The Alliance for a Healthier Indiana, of which ISMA is a founding member, hopes its new, 17-city “road show” will stimulate Hoosiers’ excitement about improving health in their communities. Business and health care leaders taking part also want to hear what communities are already doing to improve smoking rates, obesity, infant mortality and addiction among their residents.

The State of Our Health Road Show began April 13 with the State of Our Health Summit at Ivy Tech State College in Indianapolis. It continues with town hall-style meetings across the state through Oct. 12. ISMA is an Alliance Champion Partner for the initiative. 

In a video released this week, ISMA Executive Vice President Julie Reed, JD, and other Alliance members discussed the coalition’s latest initiative.

The road show will “put a spotlight on the organizations and the communities that are already doing really great things,” Reed said. “We know as statewide organizations that, at the local level, there are a lot of really great, really action-oriented and really results-driven activities that are going on.”

“I think people have good will; they want to do good, said Paul Halvorson, founding dean of the Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health at IUPUI. “What our road show and our educational programs have been designed to do is help to give people information so that they can influence and be part of a process that ultimately makes their home town healthier.”

Other Alliance members said that improving Hoosiers’ health will benefit Indiana economically. 

“We have attracted some of the best companies to the state,” said Sue Ellspermann, Ivy Tech president. “But health matters. Our employers, those future employers … they want to know they have a healthy workforce.”

Kevin Brinegar, president and CEO of the Indiana Chamber of Commerce, noted that employers operating in multiple states consistently say they incur their highest health care costs in Indiana. “That’s something they factor into their decision-making when they’re looking to expand, add new plants or make new business decisions,” he said. “That’s a strike against us that really shouldn’t be there.”

ISMA members are encouraged to participate in road show events near them. For cities and dates, visit the State of Our Health Road Show website. Watch the six-minute video featuring Alliance for a Healthier Indiana leaders.