Governor Eric Holcomb announced that all 92 Indiana counties have opted into the second year of Indiana’s public health initiative, Health First Indiana (HFI).
Health First Indiana establishes an infrastructure so health departments can determine their community’s needs and implement evidence-based programs focused on prevention at the county level, according to the Indiana Government’s website (www.in.gov).
Local health departments are required to develop a budget to show what they will be using the money towards. 60% of the funding must be used for preventative core services while the remaining balance can be used for things such as food protection, environmental public health and tattoo, body piercing and eyelash safety and sanitation.
Each county can choose whether to opt in by September for the following fiscal year.
Holcomb said that they will begin dispersing $150 million to Indiana counties in January and Brown County is set to receive approximately $337,500.
Brown County Health Department Administrator Taylor Alton told the Democrat that their budget has not been completely approved, but the Department is discussing allocating the money to CPR supplies, Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs), helmets, choking rescue devices, blood pressure monitors, student hygiene kits and fall prevention devices around the community. They are also discussing a partnership with the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) where they will give out prenatal vitamins, car seats, pack and plays and more. Alton said that hiring an additional environmentalist is also on the table.
“It’s a big impact because we’ll be able to provide a lot more services to the county and be able to provide a lot more things for free,” Alton said. “We are hoping we can get more people in the door so they can see more of what we do and we can give out more of these free items to the community members.”
Last year Brown County received $175,176.53 from Health First Indiana and the funding was used on nursing, environmental health, emergency preparedness and lead testing supplies, hiring an additional nurse, advertisement, and additional employee benefits and stipends.
More information on Brown County funding and budget details can be found on the Health First Indiana website at www.in.gov/healthfirstindiana.
