Indiana is putting $30 million of its federal rural health grant toward improving emergency room care for mothers and children as the state continues its mission to reduce high maternal and infant mortality rates.
The money is just one piece of the $207 million the state received from the Rural Health Transformation Program, which was created by President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act as a way to counteract the fiscal impacts of the law’s reduction in Medicaid spending for rural hospitals.
The focus on pediatrics and obstetrics come as Indiana looks to maintain progress on lowering its infant and maternal mortality rates. Indiana saw a historic low for infant mortality rates in 2025 at 6.3 deaths per 1,000 live births, though this number was still higher than the national average. Indiana’s maternal mortality rate is among the worst in the country, according to National Center for Health Statistics data from 2019-2023, at 31.4 deaths per 100,000 live births.
The Indiana Department of Health and Indiana University School of Medicine, according to an IDOH news release, will use the $30 million to provide hospitals with updated equipment and train ER health care providers treating children and mothers over five years.“Better rural healthcare infrastructure is essential to ensuring that every Hoosier has access to the care they need,” Gov. Mike Braun said in a news release about the program. “This groundbreaking initiative will strengthen maternal and pediatric care in rural emergency departments across the state.”Coined “OPEration Ready” – a nod to its focus on obstetrics, pediatrics and the ER – the program leans on research showing that pediatric readiness can prevent more than a quarter of child deaths in emergency rooms, according to the news release. It will build upon efforts started by the Indiana Emergency Medical Services for Children, which already administers the National Pediatric Readiness Project assessment to ensure Indiana hospitals are prepared to deliver care to children regardless of the hospital’s resources.The new program will be led by the program director for the Indiana Emergency Medical Services for Children, Dr. Lindsey Haut; IU School of Medicine professor Dr. Erin Cleary; and Nathan Alves, interim vice chair of research for the school’s emergency medicine department.
The IU School of Medicine will receive $11.2 million for the initiative’s first year.
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This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana to use Trump rural health grant to reduce mortality for mothers and children
Reporting by Marissa Meador, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Marissa Meador, Indianapolis Star | USA TODAY Network
