But if you really start telling those stories and figuring out what makes your best self health possible and what's important to you, I think that's the difference. I think there's so much opportunity. There is a push into elevating the patient experience at like any provider. Other people can help us. We choose not to ask or allow it. What are the other actions that have to happen for Hancock County to become the healthiest county in Indiana?
From South Bend to Evansville and everywhere in between, this is Get In, the show focused on the Who's Your State and the incredible stories happening here today. I'm Nate Spangle, founder of Get Indiana, and I will be your host for today's conversation. Before we get into the episode, let me tell you about my friends at Pence Media Group. Every organization has a story to tell, but getting the right people to hear it takes more than great ideas. It takes strategy, creativity, and a team that knows how to bring it all together. That's where Pence Media Group comes in.
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com. pence media. Consider it done with PMG. Now, let's get into the episode. My guest today is Jen Wells and she is the assistant vice president of customer experience and brand strategy at Hancock Health. Her work focuses on the customer journey, brand storytelling, marketing, digital experience, and virtual care.
all in service of Hancock County and East Central Indiana. She's a proud Butler University graduate. Jen began her marketing career at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and joined Hancock Health as a director of marketing in 2015. She also hosts Just Jen, a Hancock Health podcast that creates more open conversations about women's health. Today we're going to be talking about how we can make healthc care feel human, starting conversations that women in Indiana need, and how the the team at Hancock Health is working to build a healthier Indiana. Jen, welcome to Get In.
Thanks. I am uh I'm pumped for this one. Oh, good. I mean, it's not often we get a fellow podcast host in the studio uh on on the other side of the microphone. So, I'm really excited to dive into I mean, what I'm what I'm curious about kind of just starting out is how does someone end up starting a career in motorsports and then 10 years later end up pivoting to healthcare? In my eyes, from the outside looking in, those aren't necessarily the direct uh straightest pathway.
No, no, they are not. And I frequently ask myself that question too. But um so yeah, I started in motorsports um and I loved it. And there is no experience like starting your career in motorsports. I mean people, experiences, travel, I mean everything. So I was there oh my gosh 6 years or so.
The literally I mean 6 years putting on the largest sporting event in the world. Yes. So um I actually had an internship before I started. So the first Brickyard 400 was in '94. Yes. I was there and it was just Did you Did you see behind you?
Uh I did not. Oh yeah. Uh that's OG vintage. That is OG vintage. But I was there. That shows you how old I am.
Not that not that OG. Not that vintage, but that is the front page from uh when when Jeff Gordon won the Brickyard. Yeah. And my last day at the track by choice and conversation was the first F1 race in 2000. When I pulled out of Yeah. When I Time to get out.
When I pulled out of there, it was the end of that race. So um and I just thought, what else is there to do? So, I also spent um quite a few years in retail. So, I traveled a lot um until I was in my late 30s and you just kind of get tired of traveling. It wears on you. And so, then you joined Hancock Health as the director of marketing.
Yeah, I took some time and did a few other things. Um and then I finally decided, how am I going to stay home a little bit more and enjoy Indiana? I always said I was going to leave, but I never did because it's such a great place to be. So, um, I took a about six months off to try and figure things out and I ended up in healthcare, which is an interesting industry. Um, well, this is what's interesting to me is that like I don't know, marketing around healthcare is so because you're cuz it's like you're trying to get people in through the door, but you're also worried about quality and like for me it's just like I go to whatever facility is the closest. Like I I'm a very bad healthcare buyer if I ever buy health like again buy it.
If you buy it if I if I like go I I'm bad. I don't go nearly enough. I like hit the dentist once or twice a year and I go to to get my annual eye appointment for contacts. But that's out of necessity cuz I'm blind without them. But I'm not like a good and I would say a lot of I'm 29. A lot of 29 late 20s males do not go to like a primary care doctor nearly enough.
And once like sports ended where you had your annual physical, it's like you're in no man's land of healthare. So it's curious to me of like when you think about marketing for healthare like what are the priorities and topics that you're focused on? To your point, healthcare is seen as something you just have to do. Well, it really is a commodity and you really have to study consumer behaviors just like you did in motorsports. I mean, how you go to the doctor or don't go to the doctor isn't that uncommon. It It's really not.
And we have to educate and talk to people in in the space that they're in because you can't fit into the health care box. I mean, everyone wants you to because you should get your in your physical, you should get your flu shot, you should get your mammograms, your colonoscopies, all of those things are a checklist and it almost becomes robotic. And until we understand why or who you are and why you don't go, you're never going to come until something bad happens. And then we're like, crap. I'm like a I'm a reactive healthcare buyer. Many are.
If it if it hurts enough like after a long enough time, then I'll go check it out. If not, I'm like, "Yeah, whatever. It's just I'm just part of growing up, I suppose." Which is I feel like a lot of people are that way. You're absolutely right. And it's not just 29year-old males.
Um I have younger 20year-old daughters that feel the same way. And my husband is a nurse and he's not very good at going to the doctor either. and he's in his late 40s. But I think that's why one of the reasons we started the podcast that we did is people just were they're ignoring it, afraid to ask, afraid to have the right answer, didn't want the answer cuz they're like, I don't really want to deal with that cuz what if something's wrong? I'm just going to ignore it long enough. And you know, women are in general, I'm going to say this, um the primary caregivers and the ones that make those decisions.
So, if we can start educating them a little bit more, then maybe they'll convince you to go or maybe they'll they'll take their kids and but the all of it boils down to none of us really want to you're either a hypochondric and I love I have a really good friend that is I love her dearly or you're like eh healthcare when I need it I'll take care of it and then it gets a little too late and that that's the problem. And I think again understanding the why behind we think that way. Hey, I also have a I studied a lot of sociology. So, same in motorsports. Why does someone like F1 versus Indie car versus NASCAR? Well, there's something about it.
What makes it different? I kind of tried to put that to use in healthcare and it's not been the easiest journey I've ever had, but um I think everyone in healthcare is starting to make that difference and and that's huge. Yeah. Like how do you see marketing setting apart uh an or a healthcare organization? Like I think that uh you see that like you see logos for lots of different uh healthcare organizations around but like other than just like billboards and whatnot like how are how are you thinking about marketing campaigns and telling the story and you know convincing people and like is it convincing people to come to Hancock Health or convincing people to just go out there and you know see whoever their caregiver is? Well, of course I want you to come see Hancock Health.
That's I mean that's obviously my primary goal. Um, so I do also work in the experience bucket um, with all the things I do. And one of our taglines is making your best health possible. Your best health is different than my best health is different than my kid's best health, which is different than the grocery store person you just saw, uh, you know, scanning your groceries. Everyone's best health is different. And if we start to tell those stories, um I don't think it's always just a billboard.
I think I think we have to do billboards because the world thinks we have to do billboards. We have to do print ads. But if you really start telling those stories and figuring out what makes your best health possible and what's important to you, I think that's the difference. This is my issue. I'm going to say issue fine. My issue with healthcare is that like I just went so many years in a row and it was 15 minutes and they're like you're healthy and it's like well it's it's a sliding scale.
So it's like if I were to walk out of there today as a 29-year-old with like I don't know even like three tips Yeah about like how I could be even better. It's like, "Hey, we noticed XYZ thing." You know, like I think literally I think the last time I went to my doctor, I don't know how many years ago it was, but he said, "You're really healthy. The number one the number one thing to focus on, don't do things while you're tired." He's like, "This is how you're going to get if you're like, "Don't drive when you're tired." Like I walked out of there being like what?
Like that's the that's the riveting advice that I'm getting. Which is why I think and I'm going to I'm going to go on a tangent for a second. No, you're good. Uh, which is why I think the rise of like um like privatized like you know go to my cold plunge and my contrast therapy and this and that and like you know you see Joe Rogan doing a full dialysis and like doing all like cuz it's not it's like how do I become better versus how do I just like go in there get told that I'm fine and then one year you're going to show up and not be fine. You know what I'm saying? I never felt like my doctor was necessarily giving me advice to be better.
It was just like, okay, just keep doing what you're doing. Y and I'm like not the pinnacle of peak health here, you know? Like I think some of that is honestly generational. I mean, I think because I said so and I told you and and I teach this in classes where I am from a generation. Well, because I said so, so you do it. But the young the more providers and doctors that we get that are from a younger generation that had that same experience, they're going to change that because they're like, I got into this role to help people, not just to say, oh, check a box.
You you you checked all your boxes. You're fairly healthy. Go ahead. You're probably not going to die this year. Like, you're in good shape, you know? So, I think some of that is also not only telling the story um about the patients, but we have to tell stories about our providers.
You have to make them people and you have to make them real. And I think the majority of the world doesn't think healthcare or providers are real. So you're like, "Well, I'm just going to go. They're going to check a box and everything's going to be fine." But if I put a person in front of you that was like, you know, in general on paper, you're looking pretty good, but let's talk about, you know, how you sleeping. I think it's a conversation that no one is having.
Okay. You want to hear something crazy? I grew up in rural Indiana, 1500 people, like small town. Yep. And like it did not click with me until I went to college just from my family. It was like our local family doctor knew like in my eyes knew everything.
Oh. And then I like one day it just clicked. It was like well you graduate from medical school. There's a top of the class and a bottom of the class like like you know like just like these are not omnisient beings that know everything about everything. So like you could walk in there and and like they might have seen this before cuz they've been again he was like the family doctor in this small town for like a lot of like he was he was old when my grandparents were young, you know? Like it's a crazy story but it's like you know he's been doing a long time.
He's probably seen a lot of things. like no discredit there, but like there's levels, you know, and there's like people that graduate from Harvard and go work at the Mayo Clinic and then there's people that like maybe just barely skated through medical school and they still have a job somewhere. And so it was like learning that not every doctor knows everything about everything and like getting second opinions or like just asking questions and and I don't think that registered for me growing up in rural America. I just assume whatever doctor you go to knows everything and like if they don't tell you it like you must be fine. The questions that we have, we just assume that they know or should know and when they don't bring it up they're like maybe I shouldn't say anything or you know let's be honest not all medical topics are something you want to talk about. They're embarrassing or you're like I'm I can't possibly say that to a perfect stranger or I don't even want to say it to my mom or my best friend.
So all of those things come into play. So then we just continue down this path of checking a box and being okay I guess I'm fine and then you don't want to go cuz your experience sucked. Yeah. It's like it's a good thing I love football because like hearing about what was going to happen when you go to your first athletic physical I was out. I was like no chance I'm ever doing this. No way.
Like they go it won't be bad. I'm like won't be bad. This sounds terrible. And I was just thinking like dude this is the end. My football career is over. like no chance I go in there and they'll turn your head and cough.
No chance. And you don't want to have that like did you really want to go home and ask, "Okay, hey, is this really going to happen?" You're not going to ask that question. And like your parents like like they have to brief you about what you're going into, but like they don't want to have that conversation. Like it's just all around a very uncomfortable topic or just uncomfortable conversations to have. Yes.
So then you get older and things start going different ways and you need to do more of that stuff and you're like, "Oh my god, first of all, I'm I cannot talk about, you know, whether I need a prostate exam or if you're in menopause, why why, you know, I'm having a hot flash and feel like I'm on like and those are very high level not embarrassing conversations." There are embarrassing conversations that we can have on Just Jen because everyone's like, "Am I the only one?" No, surely to god no one else is going through this because we don't talk about it and then you're like how am I supposed to say xyz? Yeah. He's like I just imagine okay I have a group of 10 uh of my college friends. Yeah.
And it's like we're all 29. We're turning 30 this year but it's like a decade from now. It's like I I cannot see us all like sitting around drinking beers and like Yeah. How's your annual prostate? Like no chance. But that is you're right.
That is that is the norm. That is society. But if at one point in time someone has a question like, "Oh my god, a question." A you like that? Yeah, we have those, too. People ask me those.
Um, and you you're not comfortable enough with your 10 best friends to say, "Listen, I I think something's going on and I probably should talk about it." Which I'm not saying you should, but if you can't say that to them, Yeah. you're just going to keep it inside and then when it's finally too late cuz you're like, "Hey, is this normal? Do you have this?" And everyone's like, "Uh, no." Or, "No, bro.
Get that checked out." But here's the thing. I bet the majority of them were like, "Hell yes." And I was afraid to say anything because we're just not there yet. And I think that's I think that's the biggest well there's a lot of challenges with healthcare industry but one of the biggest challenges from from my seat and getting people to take care of themselves is to change those taboo uncomfortable topics. They're still going to be uncomfortable.
Let's not I mean you really don't want to have the conversation about the birds and the bees with your child either. I mean that's an uncomfortable topic and people just don't do it. But when you do and it becomes a conversation that your kid is like, "Oh my god, I just had to talk about that with my parents." But did it help? Maybe. Cuz do you want them to learn about it on TikTok these days?
I personally don't. I mean, I'm just going to say that. Do you have advice for people that might be out there listening and like have an underlying uncomfortable medical issue that like how do you make it is there a way to make it any less awkward? Is there advice? Is there like someone to talk to or like a way? Is there a resource out there?
Cuz I feel like a lot of people end up on Reddit. If you straight up Google it, you're going to find out you have cancer. Oh, yeah. You have a brain tumor. Everything leads to that. So, I write a blog.
Well, I've written a lot of blogs on this, but I'm always like, if you are googling at 2 a. m. , please stop. Just don't don't because you're going to die tomorrow at about 3 p. m. I mean, that's just you're not going to make it 24 hours.
No. So I think one of the things there are good there are multiple resources out there. You know the Mayo Clinic um Hancock actually has a collaboration with the Mayo Clinic. So um we have a lot of resources but you can sometimes it seems like those type of things are so dense and and that is no one talks to me like a human being. They're talking to me like that is the problem in science terms. So we go to WebMD, we go to Mayo Clinic.
WebMD is not the move. No. So, you do all this, but then when you finally find a good resource, you're right. You're like, I don't I don't understand what this is telling me or this is so far over my head, which it should be because they are the Mayo Clinic experts are the best in the world. So, trying to diagnose it, you're like, I have no idea what they're saying. So, again, I think I'm just going to die.
So, I think that is why these conversations on Just Jen, I wanted to feel like you're having a conversation with your best friend, but quite honestly, I'm anonymous. You can send a question. We encourage you emailing questions and we get them. People also stop me in public and say, "Hey," and you're like, "Well, okay." I would always advise you, will you will you look at this little bump in my arm? I'm not a doctor.
I don't pretend to be one. I don't play one on TV. I would always say go to the go to call your doctor call call any medical professional but if you just want to say and I say this am I normal what's normal I think that's also a challenge we have why why why ask myself that I mean nothing is normal you are you conversations of just sitting on the couch with a good friend that you can ask uncomfortable questions to is where we need to get and then realize Guys, guess what? There are thousands of other thousands, millions of other women who are having that same challenge. Whether you're 24 or 52 or anywhere in between, it's common. You're not weird.
You're not abnormal. We just hold it all in and we just don't want to talk about it. And one, we're also trying to take care of the million other things we're trying to take care of. So, we're like, we'll deal with that later. Yeah. Because I would say I mean your podcast is it's all about women's health.
It is. So and and that's interesting because you do think of uh you know largely women are always you know moms or caretakers partners that are worried about other people. Yeah. And then it gets to time to for self-care and it's like it's time for bed. Like you know what I'm just going to we'll put that off we'll put that on the checklist for another day. Yeah.
and then you Google at 2 am and you're going to die and that's not what we want to do. So like get walk us through what are episodes about like what can people expect and if there are women that are listening out there that are like oh you know like this might be a resource like who's the right person that needs to go check out your show. Obviously, it's about women's health, but I will say that if you're not a female, which you are not, you have one in your life that you care about, whether it's a mom, a sister, a friend, a partner, what what whoever that is, there are even listening to it, men would take something away from it, like some ball knowledge. You pull out a Oh, go listen to an episode. You pull out like a a nice term about like how's your uh I'm like looking through like thinking of it. I need to look at some episodes like what's an episode title?
U well well we just did one on infertility. I can't remember exactly what the title is. D maybe they'll pull that one out at the dinner table but like but we talk about well I talk a lot about an invisible backpack and that and that. So there are there are physical challenges that we have and there are mental challenges that we have and quite honestly most of the physical things can absolutely affect your mental health. So, I talk about the uh invisible backpack and we put all of this crap into In fact, I just the I think I just did the blog on um it's out today, I think, about how I just dropped my invisible backpack. Things crap flew everywhere and what did I do?
I just stuffed it back in. I didn't take anything out. I just added more to it. So, busting that out at the dinner table, that invisible backpack with my husband, per se, honey, I can you call and make the vet appointment? Can Can you take that out of my invisible backpack right now? Can you call and make an appointment for the dogs?
Can you change the put the washer into the dryer? Not asking you to fold it. If you want to fold it, great. But I'm in the middle of something at work and those clothes are going to get wrinkled. And so anyone kids I mean kids can help if my thing is if you have a phone you are responsible for a lot of things if you're if you're responsible enough in my world to have an iPhone and be able to come and go as you then that comes with certain chores but all of that to say it is women's health but other people can help us. We choose not to ask or allow it.
Yeah. This is an interesting one. So I'm going back through some episodes and you did a five-part series on menopause. Yeah. Which I'm not saying you should like go up to a woman in your life and start like outwardly, hey mom, but like would that not help you as man, woman, child, anyone learn more about what they might be going through and like maybe help wrap your head around what's going on? I think that's a really interesting way to like again increase knowledge and understand of like I don't want to say empathy, but like putting yourself in someone else's shoes and doing some research about like the stage of life and they're in.
Yeah. So, one of the one of the topics in that series was menopause um in relationships. And yeah, my husband I mean he I think he listens to it sometimes. He's like, "Honey, I I just don't know if I should listen to that cuz we we do talk about things that he's like, "Are they going to think that's us?" And I'm like, "Well, what if they do? It's okay."
But understanding how a relationship, you know, when I start to, I don't know, shut down it. It's not because I'm mad at you. It's not because I don't love you. It's because everything else in the menopause world and my my invisible backpack is so heavy right now. I just need a minute. It's easy to take that personally.
It's easy to make up stories. It's easy. So when he listened to menopause and relationships, he's like, I see some of that. And you're like, yeah. But again, that's a hard conversation to have. And this is exaggerating.
Right. But when women say someone like chews too loudly and you want to like stab them, that that is a very funny metaphor, but you're like some things just hit wrong and differently on some days in the wrong way. Yeah. And you're just like, I'm going to lose my mind. And it truly is hormonal. And again, I'm not the doctor.
It's not you, honey. I love you dearly, but right now I want to stab you because you're chewing too loud. But that helps him at least kind of I mean he can't really put himself in my shoes cuz he's not menopausal but it might help you understand. We have an upcoming series on cancer care and the emotional toll it takes and how you can help a cancer survivor and or a current cancer patient get through this. They need the men in their life. They need the kids in their life.
They need the friends in their life. It's not just about them having cancer. It's about how we can put our arms around them and help this them through this because they they're going to try and do it alone just because that's what they do and they need a support team. Yeah. And I feel like uh anyone who knows from experience there it's like the other piece is like that becomes like their entire identity which like you know you don't want to lose yourself of like I love baking or I love this or I have hobby like I like you are more than uh a diagnosis and that might be a marketing tag there. It well it is one of ours actually.
Not quite exactly. So I mean if you ever want a copyright for me sometimes I have brain block but you're right people see them as sick. People see them as a cancer patient. People see them as someone that is is less than what they were. And all they want to do is be that mom, that PTO president, that wife. And if your husband needs to hear that from our clinical experts and some people who've already lived it because he's like, "Damn, you're right.
She's not sick. She's still the she's still the woman I love, and I need to help support that." Yeah. Like that was like my mom's big thing when she was battling breast cancer was like losing her hair cuz she was like then now like everyone's going to see me out in public and like this you are cancer patient and it's like you are but it's like if you don't ask questions or like have cuz sometimes people just like don't even want to talk about it because they're they like don't want to like make someone like they don't want to trigger someone, you know? They don't want to like you know strike the wrong cord and so they just like avoid it altogether or like avoid talking to them. Yeah.
She's like, "Well, I still like to watch Days of Our Lives during the like I'm just she's chilling." Like, she's like, "This I am battling cancer, but I am also still me." And that was like a big piece that like um it's like you just get a lot of attention from that. And it all is just focused around treatment, diagnosis, the battle with cancer, not just like who you are as a person. Yeah. And so, how do you keep like balancing those out?
And some people don't like attention when they're healthy. So then you start, "Oh my gosh, are you okay?" And and they still want to know that you're okay, but maybe it's just a text. Maybe it's, "Hey, I'm thinking about you." That is a door to open something up that be like, "Thanks. You know what?
I really could use you want to come sit with me and watch Days of Our Lives." Because it opens that that door up that sometimes we just put our walls and our block on. You know, my biggest recommendation for anything like that I have tried to remove. let me know if you need anything. Oh, nobody ever lets you know anything. But instead, it's like think of something thoughtful where it's like, "Hey, do you want to watch an episode of blah blah blah or hey, I made I made lasagna.
I had extra. I'd love to come bring this to you." Like if getting more specific cuz like again when my mom was going through it, it was like a million people all said, "Let me know if you need anything." No one's gonna like I don't know what I need like and I'm sure I'm not going to ask because then I feel weak and then I feel like I need I mean that just sets off a whole different set of emotions like I can't do this on my own. I'm not going to ask. Versus like the people that were like, "Hey, we have this.
When can I bring it by?" Such an easier convers cuz then it's also like the decision fatigue too of like, "Oh gosh, what do I need?" Like I don't know like I you know a clean bill of health. Can you do that? An app like Yeah. Uh so I always like that kind of like reshaped my internal thinking about trying to be specific.
Like if someone's going through any sort of tough time, it's not like let me know if you need anything. It is, hey, I think it's kind of like I don't say it this way, but it's like I think you could use this or like I'm good at giving this, you know, like a walk or a run or this or that. And it's like this specific thing that we can share together that you might need. When can I drop it by? When are you free? Or like, are you free Friday at 5?
Right. Like great. I'd love to stop by and visit for a little bit. And you make it easy. It's like, oh, you check the calendar. I'm free Friday at 5.
Someone shows up, maybe they bring a lasagna, maybe they hang out. Yeah. That's the one thing, too. You would think that desserts in Northern Indiana cure cancer. It's like, dude, we had so many. I was like, I'm going to gain like 15 pounds from cookies and cakes and freaking It was great.
Love it. We love comfort food. We I love it. You know, I'm not mad about it, but especially I was like I was like 19 or 20. It's like, oh, we get cookie like this is like not cool at all. Not fun.
would not would not recommend, but like the cookies are not bad. Definitely not a 10 out of 10, but the cookies work. Not bad. Um, that's amazing. So, you're 26 episodes in thus far, I think. Um, I think today is 27 now.
Yes, I think so. So, are you rolling out season 3? Yes. In just next week, I think we start season 3. So, so talk to us about like topics that you guys have covered or what people could expect like like are is there a good starting point? Like are there conversations that you've had that every listener needs to check out?
One of my favorite ones, and I say this not because she's one of my best friends, but in season 1, I talked to um one of my best friends who waited too long. Luckily, the outcome was positive. um for a condition she had been ignoring. She chocked it up to hormones, menopause. Her oldest daughter was graduating high school and it was stress. Um she went to back to school night um and wore an oversized sweatshirt because she wanted anyone to think she was pregnant because she was so bloated.
She just blamed it on hormones and stress. Come to find out, there was a funny story. You'll hear about it. We called it Billy when everything was fine. But there was a tumor in her um and it was um benign luckily um that had to be removed, but she just ignored it because life was too busy. And she didn't even we have a we have a pretty strong tribe.
I have a a pretty strong um solid group of friends that would sit on the couch and talk about a prostate exam cuz we're like this is really jacked up. What is what in the hell is going on? But she was crazy for that. But we just casual Thursday night wine night conversation like yeah comes up. I mean wine don't bring anything out of people. But um and and she she didn't want to burden us.
She didn't tell us not because she didn't trust us but she didn't want to burden us. She didn't want to bother us. That is the epitome of her. So we did this thing uh an episode and she was on um about what went through her mind, why she didn't share it, why she didn't get checked out. And the whole time I was like that absolutely would have been me if I was in her because I was like why why why did you do this? And the whole time she was talking to me I was like I'm a hypocrite cuz I would have done the exact same thing.
One kudos to her for being vulnerable cuz sometimes the hardest thing to do is look in the mirror and say yo I messed up. Yep. Mhm. And and like when even when your friend is is like it's like a you like had a friend that's in like a toxic relationship and you're like it's like so easy to give advice and like little do you know that you're doing the same exact like it's it's the hardest to uh accept yourself and then to turn around. This is what I think um is a trait that I really respect in people is being able to like look um objectively in the rearview mirror and say like, "Hey, I messed up here and I could have done better." And like helping uncover those stories and those landmines for other people.
So kudos to your friend for going on there and saying like, "Yo, this is not the way you should have done this." But also, the hardest thing to do is to like, you know, it's so easy. I'll say I'm going to reframe that. It's so easy to look at someone else's life and be like, "You should go to the doctor. You should work out more. You should do this."
Blah blah blah blah. When in reality, you know, in the backyard, you're not doing it. Yeah. You don't have you. Yeah. It's like, "You should do this, but I'm perfect."
Right. And I think that is one thing that we try. I ad I admit constantly that I am a cluster of monumental proportion on any given day. I I know what I should do. Life gets in the way. And we can't beat ourselves up about that.
I talk um a fair amount um I have words of the year um because no one keeps a resolution much past February and then you're like great I failed at something. Oh, way to go me. I messed that one up. But so I have a word of a word or two of the year. What's this year's word? Um grace.
Oh we and yes that means I shouldn't trip over things when I'm just walking down the street too. But it also means giving others grace as well as myself. We are very hard on each other and ourselves. We we strive for perfection. That's very very difficult. This is like the the balance that's so hard where how do you hold yourself accountable and like and show up and like do the things you say you're going to do, but then also not to the point that it's like negative selft talk.
Like it is such a tight rope between those two of like hey I'm cuz I do think a lot of people are so easy on everyone. It's just like you live in a world that is pretty soft. That's my kind of opinion on it. And it's like oh like showing up doing hard things like pushing yourself to the limits. I agree. Yes.
But then it to a point can get detrimental where you're like again oh I freaking screwed up this resolution and instead of like course correcting and trying to fix it you're just like wow I just suck. You're right. and and part of that I mean there's a whole lot of things that go into that but we just I think grace is something we need to practice. Yeah. Grace is like the tight rope. Yes.
Right. Yeah. Which side? And the other thing that I do, um, so I talk about grace, but back to you, how do you learn, you know, I I listened to my friend and I was like, yeah, if I would have done the exact same thing, but yet in your mind, you're like, I know I know I shouldn't have done that either. So I and and that's a lot of like I mean, this is a perfect example. I have on a to-do list that's somewhere around this office like set my uh primary like go to the doctor.
It's literally been at the top of a list for like maybe 12 weeks along with get a haircut. Like that's not 12 weeks but like both of them are on there and it's like well whatever it's just like at the first thing it's like oh do I like send this email or do I go look on the Anthem portal or whatever to like find where I should go and it's like that always gets pushed to down so far. It does. And it's like you know what you should be doing. You know the answer but it's like prioritizing it. And it's almost like a little bit of accountability too is like holding yourself accountable to what you say you're going to do cuz again we can be hypocr we we want others to be accountable.
We I mean you're like well why why you're supposed to do that but then you're like so again as I talked to you hear a story where you're like someone you know oh they didn't go get their annual check it's like oh like how could how could you do that or whatever and it's like oh wait I'm also not doing that you know and all right this might be the one this might be the domino that no accountability this is the domino that pushed me over the edge by the time this podcast gets released At least I will have seen a primary care something or other. All right, I'm holding you to that. Hold me to that. I will I will uh make sure cuz if I say it out loud to the public, then I I have to follow through. I'm big on public shame and humiliation, too. So, like if I don't, you got to hit me with shame.
And the other thing, I have to put it on the calendar. I have a to-do list and it's right down here on the floor under my foot because I might randomly think of something. I type or I talk to text myself all the time then I write it down but if it is not on the calendar it won't happen. So I absolutely put 15 minutes make your G. He's doing it right now. Yep.
Yep. Yep. Make this make the vet whatever the whatever it is review XYZ now. and they're colorcoded and yes, I'm a little OCD and you know, type A personality, but some of those things that you keep forgetting to do. If you put it on the count, you're like, well, I okay, I put on the calendar, I've got 15 minutes, do it because if it's on a checklist, let's not kid ourselves. We're going to bypass.
Just like the things that you don't want to do for work or anything else, you're going to do the easy things first and you're just going to keep pushing the other things back until you're either at a deadline or it's too late. And you could say the same thing about, you know, making a doctor's appointment. All right. I'm I'm putting it on the calendar right now. There you go. You can't when it comes up, you can't dismiss or snooze it.
You have to do it. Nope. 4:00. No, 4:15 today. Okay. There you go.
At 4:15 today, I am set. I will schedule my appointment cuz it's important. And I've said I'm going to do it. So, I need to follow through. Yep. I'm big on follow through.
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If you enter code 25y at checkout, you're going to get 25% off all the tickets, parking, and pizza fest not included with the discount. Go check out the World Food Championships. It's going to be an awesome weekend. Now, let's get back into the show. The next thing I want to talk about is Hanok County and Hancock Health has a pretty ambitious goal. And I'm I'm really curious to see how this is measured.
So, you guys have a goal to become the healthiest county in Indiana. Who is the healthiest county in Indiana? And what metrics do they judge that by? So, there are a variety of metrics you can judge that by. in general um everything is is pretty spot-on. One actually has to do with clinical statistics, mortality weight um rates in infants.
Um so some of that is very black and white and cut and dry. Um some of it depending on where you get your information is you know how many what percentage of your county is I'm going to give an example able to be a walking trail. So Hancock County has uh a comprehensive plan um and I cannot remember at this point in time um when the actual year is for completion, but they would connect all the trails starting with the Peninsy across the county. So you could technically walk or ride the entire county. Well, that's something that you know is is a is a healthy determinant of health. So you look at mental health rates, you look at obesity rates.
I mean there's there's a lot of clinical things and I'll as I said I am not the clinical person but when I started um and Steve Long our CEO who started a year ahead of me um at Hancock we were the 29th county at that at that time and we do things like population health which um looks at social determinance of health. We have the connection center that gets people the help they need whether it is wick or Medicaid because some of those things if you just knew the resource to go get it by default will make your county healthier. If you're a mom who needs wick who doesn't have the right um tools for their baby. We're going to have we're going to have children and moms who are unhealthy and maybe our our infant mortality rates are low. if you have different um uh food banks. Um so all of those things play into it and I am not the one to ask all of the details but um we know it is a lofty goal and we are right up there with our friends in Hamilton and Boone County.
So the data I just looked at uh life expectancy the data was updated again this is like 2025 data at the end of 2025. So currently just on life expectancy 19th. Yes. So, this is interesting though because uh I think that everyone could probably guess what county is number one. Um it's Hamilton number one for life expectancy by kind of like a decent like it's 81. 2 is the average life expectancy of someone in Hamilton County to you know um the average standard is 75.
6. So like Hancock County is 77. 3. So, like someone in Hancock County is living two years longer than the Indiana uh average average. The interesting piece here is that like the top five counties in Indiana are not what you would expect. I think in my head I would expect Hamilton, Boone, uh maybe like um Johnson, Hendricks.
Like I would expect like basically indie metro, like suburbs or like suburbs of places, but like the number Okay, so it goes Hamilton and Hendrickx. Number three is Lraange County. Yep. Up in northern Indiana. Is that I think that's near like Chain of Lakes like up in I think there's some state parks and stuff up there. Number four is Posey County.
number which is down which is yeah down the most south and western county in the state. Uh Posie County this could be maybe New Harmony. Yes, if you're familiar like the wellness community there could be. Number five, this one blows my mind. Warren County. The average life expectancy in Warren County is 78.
8. The population of Warren County it it's like so small. 8,440. Yeah. And there 8,000 almost 9,000 healthy individuals out in Warren County. That's nuts to me.
I I literally thought it would all be socioeconomic. I thought it would all be, you know, the doughnut counties of of central Indiana. But your guys's goal is to climb the ranks and become the healthiest county in Indiana. Yep. What are the actions besides getting more people to come into, you know, the doctor's office, into a facility? What are the other actions that have to happen for Hancock County to become the healthiest county in Indiana?
I think a lot of that you have to have partners. A hospital is not going to do it alone. I mean, yeah, you want them to come see us, but you know, I live right on the Hancock Marian County border. I obviously go to my Hancock docks, but it would be just as easy to go into Marian County um and go to a dock there. So, you have to have partners. I mean, your schools have to be involved, your nonprofits.
There are a whole food pantries, uh, soup kitchens, all of that goes into What do you think the easiest change that could help increase life expectancy in Indiana is? Oh, the easiest, like what's something that everyone could do or that like wouldn't be insanely hard or insanely expensive to fix that could help increase life expectancy in Indiana? Uh, this might sound tright and we have talked about it. if more people got their annual exams on a regular basis because you're going to see things before they happen than wait till the end. I think a lot of it is just knowledge and education. If we could become more if we stopped googling at 2 a.
m. to find diagnosis for things and really used the resources we have and made some of our topics not taboo. Yeah. I I I think we would live longer because and there's a whole lot of stress. We're not even talking about the mental side of this. I mean, we the the mental stress that goes into all of that shortens your life expect that that invisible backpack is really damn heavy.
And the heavier it gets, the more it pulls us back, which is the problem. This is interesting, too. Like, I mean, obviously Hancock County is in the indie metro. Like, you're a donut county, but it's also very rural. And I think that the other piece is across the state of Indiana, access to health care in rural Indiana is not as readily available. Like I have literally no excuse here in Broadripple.
I'm like I think I actually went on the map again. I didn't book it, but I at least went to the map and it was like I had 78 choices within like 5 miles. I'm shocked that it wasn't more. It probably was, honestly. Um, but you're right. But it's like I mean I do think access and affordability is a conversation that lots of people whether or not um you even pursue down the road to see what it's actually going to cost like that just seems to be a big hurdle for people.
It does. Um and some of it is how are you guys addressing that in Hancock County? So well for one um accessibility we do our best to get people in as soon as we can. um in uh programs like our lung nodule clinics and our cancer side, we have navigators that if something shows up um abnormal on a scan or something, we will have you into us within 2 or 3 days and that and that's cancer is usually a little bit quicker, but we need we need to get you in. So, we have to open up access. The other thing, we have our gateway location right at Mount Comfort um road that has lowcost lab and imaging because you may go to the primary care doctor and they're like, "Something seems a little off.
We want to have this looked at. We we need you to do an MRI or a CT or even an X-ray." And you're like, "I don't have $3,000 to go do." Well, at Gateway, it's going to be closer to $800 versus 3,000 because it is licensed, not as a hospital. It has all state-of-the-art equipment. So, we have tried to provide locations with lower cost to the average buyer.
It's like there's a curtain. Then I just like don't know like I don't know it cost 3,000 30,000 8,000 80080 bucks. They just like give me a bill at the end and I'm like all right sounds good. Again, this is not infrequent time cuz again like I said I have not been in a minute. Knock on wood. But it's like the pricing, it's like that part just seems complex and if you are not someone with a ton of disposable income or like you don't even know the ins and outs of your insurance or all those things, it can it can just seem a little overwhelming to like you know, my wrist hurts, but like I don't really know.
I'm not trying to get a $2,000 bill cuz I think that that I don't know the numbers and I'm not going to say but like medical debt is like a really big cause of like financial stress and bankruptcy and all those things. So I don't know what are you guys doing on that side from Hancock's perspective to you know increase affordability and like transparency and all those different things. So I think a lot of you can that's a whole another podcast for people probably more legislative than me. Um, but for one, we do have gateway and we try very hard to get that out and you can go to Gateway and you can go to any primary care doc, any of the systems you can go to, get your labs and imaging done to Gateway and they'll go right back. So whether you go to any of the big five or even the small ones in show, um, IU, Community, Ascension, um, Franciscan and Park View. Oh, okay.
Those those those are what I guess Indiana considers the the big five networks. But then there's um our independent ones just like Hancock that are in Hendricks and Shelby. I mean we're everywhere. So even if you you guys have multiple locations around in Hancock County. In Hancock County. How many locations?
Um offices wise we probably have over 30 now. Some of those are on a campus. So we have four. One, two, three, four, five. Five main campuses. I drove by one office 70.
That's Gateway. Is that Gateway? Whatever it was, it looked really nice. See, and you should come. And it even has a coffee bar. So, if you have to come, but part of our education is you can go to Gateway and don't have to.
We would love for you to be a full-time Hancock Health patient. But if you're going to anyone um and you wanted labs and imaging done, come to Gateway, get a uh a less expensive price, take those labs and images back to your doctor. They're going to they're going to care for you the same way. See, this is what I don't even know. It's like do they give me like a physical thing? Is it like an email?
Is it PDFs? Like like you're saying take this back. So there I don't even know what that mean. Well, if you were on our system, we have a portal. Every hospital has a portal system that you you'll get one. You'll get a portal login when you actually go to the doctor and you can log in and you can talk to your doc or you can see results or I mean there's make an appointment.
There's I mean it it's kind of easy but you don't have one right now. That's crazy. There's a portal for this. Yeah. So, I'm gonna get fried in the comments because I'm sure that most people maybe maybe not. Maybe most 29-year-old men don't know that.
I I had no clue there was a portal that you could like get all of your information and like read your stuff. Yeah. So, I just not talking about me, but I just had a bunch of tests done and all the results came back and then I got messages from my provider and you see when they um send a script and where it goes and you're like pending, you can refill it on there. So all of that, but there's also um it's called IHI. It's an exchange that that um different um hospitals share those types of results to and from. See, this is the other crazy part that there's not just like a driving record of health.
There there are many working on that, but first of all, we'd all have to get along and agree and put that on the blockchain. Yeah, I was going to say that that's a that is that's above me because it feels like this is the other piece. I have a qual. I fill out the same damn freaking clipboard every time I go in there. It's like, how many times do you need to know the same exact thing every time I go in there? And I think back to why did I get into healthcare?
Healthcare marketing, healthcare technology. I mean, it is a little behind in the times. I mean, even if we have a portal, but you're right. You're like, "Oh my god, how how many times do I have to do this?" Like, I only have to do it once when I get my haircut. I only have to log in with my phone number.
Why do I have to go through all this? But that is an industry which doesn't help our industry. I don't want to say people don't trust us. Some do, some don't. But that's not helping the fact that we're all of us and I will say that inclusively can be a little bit behind in the like modernization. Yeah.
It's like, you know, there are check-ins and rewards and all sorts. again, like you spend $500 at a coffee bar and you're going to get like a at least like a free scone or something, you know? Like I think there's a way to like really take the patient experience to the next level, but like the brightest software developers haven't like gone and I'm I don't again I didn't even know there was a portal, but I'm sure it's not like using Facebook or I'm sure it's not like using like the greatest software platforms ever, but it's like if there is a push into elevating the patient experience at like any provider, I think there's so much opportunity cuz clearly there's ton of finance and money and insurance and all the different things tied up in healthcare. Again, if you go to a lot of these counties, that's one of the things that I've learned. Usually a health care provider is at a top five employer in almost every county.
Yeah. Which is nuts. Um cuz there's like, okay, there's economic development. There's a lot of money being put towards making your population healthier. But it's like I don't know. Like it'd be really interesting if I'm really into like Strava and I have the Garmin app and all that.
It's like why doesn't that feed into a doctor? So they can see like oh I'm looking at your mile times or I'm looking at it looks like you've been really active and like like there's just so much stuff with data that could happen. There's a lot of work that's going into that and I know even at Hancock we look at that um and how can we improve and you know some people are very guarded because you open that portal not the portal I was talking about but the data portal up and you're like oh my god someone knows that I just was put on an estrogen patch I don't want anyone to know that so we want to sh so there's this I mean and you have to worry about PHI which is personal I mean so there's a whole lot of things but I know you know even at Hancock there's a team that's working on an app that if you get a mammogram, do you get so many points? Well, you can't really discount when your thing goes through insurance, so I can't really take money off of that.
So, do you get um a free workout at our wellness center? Again, all of that is part of the conversation, but not everyone is has all of those options. So, if you're just a small hospital in southern or northern Indiana that just has a campus, what are you going to give a discount for? maybe your local coffee shop again or maybe like a like a registration to a 5K or something like I just think that there would be a way and I think that this is where it's going to be more proactive instead of reactive and convince people again like you're already doing your F45 classes or your runs or this or that and it's like I wish now our wellness center does have a program they call it per Perksville I'm sorry wellness center I think it's called Perksville but they do have a point system and you can get, you know, a free snack at the health hut. And so they encourage they encourage all of that. But you're right to tie that into all of the medical pieces.
And again, if I have multiple providers because I do have a specialist um that is not a Hancock specialist just because we don't have it. Well, that's at a completely different hospital. So, how do you connect that hospital's information to this hospital's information to this and be like, well, what gets points, what doesn't, where does it benefit? It's it's very people smarter than I are going to solve that. Yeah. Yeah.
Where do you think the biggest opportunity for individuals to take their health more seriously is? And don't get me wrong, I Google, I love AI, I love all of that, but I think sometimes self diagnosing is the challenge. Um or again or the barrier. Yeah. Like because you either convince I mean if I Google right and click the right things I can convince myself I I would always go the route that I can convince myself that I'm fine and like knock on wood. I've been fine up until this point but like you know could it have been better?
I don't know. I think that that yeah you're totally right about self diagnosis and just like get over it. Like have someone who's an expert in this. Again, I I don't like Google how to change my own oil or I don't Google how to like It's crazy the amount of money I spend, time I spend on other stuff versus like the lack of time and effort and money that I spend on my own health. Oh, that I think that is fairly universal. And I think self diagnosing and back to the original reason we started the podcast and how we started this conversation, just ask the question that everyone's like, "Oh, sweet Jesus, I can't possibly say that."
Yes, you can. If I have said some of the things on air and interviews, yes, you can because there's nothing there's nothing wrong with you. There's nothing it is it is a real thing. And if we don't talk about it or we self diagnose us to be fine or we're dying, we're just in this cluster of craziness. more than likely someone else is thinking the way you're thinking or running into the issue. It's like there's not very many conditions that are one in seven billion.
And that's when we're going to talk to our friends at the Mayo Clinic because you're right there. There's not. But when when you are all of my friends and we're all going through menopause, there's this list I have. There are 140 symptoms. I shouldn't say typical symptoms. 140 is a lot that happen in menopause.
And you look at some of them, you're like, I have that now. It also could be you have an endocrine problem. It also could I mean there which is why you talk to a doc because I could self diagnose myself on this 140 symptom list and I'm going to all of a sudden I'm googling like wait do I have menopause? Well, I said that to my husband. So, one of the things this is funny and again he's a nurse and he just rolls his eyes at me and I love you honey dearly. got um uh tonitis, which is ringing in the ear, is a symptom.
And he's always like, "Do you hear that?" I'm like, "No, I don't." And he goes, "My ear's always ringing." So he said it, I say a couple nights ago. A couple nights ago was probably like 6 months in my world. But he's like, "My ear's ringing."
I'm like, "I guess you have menopause or you're living vicariously through me." Because you're right. You could, according to this list, a man has menopause. I mean, we all have it. Everyone's got it. It's not a female only thing.
Everyone's got it. Wow. Uh, I love the energy that you're bringing to having these conversations because I think that if you model it and you have the conversations, you bring on your friend, you you have these things, people will feel more confident, women will feel more confident, men can feel more confident having the conversations with their friends, having these conversations with their provider, with the people that you need to have these conversations and know that they're not on an island. You know, these are things uh issues, conversations, questions that everybody has. Tons of people have and it's not just you in this silo. So, I think that's awesome.
I love it. We're coming towards the end of the show where we have some fun Indiana questions. I'm ready. So, this question is brought to you by our friends at JC Hart. They're a leader in creating enjoyable living experiences at apartment communities all across Indiana and beyond. Check them out at homejart.
com. My question for you, why do you call Indiana home? I think I call Indiana home because I think Indiana's always felt like a place where relationships matter. Yeah. And it's it's big. Indiana is big enough to do meaningful work, but not too big.
And it is small enough that you can actually make a difference. Yeah. Um, and I've been fortunate to build a career, we talked about it, that's crossed many, many industries, all very, very um, different. And everywhere I turn, I run into someone who I either know or knows of someone that I know. And that connection, I don't think it's a coincidence. It's it's a community.
And I think um, I think I I love that Hoosiers in general genuinely show up for each other. And I always said I was going to move away and I never did. and I always stayed here and I think I think that's why. Heck yeah. Okay. What's one thing people need to know about Hancock County?
We have some hidden gems. Oh, I I I think everyone I don't get me wrong. I go I go to Indie. I go to Fischers. I go to I go to Carl. I I I like go anywhere cuz I like to go on adventures.
But I think there are some hidden gems. And well, Hanok County has kind of exploded over the past decade. It has. And again, I've been at Hancock for um well going on 11 years now. New Palestine is like one of the fastest growing communities in the state of Indiana. Actually, I know for a fact it's one of the fastest growing communities in the state of Indiana.
I mean, they have great schools. I I mean, my kids go to one of them. Um but they are all solid, great school systems and we have quite a few downtown hidden gems. I I mean Oh, well that brings us to our next question. Okay. What is a hidden gem in Indiana?
Um, well, I I think there are a lot cuz my husband and I like to take the little convertible out on I mean, it's only two. What are we What are we rocking with? Um, a Z4. Oh, the the little convertible, but it's old. It's that it's like a vintage. You as a You pitched that as a Mazda Miata.
I'm thinking you're in like a clown car and it's got a Z4. Yeah, but it's it's old. Well, old is 2011, but there's only two seats, so no one else can go. So, let's go. We go. And um we follow like foodie things like the best tenderloins.
I don't know how many tenderloins we have. So I think there are a million hidden gems and I could probably write a book on that. But if we stick to Hancock County um I think we have a lot of things for great coffee shops, great restaurants and there's you know you there's one specific hidden gem in Hancock County that is a oneofone place. The pink elephant. No, I'm just kidding. With the martini glass in Fortville.
No, we get pictures taken. Oh, okay. Okay. No, go ahead. No, no, there's one. Uh, I was just curious.
I want to know what I want to know what yours is. There's one I have in my mind that is a a Greenfield special one of one. No. Uh, Carney. Mike's. Oh, Mike's cike's car wash oil.
Is it Dave? Yes. And they do a great I mean I know uh who owns that, but yes. And they have great food and you can get the best tenderloin hamburger. Zaza Zub, not not Mike's, Dave. Dave's Express Care.
Car Wash and Express Grill. Next. Yes. And I was like, dude, there's no chance I'm getting a pork tenderloin from. A place that you get your car wash and your oil changed. Phenomenal.
Hopefully, you got the fries, too. Yes. Okay, good. I got the zaza zuper where they put gravy on it. Gravy. They put uh French fries, the whole thing.
The milkshake is like $3 or $4. Cheap. I mean, not cheaply, but I mean inexpensive compared to Inexpensive. You're in there, you get your car wash, you stop through Dave's. Mhm. And they clean the inside, too.
And I mean, they out. You could just run through. You can do the express and just run through. Or you get out, they do the inside, the vacuum. You're hanging out. That is like one.
Anytime I meet someone who's from Greenfield, I always talk about it and they've either like they're either like absolutely if they've gone. Oh. If you've gone, you're like a stand for it. You're like, "This is crazy." And if you haven't, you're like, "Yeah, I've always seen that, but never." And then once you go, you become a proponent of it.
Yeah. That that's where it's also Okay. Now, now I'll open up to you though. What is your hidden gem in Indiana? Um, so I love all pretty much all the restaurants in downtown Fortville. We go there a lot.
Tax me and Fox Garden Cortana the Mexican restaurant. I went to Fox Garden recently. Oh yes, that place is good. Now they also the same one that owns that also um took over Carnegies in Greenfield. It's um um Great. So that he also owns Bongis if you ever been to Bongies.
Yes. And they have they won a lapel too. Mhm. A barbecue um the concession stand. The concession stand. Yep.
Yeah. Great little restaurant group. So again, we have all of the and coffee shops like we have coffee at the crossing. We have hitherto. I mean, it's just we have the old Rick's Theater. I mean, again, you're not going to watch a Pacer game or a Colts game.
And I get that, but there are so many just nice places to chill and relax and sit outside and just enjoy. Slow down. We go so fast that these hidden gems kind of just bring everything. And I need I need people to calm me down cuz I'm a lot. So you and me both. All right.
This next one is where we source guests and learn about other people in the state of Indiana that are that are need to know. So who's a whoer we need to keep on our radar? Someone who's doing big things. Keep an eye on people who are not just creating businesses but are creating experiences. Oh okay. So I I'm I'm struggling right now to have an exact name but we work.
So I mean and I love economic development. We are who we are. But to create that experience um to find yourself or to find who you are or to find your passion or things you love. I think I think that is my personal opinion what we need more. So a a a local even if some and this is my goal um or my dream like the little bookstores that have just that sense of ambiance to so people who are creating that also have like book clubs around it and like why night and like like I totally agree the this is the big shift I'm seeing as people graduate college is like they don't care when I graduated 2019 it was you know if I'm going out it's like where can I get you know 20 bush lights for the cheapest amount of money. Yeah.
Nowadays, it's not about 20 bush lights. It's like where's the best matured? Well, no, for me it's my I'm just kidding. But like for kids today, they graduate and they're like up in Caramel at the rooftop bar with a $20 cocktail that I would I could never have fathomed having like a little flower paper clipped to my drink. And now it's like that's all like that's the vibe and the aesthetic. It's it's about this experience more than it is about just pounding bush light with the guys.
And so a good thing. Well, yeah. So, uh, one my daughter who is now getting ready to teach her second year of kindergarten at a a school system in up farther north, she she wanted that experience. She was finding new friends. She was out of college, but some of her college friends were going with her. And I forget what bar they were going to.
And she sent me a picture of the menu cuz she did know what all the drinks was because they were like named after. And she goes, "Which one of these would I like?" And I was like, "Okay, this is this has vodka. You like vodka. You do not want the bourbon one." And she's like, "Okay, thanks."
And then and then she like hung up and she was like, "I had so much fun." But for a minute, she was out of her ele. She knew she wanted that vibe and experience, but learning how to play. I mean, she came from college. She was looking at the bush lights or the really cheap. I mean, Malibu, you know, she took from us at holidays, so she didn't have to buy it.
But but I think I think people creating and understanding experiences is someone that we should keep on our radar and really support. And honestly, I really do think we need to keep an eye on the next generation of Hoosiers. Um I think we I again I I'm not young and sometimes I'm like, "Oh my god, the younger generation because I said so. Just do it. Don't ask me questions. Just do it."
But I I think I run through so many different avenues and I'm reminded that there are incredibly smart young people who just do things differently than us and we need to get out of our own damn way and and accept now do I think they need to accept why we are who I mean that's a that's a different conversation but we spend a lot of time talking about what's wrong with the next generation and I really do think we should spend some more time listening and learning from them because they are our future and they do need our support. But I I think I think we kind of get in our own way with that and like the uh the old school mentality of just like disciplining into line is not working. No. And it's like you know what works works for me. Yeah. But nonetheless, but it's like go out there and and I think this is a lot of things.
Um one big way is uh not only with like the older generations and younger generations, but also like people who live in urban areas versus like rural areas. It's like put yourself in their shoes. It's like sometimes it's so people are like, "Oh my gosh, how could you live like that or think like that, but like judge that just at surface level versus like asking them questions versus like how could you be so blah blah blah." It's like, well, I'm 60 years old and I've been doing things the exact same way for 60 years. That's how I do things that way. Or like just and think about the things they have seen.
So again, I think we should listen to them. I also think cuz if I hear one more time, oh my god, that's AI. I'm like, it is not AI. That really did happen back in the day. It's this cassette tape is not freaking AI. But nonetheless, you know, they h they have to and that comes with maturity that that's just, you know, teenagers and teenagers being them and your children.
But I I do think it is a two-way street. But I think being the role model and the older ones, I think it's a little bit on us to open that door. Well, and like listening to the younger generation because like they are growing up and like this is native to them like you know I mean I I'll hand up I get got by AI sometimes. It happens to me. I mean 12year-olds that are like growing up in the digital age they have a a sharper filter for that a lot of times. Yeah, but they think history like we were I was something about um I forget what I want to say it was the Berlin wall and I don't really know why it must have been in a movie or something and I got well that that's so AI I'm like no that is not that that wall and those people that is a real picture.
So then you know you try and they're like that's so crazy you said the Berlin Wall because I was on a run this morning with my buddy and he's reading a book about East Berlin and West Berlin and like this is the second time I did not have it on my bingo card to hear about the Berlin Wall twice. It might have been an article about cuz I do read a lot but I haven't read that book but I was like no this is not AI. Not everything in the world is AI. Thank you very much. But yeah there no there's some messed up stuff that happened out there in real life. Yeah, go down Matt.
I was going to say that's for another episode for our like late night conspiracy theory podcast. There we go. I'm all there with my thoughts. Jen, it's been a pleasure learning more about all of the ways that you and the team at Hancock Health are working to make the healthiest Indiana possible. uh a and just taking the stigma away from some of these uh personal health conversations that a lot of people are enduring and a lot of people are thinking about but not always ready to share and I think the more that people can hear your examples that they can hear the conversations learn the information I think that's just a great thing all around kind of like uh taking the stigma away from healthcare if people want to learn more about you if they want to go explore episodes of the podcast or they want to check out more about Hancock Health can they do that um you can always go to hancockhealth. org or and if you go forward/justy-eng you can get all about just Jen.
Um I am on LinkedIn just looked up um Jen Wells. Um but you can always just I'm sure I'm in Google based on some of the things I've said. But um you know we are on Apple and Spotify and Substack. So if you just um search for this is just Jen, you'll find us. And if you have a question for Jen to answer on a future yes a question. request Jen.
You can search or you can email just jen unfilteredgmail. com. That's right. And we get all kinds and don't be when I say don't be shy. People are not shy because I am the friend. You don't you want to have the conversation with so you just spill it to me and but we'll talk about it anonymously on the podcast.
Yeah. Yeah. That's awesome. Yeah. I don't I you don't even have to put your name and if you do I don't even look at that. issues or challenges and I'm happy to talk about them.
I love it. This has been so fun. Appreciate you stopping by and sharing and we'll talk to you soon. All right. Have a great one and don't forget to make that appointment. This show is made possible by our friends up at Sweetwater.
Whether you're looking to start a podcast or take your content to the next level. Click the link in the description to see all my gear recommendations at Sweetwater. If you want a behindthescenes look at everything we're doing across the state, make sure you follow me on Instagram and Tik Tok, Nate Spangle. Thank you so much for listening and being a part of what makes the Hooser State great.