On Feb. 8, the Kosciusko Leadership Academy cadets heard from three presenters on health care in Kosciusko County.
The presenters included Jae Dale, CEO of Kosciusko Community Hospital; Kurt Carlson, CEO of the Bowen Center; and Tony Doyle, manager of Lutheran EMS.
Dale gave an update on KCH. KCH has provided $6,509,000 in taxes to the community and $26,500,000 to local charities. The major initiatives for 2022 are enhancing technical services, surgical robot, cardiac Cath lab and Telehealth services, according to a news release from KLA. KCH is also continuing remodeling and updating signage for the facility. KCH has been working on patient experience and Google reviews show an average rating of 4.4 out of 5 stars. The urgent care rating is 4.6 stars. Dale believes these results reflect great accomplishment in the effort to continually improve service quality and patient experience.
Carlson spoke on the history of mental health treatment in the country and state including treatment options and funding for mental health centers. The Bowen Center has become one of the largest mental health centers in the state and a leader in mental health since its founding in 1971, employing more than 850 individuals across multiple locations.
Doyle presented the history and accomplishments of the Lutheran EMS system in Kosciusko County. Since its start in 1977, Lutheran EMS has gone through many expansions including becoming a paramedic service in 1986 and becoming Multi-Township EMS service in 2006. In 2015, Lutheran Health Network bought Multi-Township EMS, and in 2021 the total EMS calls in Kosciusko County were over 12,000.
The next KLA session will cover planning for the future of Kosciusko County at Warsaw Municipal Airport on Feb. 22.
KLA is in its 40th year of service to the county. As an independent 501-3(c) organization, KLA conducts biweekly morning sessions around the county to expose leaders to a wide variety of local topics and experts.
The annual whitepaper projects have yielded many benefits to the citizens of Kosciusko County. For more information, visit www.kocsciuskoleadership.org.
