INDIANAPOLIS — Top health officials in Indianapolis and Fort Wayne were named Tuesday to a new panel tasked with studying Indiana’s public health system and making recommendations for improvement.

Named to the Governor’s Public Health Commission were Marion County Health Officer Dr. Virginia Caine of Indianapolis and Allen County Health Department Administrator Mindy Waldron of Fort Wayne, the state health department said.

The new appointees also include Brian Tabor, president of the Indiana Hospital Association; Grant County Commissioner Mark Bardsley of Marion, Madison Mayor Bob Courtney; Hendricks County Commissioner Dennis Dawes; Carl Ellison. president and CEO of the Indiana Minority Health Coalition; and Paul Halverson, founding dean of the Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health.

Others include Kim Irwin, administrator of the Indiana Public Health Association; Hannah Maxey, director of the Bowen Center for Health Workforce Research & Policy at the IU School of Medicine; Cara Veale, CEO of the Indiana Rural Health Association; and Ripley County Health Officer David Welsh.

The group’s goal is to make recommendations for changes that can be shared with the Indiana General Assembly and enacted through new policy during the 2023 legislative session.

The commission will hold its first meeting Thursday. It is chaired by former state Sen. Luke Kenley and former State Health Commissioner Dr. Judy Monroe.

More information about the commission can be found at www.in.gov/gphc.