Published: December 02, 2008 12:09 am         

Collaborative effort under way to address health care worker shortage

TERRE HAUTE — Today, several community partners will announce a long-range collaborative effort aimed at addressing health care worker shortages in the Wabash Valley.

In addition, the initiative is expected to spawn neighborhood revitalization and economic development in the area near Union Hospital and Indiana State University, according to members of the Rural Health Innovation Collaborative (RHIC).

Plans for the RHIC will be announced at an 11 a.m. news conference today at the Landsbaum Center for Health Education at 1433 N. 61/2 St. The six founding members are Union Hospital and its Lugar Center for Rural Health; Indiana University School of Medicine-Terre Haute; Indiana State University; Ivy Tech Community College; the Terre Haute Economic Development Corporation; and the City of Terre Haute.

The initiative will encourage the expansion of health care businesses, create life science research opportunities, provide more health care training programs and ultimately improve access to medical care in the area.

“It’s a very exciting initiative and I think years from now, we’ll look back on Dec. 2, 2008 and realize that this was a historic day for our community,” said Steve Witt, president of the Terre Haute Economic Development Corp.

He said that in his 20-plus years of work in economic development, “I can’t recall any initiative like this where we have organizations of such significance joining forces to address some of these issues,” Witt said.

The RHIC was formally established in September, although it has been the topic of informal discussions for the past two years.

According to Witt, the discussions began because of a number of things happening in the community: the expansion of the IU Medical School presence in Terre Haute; ISU’s re-organized College of Nursing, Health and Human Services and plans for a renovated or new facility; Union Hospital’s new construction/renovation project and the ongoing work of the Lugar Center for Rural Health; as well as Ivy Tech’s growing presence in the health care field.

“All of those things have come together, and we realized we really have a tremendous potential locally to make a significant impact on the health care industry through a host of ways,” Witt said.

Anticipated results include:

n More health care professionals available to address shortages, particularly in rural areas;

n The potential for expanding health care related businesses; and

n The potential for neighborhood revitalization and economic development in the areas near ISU and Union Hospital.

The initiative will be important in helping Indiana respond to the severe health care worker shortages that it faces, particularly in more rural areas.

“This innovative partnership has the potential to help meet the growing health care work force needs in hospitals, clinics, physician practices and other settings, as well as improve access to care, especially in rural areas‚” said David R. Doerr, president and chief executive officer of Union Hospital and its Richard G. Lugar Center for Rural Health. “Patients will benefit from this initiative for years to come.”

The IU School of Medicine in Terre Haute has already begun increasing the number of medical students there.

“The IU School of Medicine-Terre Haute center has been proactive for several years in the national effort to increase the number of primary care practicing physicians and has been proactive in creating a rural medical program at the Terre Haute center to encourage graduates to return to the area after completing their training,” said Dr. Stephen B. Leapman, executive associate dean for educational affairs at the IU School of Medicine. The collaborative will strengthen those efforts, he said.

Mayor Duke Bennett enthusiastically supports the effort.

“We applaud the continued growth of our local colleges and health-care industry, especially at a time when the entire U.S. is facing a shortage of physicians and other health-care workers,” he said. “Obviously, other benefits of this collaboration will include possible neighborhood development, the creation of jobs and infrastructure improvements.”

The Rural Health Innovation Collaborative will have a significant impact on teaching, scholarship and public service at Indiana State University, said Daniel Bradley, ISU president.

Through the collaborative, ISU can strengthen long-standing community health outreach programs and plan new initiatives that will mean more real-world learning for students while also addressing state, regional and national health care needs, Bradley said.

Jeff L. Pittman, chancellor of Ivy Tech’s Wabash Valley Region, said the college sees the collaborative as a way to better meet health-care employer needs. The collaborative also will serve “as a catalyst to expand health care and life science economic development initiatives here in the Wabash Valley.”

Sue Loughlin can be reached at (812) 231-4235 or sue.loughlin@tribstar.com.