Officials from Bowen (referred to in the meeting as Bowen/Bowen Health) presented an overview of services, facility openings and financial challenges to the Kosciusko County Commissioners, describing how county funds would support continuity of care between community mental health center (CMHC) services and federally qualified health center (FQHC) services.

Dr. Rob Ryan, president and CEO at Bowen, said the agency has emphasized "transparency, collaboration with the communities in which we serve," and introduced staff who oversee operations and community engagement.

Bowen representatives told commissioners that a new clinic building is under construction and planned to open Sept. 8; they also described a transitional living facility and an inpatient hospital in Pearson that supplement outpatient care. Mark Roller, executive director, and Mike Murphy, director of community engagement, described how the CMHC services feed into the FQHC operation, how crisis receiving services and transport are used to stabilize patients and how the organization uses sliding-fee discounts.

According to the presentation, Bowen provided roughly $350,000 in sliding-fee discounts to Kosciusko residents and wrote off roughly $450,000 in uncompensated care. Presenters said the transitional living facilities operate about $1,500,000 "in the red" and the inpatient hospital about $2,500,000 in the red; Bowen said it remains committed to those services despite operating deficits.

Presenters noted that county dollars do not count toward FQHC operations but said CMHC support strengthens continuity of care: crisis response, therapy and skill services (Medicaid rehabilitation option), and connections to psychiatric and dental services in the new clinic.

Why it matters: expansions such as the new clinic and transitional living facilities affect local access to mental health, crisis and dental services; Bowen's reported deficits indicate the organization relies on a mix of grants, reimbursements and community support to sustain those services.

Discussion vs. decision: this was a presentation and informational briefing; the transcript records no county votes on Bowen's budget figures during the meeting. A separate memorandum of understanding between the health department and LiveWell Kosciusko was approved earlier in the meeting.