Indiana University Health has stepped up its commitment to make Indiana a healthier state by investing $100 million in a fund that will address critical health issues affecting Hoosiers over the long term.
The newly established Community Impact Investment Fund will be administered by the Indiana University Health Foundation, which will use income from the fund to award yearly grants to address social issues affecting health outcomes across the state.
“Health care must go beyond treatments in a medical setting,” said Dennis Murphy, president and CEO of IU Health. “This new fund will enhance IU Health’s mission to make Indiana a healthier place, by pooling financial and other resources to combat negative social determinants of health, such as substandard housing, lack of education and literacy, poor lifestyle habits and adverse childhood experiences.”
Research shows that 70 percent of health measures are dependent on environment and behaviors. To address the holistic nature of good health, grants from the IU Health Community Impact Investment Fund will be used to develop strategies in four broad areas: healthy living, educational attainment, workforce development and place-based solutions to improve neighborhoods and alleviate poverty.
The first round of grants has been awarded. They will fund a healthy families program in Indianapolis, a diversion center dealing with opioid abuse in Bloomington, a neighborhood revitalization project in Muncie and an undertaking between faith congregations and hospitals in Central Indiana to better care for socially isolated people with chronic health issues. (See more details on awards below.) The fund is set up to continue well into the future, with new grants awarded annually.
The $100 million commitment by IU Health will be in addition to its community benefit investments, which last year amounted to $711 million. The amount includes free care, existing investments in community health services, medical education, financial and in-kind contributions and losses on federal healthcare programs. IU Health also has invested heavily in its 10-year goal to improve Indiana’s poor overall health rankings, with care initiatives across its 16-hospital system and Riley Children’s Health network focusing on obesity, infant mortality, tobacco cessation and behavioral health.
Establishment of the fund comes as IU Health launches a new initiative called One Measure that encompasses and tracks all the community-facing IU Health programs that influence healthy living habits -- one measure is an expression of our values and our commitment to improving the health of the citizens of Indiana.
