Dubois County Community Services

The Dubois County Board of Commissioners met on Tuesday morning with an agenda reflective of the county’s focus on community services. To begin, the board gave an update that they are pursuing quotes to obtain upgrades to the current audio and video using in streaming county meetings. This will allow recordings to be higher quality and county residents will have improved access to county meetings. Steve Berg then presented the highway reports, and additional funds were appropriated for highway paving projects. 

Dr. Beth Keeney, CEO Life Springs Health Systems, provided an exciting update on some new healthcare services in Dubois County. Life Spring’s corporate footprint extends through 11 southern Indiana counties. Its Dubois County location provides comprehensive behavioral health care, substance abuse care, and primary care. The new Hope Center is being constructed next to an existing satellite office in Jasper, and they expect to be accepting patients in the next 4-5 weeks. There, patients can come in to do a residential stay for a medically managed detox as well as crisis care. 

Dr. Keeney explained that there are 3 pillars of crisis care: a person to call, a person to respond, and a place to go. To provide these, they have a call center and the ability to connect people to licensed clinicians. Usually, these call center interactions are able to defer about 80% of calls away from emergency services and hospitalizations. Life Springs also has a new mobile unit available for opioid use disorder treatment. It is equipped for treatment and allows patients that ability to meet with a nurse practitioner and receive treatment and medication, providing access to care close to home. Patients are charged on a sliding scale based on income, sometimes with visits as low as $5. The goal is to be able to provide accessible, affordable care to everyone in need. 

Shawn Werner received approval for the Health Department to sign a contract for interpretation services for their phone line, as the need for these services has sharply increased. The board will be reviewing the contract to gauge interest in utilizing the system county-wide. 

Additionally, the Commissioners approved the request for Courthouse Security Employee Training to be held June 11-12 training at the Parklands and July 12 at the Courthouse. This will include security training refreshers followed by an active shooter drill. The Courthouse will be closed to the public beginning 1:30 pm on July 12. Related to courthouse safety, Ordinance 2024-03 was approved for security procedures at the County Courthouse and Annex. This clarifies that any person entering these locations must consent to a search of their person or personal property for deadly weapons, if requested, before gaining entry to the location. 

 For more information on these and other updates, visit duboiscountyin.org/government 

- By Drew Hasselbring