine clinics at the...
The American School Health Association recently contacted me for possible involvement in their October centennial national conference held in Indianapolis. It reminded me of my work in addressing school-health issues when I was Indiana’s state health commissioner and how important schools are to supporting children’s health. Schools are part of our public health system and play a significant role in assuring our children’s physical, social, and emotional health. Schools are ideal places to meet children where they are. It’s difficult for an unhealthy, disadvantaged, or struggling child to learn and prepare for a productive, well-adjusted life. Schools can help reduce health disparities and, ultimately, health care costs. They support physical health by providing physical education, organized sports, and health education that includes instruction on disease prevention, sexual health, and healthy nutrition and lifestyles. Education regarding the perils of substance abuse, including tobacco, vaping, and alcohol, can reduce initiation and foster resistance to peer pressure. Knowledge is power. School breakfast and lunch programs are particularly critical for low-income children, many of whom rely on these meals as a primary source of daily nutrition. It’s difficult for a hungry child to learn. School-based health clinics improve access to medical and preventative care,
Air pollution risk to human health prompted the City of Indianapolis to issue a Knozone Advisory from 6 p.m. Oct. 28 to 10 a.m. Oct. 29. Fine particulate matter, also called PM2.5 , is expected to rise to levels that are unhealthy for everyone for several hours. This kind of particle pollution is made up of a variety of chemicals small enough to be inhaled. Indianapolis officials advise individuals in sensitive groups – like children, outdoor laborers and people with heart and lung illnesses – to "remain indoors as much as possible" during the duration of the advisory. This is the city's second consecutive air quality advisory this week following stagnant weather conditions in Central Indiana. A layer of air close to the ground and calm winds are forecasted overnight, which could trap pollution released in the environment and cause PM2.5 to rise, according to Indiana Department of Environmental Management 's Local Air Quality Advisory. Learn more: How does the Air Quality Index work? Indianapolis officials also recommend keeping windows closed, running an air conditioner or purifier, and recirculating air while inside vehicles to reduce exposure to outdoor air. Hoosiers can view updated air quality information provided by the United
Rewrite or copy and paste? Bloomington South (8-2) will be after a sixth straight sectional title and an incredible 12th in the past 13 seasons when it travels to take on rival Bloomington North (5-5) in their Class 5A sectional final at 7 p.m. The Panthers' only sectional loss since a 24-21 defeat by North in 2013 came during the COVID season of 2020 in a trip to Castle. Overall, South is 12-1 vs. the Cougars in sectional play. That 2013 team was North's last sectional champion, so the Cougars are looking to make some history. They came close last year, forcing the Panthers to rally late in a 31-28 contest. South won their season opener 44-6, but North has evolved quite a bit since then. The winner will take on either Castle (6-4) or Evansville North (5-5) at regional. The Cougars would be on the road regardless while the Panthers would play Castle at home and Evansville on the road. Follow below for LIVE updates as Bloomington North (5-5) hosts South (8-2) in an IHSAA Class 5A, Sectional 15 football championship game! Bloomington South at North football sectional final live updates FINAL SCORE FINAL (5A Sectional 15): Bloomington South
For decades, medical advances have transformed what it means to live with HIV. What was once considered a death sentence is now a manageable chronic condition. With consistent access to medication and medical care, people living with HIV can lead long, healthy lives, raise families, pursue careers and contribute to their communities. That progress is something we should celebrate and protect. Yet Indiana's newly released medical frailty guidelines tied to Medicaid work requirements threaten to undermine that progress by failing to recognize HIV as a condition that automatically qualifies individuals for medical frailty protections. The decision creates a troubling contradiction: We have spent decades helping people living with HIV stay healthy, yet our policies could now require them to become seriously ill before receiving protections that help keep them healthy. At Damien Center, Indiana’s largest HIV/AIDS service provider, we see firsthand how access to consistent medical care changes lives. We also see how quickly that progress can be threatened when someone loses health insurance or encounters barriers to treatment. HIV is a lifelong condition requiring ongoing medical care, regular laboratory monitoring and consistent access to antiretroviral therapy. These medications suppress the virus, protect the immune system and prevent HIV from
Beginning Jan. 1, Indiana will enter a new chapter for the Healthy Indiana Plan (HIP) as compliance determinations begin under the new work requirements for certain Hoosiers. For Indiana’s hospitals, that means doing everything we can now to help eligible Hoosiers understand the changes, maintain their coverage and stay connected to care. HIP was created with work and personal responsibility at its core, and we recognize the importance of that principle. Good health and the ability to work, learn, and contribute to our communities go hand in hand. As these requirements take effect, we want to ensure the process is clear and workable, so eligible Hoosiers can maintain their coverage. Hospitals across the state have already begun incorporating information about the new requirements into their patient navigation efforts to help them do just that. That work has real urgency. Since the beginning of 2025, 519,000 fewer Hoosiers are enrolled in Medicaid, while another 60,000 have lost Marketplace coverage because of federal changes to the premium subsidies. The state estimates another 58,000 HIP members, roughly 12% of current enrollees, could be at risk of losing coverage under the new HIP work requirements. For the patients hospitals care for every day, those
The Hopebridge Chief Executive on clinical governance, compliance, technology, Indiana Medicaid changes, and the evolution of autism care. Regulation is outrunning provider infrastructure: Hester describes one month in which three states rolled out significant policy changes inside 72 hours, each requiring rewritten standards, retraining and new webinars. She says that weight lands on clinicians in ways the company’s systems were never built to absorb.
Christopher Browning, OD, and Nicholas Garn, OD, now offer cataract surgery and refractive lens exchange in their own practices. Indiana’s first OD-owned office-based surgery (OBS) suites are now open. These suites allow patients to receive cataract surgery and refractive lens exchange (RLE) in the same practice where their optometrist evaluated them. Christopher Browning, OD, of VisionQuest Eyecare, opened his suite on October 29, and Nicholas Garn, OD, of Zionsville Eyecare, opened a separate suite on October 30, 2026.1 While Browning and Garn worked closely together on the development of the 2 surgical suites, the practices themselves are independently owned and operated.1.
HENDERSON, Ky (WEHT) – Three Tri-State hospitals have been ranked as one of the best in state hospitals for Kentucky and Indiana, according to Newsweek. In a list of the top 800 hospitals across all 50 states and the District of Columbia, Ascension St. Vincent was ranked sixth in the Hoosier State. Owensboro and Greenville […]
INDIANAPOLIS — Damien Center, Indiana’s oldest and largest HIV service organization, is urging state officials to revise Medicaid medical frailty guidelines that do not automatically qualify people with HIV for exemptions from new work requirements. The organization says the guidelines could put Hoosiers at risk of losing access to health care and medications that help […]
Lawyers seeking a reprieve for Jeffrey Weisheit ahead of his execution this week say Indiana purchased pentobarbital, the lethal injection drug it plans to use, from Pharmaneek Inc., an Indianapolis pharmacy on probation and facing possible suspension of its license. Weisheit’s attorneys asked Gov. Mike Braun on Monday to halt the Nov. 5 execution and […]
INDIANAPOLIS — The University of Indianapolis Tuesday opened the doors of the Schwitzer Student Center to the public for a free vaccine clinic. UIndy partnered with the Indiana Immunization Coalition and the Central Indiana Area Health Care Education Center for the clinic, providing a variety of CDC recommended vaccines, including Hepatitis A and B, HPV, […]
Peabody Retirement Community urges local Medicare beneficiaries to review coverage before Dec. 7 deadline. Free community event with an Indiana SHIP counselor offers unbiased, one-on-one help comparing 2027 plans. Peabody Retirement Community is encouraging older adults, families and caregivers across the area to take a fresh look at their Medicare...
Measles cases are climbing in Indiana, vaccination gaps to blame
