The Indiana Department of Health and Indiana University School of Medicine are collaborating to improve the care of mothers and children in rural emergency rooms by launching a first-of-its-kind readiness program. The pair made the announcement last week.

The new initiative, one of 12 underway to improve rural life across the state, pledges $30 million over five years to train emergency room health care providers in obstetric and pediatric emergency standards of care and to fund updated equipment. It will leverage the IU School of Medicine's statewide clinical network, expertise and partnerships to build the infrastructure needed to close significant outcomes gaps in maternal and pediatric care that lead to preventable deaths, delayed treatment and unequal outcomes for Hoosier families.

"Every Hoosier mother and child deserves access to high-quality, lifesaving emergency care close to home," IU President Pamela Whitten said. "Caring for the people of Indiana is central to Indiana University’s mission. By leveraging the IU School of Medicine's statewide clinical expertise and nine-campus presence, this partnership will strengthen emergency readiness and help ensure more mothers and babies in rural communities receive the care they deserve.”

According to the Journal of the American Medical Association, 28.1% of child deaths in emergency rooms can be prevented with high pediatric readiness. A 2025 analysis of nearly 14.8 million births from 2018 to 2021 showed that maternal mortality is about 30% higher in counties without adequate access to care.

The goal of the OB/pediatric readiness initiative is to ensure that rural emergency rooms and pre-hospital services have the training and equipment to provide access to the right care, in the right place, at the right time to infants, children, and pregnant and postpartum women.

Indiana Emergency Medical Services for Children administers the National Pediatric Readiness Project assessment, already underway in Indiana, to ensure emergency rooms have the training and equipment they need to deliver pediatric care, even if the hospital doesn’t have pediatric services. This will be the foundation for the new assessment.  

The IU School of Medicine is uniquely positioned to lead this effort because of its established relationship with Indiana Emergency Medical Services for Children, deep clinical expertise and educational infrastructure across its nine Indiana campuses. By bringing together clinical innovation, community partnerships, and targeted resource investments, the program aims to scale training, standardize care and embed readiness practices across rural health systems to ensure families receive high quality, coordinated care close to home.

“We are excited to partner with IU on this initiative, building on a proven successful record in assessing pediatric readiness,” State Health Commissioner Lindsay Weaver, MD, said. “This program is another innovative way IDOH is working to identify and address gaps in care to provide better outcomes for Indiana’s moms and babies through community partnerships.”

In the first year, $11.2 million will be allocated to the IU School of Medicine. The agreement is supported by the federal Rural Health Transformation Program, funded by nearly $207 million in federal funding for the first year of the five-year program to improve health outcomes in the state’s rural communities. The Rural Health Transformation Program is administered by the Family and Social Services Administration and the Indiana Department of Health.

The Indiana Department of Homeland Security will provide additional support for equipment and training, as well as help establish protocols to quickly transport patients to a higher level of obstetric and pediatric care when needed.