Getting healthcare closer to home could become easier for people in rural southwest Indiana.
The region is receiving $11.4 million through the Growing Rural Opportunities for Well-being—or GROW—initiative. The funding will serve 10 counties, including Knox, Daviess, Dubois, Gibson, Martin, Pike, Posey, Spencer, Vanderburgh and Warrick.
The money could help establish new healthcare locations and put more mobile units on the road. Plans also call for expanding maternal and child healthcare, chronic disease management, behavioral health and dental services.
Some of the funding will be used to recruit, train and retain healthcare workers. That includes community health workers, emergency medical personnel and behavioral health providers.
Mobile health teams are also planned to help residents in their homes. Those teams could monitor chronic conditions, provide follow-up care after hospital stays and help patients manage their medications.
Governor Mike Braun says the goal is to make healthcare more affordable and easier to access. Federal Medicare and Medicaid administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz says a person’s ZIP code should not determine whether quality healthcare is available.
The grant is part of a five-year federal rural health program. Indiana received nearly $207 million for the program’s first year, with about $120 million set aside for regional grants.
