INDIANAPOLIS (Inside INdiana Business): The dean of the Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health at IUPUI says Indiana’s economic success has a direct correlation to the health of Hoosiers, and both need help.
Calling it “chronically underfunded and undervalued,” Professor Paul Halverson says Indiana must commit more resources to public health to ensure the sustainability of the state’s economy.
Halverson, along with Fairbanks Associate Professor Valerie Yeager, has released Indiana Public Health System Review, a study that measures the shortcomings of Indiana’s public health system.
In an interview with Inside INdiana Business, Halverson said the study provides an actionable framework for improving public health.
“When we invest in public health, we spend less on healthcare and live longer,” said Halverson. “It is also the most important step we can take to strengthen Indiana’s economy.”
The numbers, according to Halverson, do not paint a flattering picture of the state of public health. Indiana ranks 41st in terms of overall health. The Hoosier State ranks 48th for public health funding.
Halverson says those factors contribute to higher levels of preventable disease and injury burden when compared to other states.
“People that live in Indiana live on average about three years less than the people that are in the general population in the U.S. And we pay more for our medical care, because in large part, we’re generally sicker,” said Halverson.
Click here to view the report.
1 comment
From the mouth of another liberal educator give me money to put in my pocket then I will fix the numbers to fit what I what goal I want to meet. Welcome to communism from the CCP to the USA.