More than 400 people attended the Hospital Foundation of Decatur County’s gala event on Friday evening held at The Commons at Columbus.  With a theme of “Tuscany at Twilight” the event featured a variety of entertainment, and seemed to fit the advanced billing of “the social event of the season.”  The gala raised over $47,000 in support of future grants to be awarded to Decatur County Memorial Hospital by the Hospital Foundation.

 “The attendance at the event represented a 10% increase over last and speaks to the growing support that exists for our Foundation, the Hospital and its important work in our community,” said Hospital Foundation Director David Fry.  “We also attribute the event’s success to its diverse offerings, providing a unique alternative to others.”   As the area’s only black-tie optional event, the gala featured a variety of entertainment and activity, including an a capella group, “The Cheezies” from Miami University, Lion Fludd, a strolling magician from Louisville, Dave Wierhake, accordionist  and contests such as Vinko, Drop the Cork and a “Pick of the Vine” activity.  In addition, the silent auction featured dozens of items.  One section, “Tuscan Treasures” featured creatively decorated wine bottles submitted by Hospital departments and offered for sale.  The night’s only live auction item drew a $2,000 final bid.  The “Pirate Pride Package” included a number of unique items relating to the Greensburg Pirates State Championship run.

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Adolescents with psychiatric and substance use disorders can now benefit from an expansion of service at Decatur County Memorial Hospital (DCMH) in Greensburg.  The Hospital’s telemedicine connection allows DCMH to offer this vital service to the community and is one of only four sites around Indiana to do so. 

 The Indiana Division of Mental Health and Addictions deemed the areas to be underserved and as a result of a partnership with Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis, the expansion of service is possible.  The Adolescent Dual Diagnosis Clinic (ADDC) at Riley Hospital will provide treatment to adolescents (10 to 18 years old) through the DCMH partnership in the Greensburg/Decatur County area.  The program offers individualized, outpatient mental health and substance abuse treatment to adolescents with co-occurring  behavioral health and substance use disorders.  The intervention, known as the ENCOMPASS program, is an evidence based treatment which integrates individual cognitive behavior therapy, family therapy, medication treatment, and a contingency management program to reduce drug use and improve overall functioning.

According to DCMH VP of Patient Care, Diane McKinney, the program could fill a void which exists in the community.  “We are pleased to offer a much needed service locally which fits well within our mission of advancing the health and wellness of our community,” McKinney said.  “Substance use disorders impair the patient’s social, academic and family life, which ultimately can impact our entire community.”


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Decatur County Memorial Hospital (DCMH,) has completed its connection to the Indiana Health Information Exchange (IHIE), a network of more than 25,000 physicians and 90 hospitals throughout Indiana.  The connection with the statewide health IT network serves to coordinate care and improve patient outcomes.

As part of the nation’s most advanced health information exchange technology platform, DCMH connects to IHIE through the Indiana Network for Patient Care™ (INPC). The INPC is comprised of hospitals, long term care facilities and other healthcare providers throughout the state and allows physicians to securely access necessary information to make decisions critical to patient care.

“This DCMH and IHIE association will provide timely, accurate access to patient health information, when patients from hospitals and providers throughout the state arrive at DCMH,” according to Christy Norton, RHIT, Director of Health Information Management at DCMH.  “It’s exciting to have played an integral part in rolling out this partnership and now knowing our rural location is less of an issue as we continue to participate in opportunities like this.”

Connecting to the INPC makes clinical results available to other providers in their patient’s continuum of care.  Structured access to the secure information is available to healthcare facilities participating in the INPC. Making results accessible in this manner reduces the time a provider and their patient is waiting for results, and can potentially reduce the need to re-test.

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