INDIANAPOLIS (Inside Indiana Business): Indiana healthcare-focused organizations are joining forces in a statewide effort to ensure more access to health services. The Indiana Healthy Opportunities for People Everywhere, or I-HOPE, initiative is being funded by a nearly $35 million grant from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The Indiana Primary Health Care Association and the Indiana Rural Health Association are the latest organizations to join the campaign, led by the Indiana Department of Health and Purdue University.

The two-year effort will deploy teams across the state to facilitate community-level conversations, leading to strategies to address the factors that prevent people from living their healthiest lives. The program’s goal is to examine longstanding risk factors, such as chronic disease, food insecurity, and smoking, among others.

“We are confident that with increased communication across rural Indiana communities, health-related emergencies can be mitigated more efficiently,” said IRHA Project Director, Kathleen Livingston.

The collaborative will also explore how health challenges have been exacerbated by the pandemic. I-HOPE says it will support stakeholders with innovative tools aimed at building collaboration and guiding participants to action.

Click here to learn more about I-HOPE.