Mark Groeller, Bowen Health executive director, speaks to the Kosciusko County Commissioners about Bowen’s services. Photo by David Slone, Times-Union.

By David Slone
Times-Union

KOSCIUSKO COUNTY — For calendar year 2025, Kosciusko County funded Bowen Health with $809,558, as required by state statute. Tuesday, July 1, Bowen Health President and CEO Dr. Rob Ryan and his team updated the Kosciusko County Commissioners on the organization.

“Something I championed as long as I’ve been with Bowen, but we’ve really emphasized since I’ve been the leader, is transparency, collaboration with the communities in which we serve and really making sure that we’re transparent in an attempt to make Kosciusko County a healthier community to live in and to work in,” he said. Ryan has been with Bowen for 22 years, three as CEO and president.

Bowen Health Chief Operating Officer Shannon Hannon acknowledged there’s always a formal request that comes before the commissioners around dollars being invested into the mental health services in the county. She said the commissioners received a letter in June from Bowen Health Chief Financial Officer Jay Baumgartner about that funding. According to a flyer provided at the meeting by Bowen, for fiscal year 2024 in Kosciusko County, there were 358 total employees; 7,363 patients were served; 90,621 services were provided; and 30,914 skills coaching services were provided.It also provides information on the Bowen Health financial report for July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2024.

Total funding revenue was $167,442,783. Uncollectibles totaled over $37 million, leaving total funds available at $129,445,062. Total funds utilized were $129,445,062.

“But we want to make sure that we’re spending some time talking about what those dollars are being invested in,” she said. “You’ve likely seen the construction projects going on, and I’ve invited Mark Groeller, executive director … to talk about those things specifically. You’ve heard us come before you, talking about planning and saving to get ready for these projects, and the time has come for us to give you those details specific with opening dates and expanded services offerings.”

Groeller said for Kosciusko County particularly, on the CMAC side, there’s the medicated rehabilitation option services, including therapy and skilled services. About 31,000 hours of those services have been provided to members of Kosciusko County, many of whom are students in local schools. “They get into the Bowen system. Identify their needs that they may have, therapy. And then they may enter into the federally qualified health center realm of services, some personal psychiatric care, perhaps. And soon, dental. We are beginning to offer dental in the lovely new building that’s under construction, to open on Sept. 8,” he said.

Also under construction under the CMAC umbrella is Bowen’s transitional living facility.

“Really important thing to round out the continuity of care for our patients to get them back on their feet, to get them the skills they have to be successful in our society and in our community,” Groeller said. He pointed out Bowen’s in-patient hospital in Pierceton.

“This, again, really supplements our entire umbrella of services, if someone does have an urgent need, in a psychiatric crisis. We have the opportunity to put them in that facility,” Groeller said.

Next, he talked about Bowen’s Crisis Receiving Services. “I also recognize that the Crisis Receiving Unit at our Pierceton facility is largely grant funded right now. Going forward, we’re unsure what that looks like, so there are opportunities for funding there, but currently at each one of our clinics, we can receive patients in crisis. We spend time with them to talk about what’s next, to get them out of crisis, to connect them with services. They may end up at the Crisis Receiving Unit in Pierceton, but point being is, we need the patients where they’re at in our clinics. We transport patients, we’ll help them with food, just to get them back under control. This is uncompensated things, things that we’re proud to do. Just taking a holistic approach at our patients,” Groeller explained.

For any services at Bowen Health, he said they offer a sliding fee discount program. They do offer some reduced fees. Groeller said Bowen provided roughly $350,000 to Kosciusko residents as part of the sliding fee discount program. “For those folks who have patient responsibility left, that may not have the ability to pay that patient responsibility, Bowen has provided roughly $450,000 uncompensated care. Those are the ones that get written off,” Groeller said.

The CMAC side of things are “very important” to the overall offering in continuity care of Bowen Health, he said. “Those do not operate at the break even point. We’re roughly $1.5 million in the red on the transitional living facilities,” he stated. “Nonetheless, the organization remains committed to building facilities we can be proud of as community members, facilities that really help their patients and people that stay there, get a leg up and feel proud of where they’re going and their accomplishments.”

Bowen’s in-patient hospital also is a very costly facility to run, Groeller acknowledged. They’re roughly $2.5 million in the red running that facility, but Groeller said Bowen remains committed to that overhaul continuity of care between all of its patient services and “taking a look at the whole patient and trying to meet them where they’re at.”

Groeller said Bowen, going forward, is really excited about the ability to continue to be the designated CMAC for Kosciusko County.