Indiana health leaders say Hoosiers need to be healthier to keep the state’s economy humming.
Chuck Gillespie heads the Wellness Council of Indiana, a nonprofit owned by the Indiana Chamber. He says health care costs are second only to payroll for most companies — and more companies are looking at health rankings when they decide where to locate. In most of those rankings, from smoking rates to infant mortality, Indiana’s near the bottom.
The Indiana State Department of Health’s INShape Indiana program will launch a campaign next month linked to Indiana’s Bicentennial, with 200 ways to get healthier. And Gillespie says local health groups can tailor recommendations to their regions — hilly southern Indiana might put more emphasis on hiking and biking, while counties along Lake Michigan might stress swimming and other water activities.
But state health commissioner Jerome Adams says when it comes to specific health policies like a stronger workplace smoking ban, it’s business leaders who will carry the most weight at the statehouse.
Adams and Gillespie spoke at an Indianapolis “Health Means Business” conference sponsored by the Indiana and U-S Chambers. It’s the latest in a string of nine health forums the U-S Chamber began last summer.