News & Updates

More than $717,000 in 2025 Health First Indiana funding is helping Huntington County residents live healthier lives.

Health First Indiana (HFI) connects the Indiana Department of Health (IDOH) with local health departments to deliver essential public health services at the county level. Funding supports objectives such as chronic disease prevention, access to care, food protection, injury prevention, maternal and child health, and infectious disease control.

State Health Commissioner Lindsay Weaver and her team visited Huntington on October 30 to see firsthand how HFI is making an impact locally.

One such success story is the Council on Aging’s Huntington Area Transportation (HAT), where daily rides have more than doubled over two years with HFI funding. About three out of every four rides transport county residents for a medical appointment or related clinical care, Council on Aging Executive Director Jessica Huscher explained.

Today, HAT provides nearly 100 low-cost rides each day for residents who lack reliable transportation.

“It’s phenomenal compared to what they were doing two years ago before HFI,” Brian Trueblood, public health administrator for the Huntington County Health Department, said about how it’s bolstered residents’ ability to access treatment and care.

The County Health Department also partners with the Indiana Family Care Center (IFCC) in Huntington to boost services and care for infants and mothers. IFCC Director of Operations Chad Kippert shared the story of one young mother in crisis who now is thriving thanks to the center’s support and instruction.

Not only was IFCC able to provide diapers, wipes and supplies to help meet the mother and her baby’s immediate needs, but the center’s prenatal support and parenting classes helped set her on the right track to finish her education, Kippert shared.

HFI funding also supports partnerships with several community organizations addressing health and safety from early childhood through adulthood:

• United With Love improves maternal and infant health through food and nutrition programs.
• Youth Services Bureau provides suicide prevention and 24/7 crisis response.
• Pathfinder Early Learning Center offers immunizations and lead testing for preschoolers.
• Boys & Girls Club teaches youth about tobacco and drug prevention.
• Sprout by 5 educates parents on asthma symptoms and home safety.
• Huntington County Community Schools provide mobile dental exams and vaccination programs to ensure access to routine childhood immunizations and boosters.

According to IDOH data, Huntington County still faces challenges in three key areas: smoking during pregnancy, opioid use and childhood asthma. HFI funding backs additional county initiatives working toward community health solutions.

“Those are three areas where we are really behind in when you look at the rest of the state,” Trueblood, the county Health Department’s public health administrator, said.

• In 2022, 11.8 percent of county residents smoked during pregnancy, compared to 6.6% statewide and 3.7% nationally.
• Drug overdose deaths have fallen steadily – from 21 in 2021 to four in 2023, with early 2024–2025 data showing continued decline.
• Childhood asthma affects about 12% of local children, significantly higher than the state average (8.2%). Among Huntington County children, nearly one in three emergency room visits for asthma results in overnight hospitalization.