Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
WINONA LAKE – As Indiana’s economy hums along at an enviable clip, Gov. Eric Holcomb, in his first major appearance in Kosciusko County since being elected, focused much of his attention on two major health issues affecting Hoosiers.
Appearing at the Kosciusko Chamber of Commerce’s annual dinner, the Republican discussed a number of issues in a non-traditional manner Thursday night in front of nearly 500 people at the Manahan Orthopedic Capital Center at Grace College.
Instead of a standup keynote address, Holcomb sat for a 38-minute Q-and-A with Curtis Smith, director of community outreach for Parkview Hospital.
Early in the discussion, Holcomb took time to salute the state’s continued economic strength that’s led by a 3.7 percent jobless rate that he predicts will go even lower.
The jobless rate is better than almost all of the surrounding states. Holcomb said the state is working from a position of strength as a result of a strong credit rating and a low level of debt, and predicted the state’s good fortunes will likely continue because of a financially conservative approach.
“We have checked some of the most important boxes to be able to compete in this uber-competitive world that we find ourselves in,” Holcomb said.
But he said more focus needs to be placed on “health, wealth and smarts.”
He gave credit to previous administrations and legislators in noting that when he arrived in office, US News and World Report ranked Indiana as the “best state government in the nation.”
“Not a bad way to start your administration,” Holcomb said.
At the same time, he said the state needs to address challenges captured in several statistics – that the state has 27,000 in the state prison system with a high recidivism rate, that 475,000 residents lack a high school degree or the equivalence, and that about 712,000 people begin to work on an advanced degree but do not follow through.
But possibly the most poignant part of his discussion involved talk of the national opioid crisis that has ravaged Indiana and Kosciusko County, as well as the state’s high infant mortality rate.
He talked about a longtime friend whose son had overdosed three times, then told a story about a man who told him about his own opioid addiction – that he had been clean for six months and hopes to be alive six months from now.
“That stays with you when you look into someone’s eyes and you see that they are in that dark place and looking for hope,” Holcomb said.
He said part of the answer is cutting off the supply, but the bigger answer involves more treatment opportunities.
“We are in uncharted territory and it will absolutely require intense local involvement,” he said.
“It will require a huge commitment from the state of Indiana,” Holcomb said.
He said he is hoping the federal government will provide more money to the state to combat the problem “on the treatment side.”
Infant mortality is another issue that needs attention in Indiana, where more than 600 babies did not make it past their first birthday last year.
Holcomb noted that Indiana’s infant mortality rate is worse than all surrounding states and that it’s been a persistent problem.
He said the issue is partially a matter of education.
“We’ve been, for 50 years, kind of on this treadmill,” Holcomb said.
“We are devoting more financially, but ... we’ve got to get to the facilities that can help us inside the communities – focus like a laser beam on these specific areas,” he said.
He also tipped his hat to the local economy and the orthopedic industry.
Holcomb said Warsaw’s reputation as the orthopedic capital of the world came up during a trip to Japan.
“This is a model community that does it right,” Holcomb said.
He said communities need to continue to work on forming partnerships with the business community, schools, colleges and state governments to ensure they are assessing needs.
“We have to increasingly understand that to attract talent, we have to have vibrant communities,” Holcomb said.
