The Monroe County Health Department is exploring ways to continue providing key health services after Indiana University Health terminated a 60-year partnership with the county.
IU Health notified the board of its decision in August. The contract goes through the end of 2025.
Services provided, which are required by state law, include vaccinations and communicable disease education. At Thursday’s county board of health meeting, officials discussed potential solutions on how to provide these services in 2026 and beyond.
At the meeting, Aurora Diorio, research assistant at IU’s School of Public Health, said she plans to ask for one new staff position, a public health nurse, that would help with work including communicable disease case investigations and scheduling vaccine clinics. She will also request to revise two positions.
“If we have a surge of disease and they need more help, we'll have people already trained and it's in their job description, or if that lead person gets sick or goes on vacation, we'll have people that can step in,” Diorio said.
For those who aren’t trained in basic epidemiology, Diorio said she will have to spend extra time doing that training.
“Once we get them, just like our disease intervention specialists (DIS), our DIS come to us with all different backgrounds, some of them no medical background, you know, degrees in psychology, degrees in business,” she said. “We spend the time training them in epidemiology. We train them how to do venipuncture.”
IU Health declined an interview request but said in a statement that it’s willing to work with the county health department to ensure a smooth transition.
“IU Health will continue to focus on our health system and community health need priorities,” the statement said.
