A Healthier Heartland

By Cameual Wright, MD, MBA, Chief Medical Officer for CareSource Indiana Indiana’s mix of urban and rural communities provides a good opportunity to understand how interconnected our state’s health care landscape really is. No community is an island, and the ups and downs of one have more of an impact elsewhere than we may initially think. Accordingly, working collaboratively to promote preventative care and increase access in one area can help create healthier communities everywhere. One of the most pressing issues in Indiana’s rural health care systems is a shortage of health care providers. Primary care physicians, specialists and mental health professionals are often scarce in rural areas, leading to disparities in access to critical services and lower health outcomes than in urban areas. Research has found that more than two million Hoosiers live in areas that the federal government has designated as having a shortage of primary care providers. Additionally, 23.9% of Indiana’s counties are classified as maternal health care “deserts,” meaning places where women do not have access to even the most basic obstetric care. As a nonprofit managed care organization, CareSource is committed to doing our part to help address these problems, including with increased community outreach,...