Grant targets health issues

A grant from the state is intended to help IU Health hire more employees to address issues of infant mortality and other issues.

Indiana Department of Health awarded a $2.5 million grant to Indiana University Health Foundation and IU Health Community Health to hire additional community health workers in order to expand its Indiana WeCare program and iHEART collaborative.

“Community Health Workers are at the heart of why the WeCare and iHEART programs have shown such promising results,” said IU Health vice president of community health Nichole Wilson in a press release. “CHWs connect residents to resources and knowledge helpful for managing and preventing diabetes, managing cardiovascular disease, hypertension and supporting high-risk pregnant women and new moms.”  

The WeCare program seeks to reduce infant mortality and address “longstanding health disparities.” iHeart focuses on reducing heart disease and other cardiovascular problems by bringing together medical, research and community engagement resources.

Firm selected

The United States Department of Agriculture has selected Indianapolis firm Intelinair to receive one of its Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities grants.

Intelinair is one of 17 companies and universities that has been named part of the pilot project. The goal of the five-year effort is to “accelerate farmer adoption of camelina as a nonfood crop grown on idle acres to produce more plant-based feedstock for renewable biofuels and chemicals with low carbon intensity and no land use change while increasing carbon capture in the soil.”

“We are excited to be part of this initiative to study camelina as a plant-based feedstock for renewable biofuels alongside Global Clean Energy and its partners,” said Kevin Krieg, director of business development and project lead at Intelinair, in a press release.

Hosting conference

Indiana Chamber of Commerce and Air, Waste Management Association Indiana Chapter and Greater Indiana are partnering to host the 2023 Indiana Environmental Conference and Winter Technical Meeting on Dec. 6 and 7 in Indianapolis.

The conference will review recent breakthroughs and advancement in alternative fuel technologies. Jeff Carpenter of the United States Department of Agriculture, Nadia Gkritza of Purdue University, Inez Evans of IndyGo and Daniel O’Connor of Cummins are among the speakers scheduled to present at the conference.

It will also include the Greater Indiana 2023 Awards and Reception.

Registration is available at indianachamber.com.

Offering check-ups

Indiana Michigan Power is offering Home Energy Check-ups for income-qualified customers.

The check-up will include a walk-through of the home to identify energy-saving opportunities. Homeowners will also receive a free energy-saving kit.

To qualify, a customer must be a residential customer, use electric heat and be at 200% or below the federal poverty level.

For more information, visit electricideas.com or call (833) 566-0583.

Nominations open

Work and Learn Indiana is accepting nominations for its Impact Awards.

Award categories include Work-based Learner (intern) of the Year, Career Development Professional of the Year, Outstanding Employer of the Year, Innovative Program of the Year and Work-based Learning Supervisor of the Year. The deadline for nominations is Nov. 10.

For more information, visit workandlearnindiana.com/impact-awards.

Dungy to speak

Former Indianapolis Colts coach Tony Dungy will be the guest speaker Nov. 14 at the Indiana Chamber of Commerce’s annual awards dinner.

Dungy coached the Indianapolis Colts for seven seasons, leading them to a Super Bowl win in 2007. He now works as a football analyst for NBC.

“I couldn’t be more excited to have Coach Dungy as our keynote speaker — to have a guest of such high esteem — and the business community will benefit from his wisdom,” chamber president Kevin Brinegar said in a press release.

The event at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis will include the presentation of awards including the NextEra Energy Resources Community of the Year.

To register for the event, visit indianachamber.com/ad or call (800) 824-6885.