Brian Boyce
The Tribune-Star
TERRE HAUTE —
Partners in the area’s rural health initiative showed off their progress to visitors from around the Midwest Thursday.
Participants in the 2011 Indiana Rural Summit spent much of the day on the campus of Indiana State University, participating in workshops geared toward community development. Among those educational seminars was an hour-long presentation by leaders of the Rural Health Innovation Collaborative (RHIC) track, followed up that evening with a reception and tour at the Landsbaum Center for Health Education.
Sarah Snider, executive director of the RHIC, explained during Thursday’s education session that the overall mission is to improve and expand inter-professional education and deployment of future health care providers, particularly those committed to serving rural populations. And along the way, its sponsors hope to revitalize the region’s economy.
The city of Terre Haute might be urban, but it’s surrounded by a 70-mile radius of rural communities, many with populations between 1,000 and 5,000 people, she said. The RHIC is thus an urban-rural partnership which carries the potential to not only increase health care access, but boost the number of medical jobs and subsequently support local economies.
In terms of health care education, the interdisciplinary approach seeks to break down the “silos” in which professionals are sometimes trained, matching nursing students with future physicians, therapists and technicians.
The relatively young group was formally incorporated in December of 2009, but its origins date back about four years, she said. Beginning with six partners in 2009, the group now contains 10, ranging from the Indiana University School of Medicine and ISU to the Vermillion-Parke Community Health Center and Terre Haute Economic Development Corporation.
In just two years, the number of medical school students in Terre Haute has increased from 32 to 68, and those benefits will carry forward as more health care professionals are trained to work in rural areas, she said.
Meanwhile, the 270-acre zone existing roughly between the ISU campus and Union Hospital has been slated an “RHIC District,” the goal of which has been described as “A learn, live, work, play neighborhood that encourages innovation and collaboration,” she said.
The neighborhoods in between those two institutions are diverse in their holdings, ranging from upscale homes to urban blight, Kevin Runion explained.
Runion, the associate vice-president for facilities management at ISU, said the district’s goal is to create a vibrant community center near the city’s heart.
“I think one thing people have to realize is that this is still a work in progress,” he said of the district’s plan, pointing out the project is roughly 24 months old.
Still, the group is very action-oriented, and Runion said they’re preparing to take their plan to the Terre Haute City Council early next year for approval. Displaying maps and overviews, he ran through the district’s seven initiatives, including its goal of increasing mobility within the area. The concern for ease of transportation has resulted in an emphasis on “gateways” and larger, easily developable blocks of land, he said. The group also hopes to see an extension of the “Seventh Street Arts Corridor” north through the district.
“Terre Haute is a very blessed community,” he said, pointing out its proximity to the Wabash River and U.S. 40. Community plans created for Collett Park, ISU, Union Hospital and downtown Terre Haute have all been taken into consideration for the RHIC, he said, adding, “We want to make sure this is a working document.”
Brian Boyce can be reached at 812-231-4253 or brian.boyce@tribstar.com.
