Logansport identified as health care model

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December 7, 2009

Group recognizes hospital for its employee wellness program.

by Jennifer Tangeman Pharos-Tribune Mon Dec 07, 2009, 08:42 AM EST

There is a movement for better health care in Indiana, and Logansport is at the heart of that movement.

Logansport was featured as a model community at an Indiana Leadership Forum on Health sponsored by the coalition Better Healthcare for Indiana.

Community leaders gathered from Grand Junction, Colo., La Crosse, Wis., Minneapolis, Bloomington and Logansport to discuss success stories of health-care reform in their communities.

“One purpose of the conference was to share some best practices here in Indiana and to say what we’ve been doing to improve the health status of our communities,” said Brian Shockney, chief executive officer of Logansport Memorial Hospital.

The hospital was recognized by the statewide coalition in large part because of its employee program Culture Connection.

The hospital implemented the program for its employees more than a decade ago, assessing the physical and physiological health of its employees to set goals and reduce health care costs for both the employee and the hospital. Shockney said the approach of viewing health and the health care system as a personal responsibility is a value the hospital and Better Healthcare for Indiana want to spread to entire communities.

Shockney said Logansport and the other communities represented at the conference had statistically lower health care costs compared to other municipalities based on the Dartmouth Atlas, which maps health data by ZIP code.

Mike Meagher, executive director of Area Five, attended the event and said out-of-state attendees were impressed with Indiana’s dedication to making communities healthier.

“They were really excited by this movement in Indiana,” Meagher said. “And it sounded like it is unique to Indiana, and they were impressed that this gathering happened.”

Representatives of labor organizations, physicians, social service workers and hospital administrators from communities statewide all attended to discuss how their communities could create a more comprehensive health care system.

Skip Kuker, president of the Logansport Economic Development Foundation, said the event was also helpful from an economic development standpoint.

“A healthier community helps the costs a company would pay for health care,” Kuker said. “Having those statistics to prove that your community has less obesity, smoking or diabetes is good for companies looking to come in.”

Meagher said locals in attendance at the event planned to meet again to compile a list of people who should be involved in local health-care reform discussions.

“We have a good health-care system now,” Meagher said. “How do we improve upon it?”

He said members from the faith-based community, business community and educators would all be key players in community efforts.

“This is not necessarily a hospital project,” he said. “This is a project of the community.”

Jennifer Tangeman is a reporter for the Pharos-Tribune. She can be reached at 574-732-5148 or jennifer.tangeman@pharostribune.com.

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Logansport identified as health care model

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