Gail Riecken Comments About Ivy Tech Not Being Included In New IU Medical School Project

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CCO State House Editor Gail Riecken Writes About “Rest Of The Story”

Senator Kenley, one of the most influential members on the Appropriations Committee officially retired from the State Senate on September 30,2017

Recently Victoria Spartz, Noblesville, was formally sworn in as the new State Senator to replace him. From what I have read about Senator Spartz she will be a dedicated member of the Indiana State Senate.

Allow me to take advantage of this opportunity to talk about one legislative decision that State Senator Kenley made during his final years in office.

i will use this as an example of what can trigger a position with a legislator that is often not public and maybe not specific to the issue. We could call it “the rest of the story”.

I am speaking of Senator Kenley’s decision that he made a few years ago that punished Ivy Tech statewide, for not resolving some internal leadership problems that he had with the school. As an influential member of the State Senate Appropriations Committee he decided to oppose any new funding for capital improvements for Ivy Tech during a two year budget cycle, until the issues of low graduation and poor job placement rates were resolved to his satisfaction.

This decision not only hurt Ivy Tech statewide, but particularly hurt us in Evansville.  Ivy Tech-Evansville lost it’s funding to be an important part of the new IU Medical School-Evansville project, as originally proposed by the State legislator.  In fact, because Ivy Tech-Evansville was being touted as a crucial component to the approval of the newly proposed IU Medical School-Evansville it helped to justify the spending of $55 million dollars of local tax dollars to bring this project to Evansville.

it shall always be interesting to me just how frustrated the Senator must have felt to let the failings of Ivy Tech statewide potentially hurt the future of so many Ivy Tech-Evansville  medical students. I will admit, though, I did see his frustration, when visiting with him to confirm his intentions.

Maybe you have heard the saying that bill making is like sausage making. It is messy and often unappetizing to watch. But, understand, that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t know what’s in the sausage.

There were often reasons behind decisions that were made in the legislature, when I was there, that weren’t privy to all of us. As a legislator it served you well to find out what they were. And, the Ivy Tech matter, it is just one I was thinking of when reading about the State Senator Spartz appointment.

Gail Riecken

CCO State House Editor

Editor Footnote:  Today’s “Readers Poll” question is: Do you feel that IVY TECH medical students should be allowed to be a part of the new IU Medical school-Evansville?

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2 COMMENTS

  1. The sad part of that whole story was:
    1. State wide Ivy Tech graduation rates were ?~ <50%, while Evansville Ivy Tech medical job students were at ~80+ %
    2. The driving reason for putting to Ivy Tech med students the same building with UE nurses & PAs, USI nurses, & IUMS pre-docs was to drive home early from the very first day the concept of "Team Care", where the patient gets the input of ALL who take care of them. It provides care plans where everyone has say in how to make each sick person better
    3, I fear that because the situation has gone on for so long that the much needed structural addition to present downtown medical building will NEVER have Ivy Tech's presence …which it is stupid not to.

    • To HDA-
      There is no doubt local personal political agendas pushed construction, when waiting for another budget year would have provided monies for invaluable training in the “team approach” that gives students and ultimately patients rewards. All IU had to do was wait.

      When I heard that Ivy Tech was not recommending the school in its top seven capital improvements the next budget round, I called the new President of Ivy Tech. She said because of the extreme need in deferred maintenance at other facilities, construction here was not a priority.
      No local politician or state elected of the political party that could make a difference exerted influence. I am sure it is because it wasn’t politically important any longer.
      Yes, sad, HDA, but the main reason we need to support an end to gerrymandering. The people were not represented.

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