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Fishers health assessment: low overall infant mortality but disparities for Black mothers; falls and pregnancy-related ER visits rising
Summary
Department analysts presented a community health assessment showing Fishers performs well on many health measures (low infant mortality, high prenatal care uptake overall) but also shows disparities for Black mothers, rising fall-related injuries and increases in pregnancy-related emergency department visits.
Fishers Public Health staff presented an updated community health assessment at the April 24 meeting, highlighting generally favorable population health indicators overall but also identifying persistent disparities and several rising health signals.
Staff said Fishers' infant mortality rate was recently about 1.9 deaths per 1,000 live births, compared with a state average of 6.5 per 1,000. The presenter also reported that Black or African American mothers in Fishers were 2.3 times more likely to have lower birth-weight infants compared with white mothers in the jurisdiction, and that access to early prenatal care varied by payer and demographic group.
The assessment showed some concerning trends: fall-related emergency department presentations in Fishers have doubled over the past eight years, and pregnancy-related ER visits have tripled in the same period, the presenter said. Mental-health-related ER presentations and suicide-related visits have also risen; staff said overdose visits were down in the most recent year.
"We can look at this over static time points. It's cross-sectional data to have access to this, but I can map this out across the community to look at differences across our geographic footprint," a health department staff member said while describing the data and analytic approach.
Staff told the board they plan to use the combined quantitative data and forthcoming resident survey and focus groups to inform priorities for a 3-to-5-year improvement plan. They said targeted outreach on maternal and child health, mental health access and fall-prevention programming are likely priorities based on current signals.
Board members asked about next steps for maternal care navigation and referral pathways; staff said pregnancy testing and early touchpoints through clinic services provide an opportunity to improve referrals and care coordination.
The department said the completed assessment will be used to shape community health improvement planning and to prioritize limited resources if staffing or program reductions become necessary given the department's budget outlook.
