News Release

INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana Department of Health has awarded more than $35 million in grants to help improve health outcomes in Indiana through the Health Issues and Challenges program, established by the Indiana General Assembly in 2021 with funding from the American Rescue Plan Act.

“Improving the health of Hoosiers benefits individuals, communities and businesses, and we are incredibly grateful to our state lawmakers for making Hoosiers’ health a priority,” said State Health Commissioner Kris Box, M.D., FACOG. “Being able to fund programs that are addressing some of the most pressing health concerns facing our state will position us to build community-level solutions that build a brighter and healthier future for generations to come.”

Entities were invited to apply for funding for programs to help improve health outcomes related to one or more of the following priority areas: tobacco use, food insecurity/obesity, lead exposure, hepatitis C, chronic disease and disease prevention programs, including community paramedicine and community health workers. A total of 210 applications for funding were submitted from 185 organizations, and a total of 154 awards were issued.

Priority was given to applicants that demonstrated high need and high impact in their grant proposals. Funding includes:

• $850,000 to address asthma
• More than $980,000 to address cancer prevention
• Nearly $2.7 million for cardiovascular health and diabetes
• $5.6 million for community health workers
• More than $4 million for community paramedicine
• More than $6.5 million to address hepatitis C
• Nearly $790,000 for tobacco prevention
• More than $4.2 million for lead prevention
• Nearly $9.4 million to address food insecurity and obesity issues.

The funding must be spent by Dec. 31, 2026. Additional funding will be offered in a subsequent round. Click here for a list of recipients and for more information about the program.

Visit the Indiana Department of Health at www.Statehealth.in.gov for important health and safety information or follow us on Twitter at @StateHealthIN and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/StateHealthIN.