May 6, 2020

Statement from Marion County Business Leaders:

As leaders of Central Indiana business, community and healthcare organizations, we support the difficult decision by Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett to extend until May 15 Marion County’s stay-at-home order in response to COVID-19. Putting public health first, utilizing data-driven approaches, and acting upon guidance from local public health officials, necessitates a different response in densely populated Marion County than in the majority of the rest of the state.

Our community’s frontline healthcare heroes have performed inspirationally and admirably in meeting the pandemic challenge. Still, Marion County, with 14% of the state’s population, has seen nearly one-third of all Indiana COVID-19 cases, and suffered nearly one-third of all statewide COVID-19 deaths, with an incidence rate continuing for new cases at nearly three-times the rate elsewhere in the state. And though County patient loads have been held to manageable levels, the local rate of new hospitalizations for this disease (unlike such hospitalization rates elsewhere in Indiana) has yet to consistently or substantially decline.

As we continue to await a reliable downturn of the “COVID-19 curve” in Indianapolis, we applaud the Mayor’s ongoing close collaboration with Governor Holcomb, as well as with elected officials in surrounding counties, toward the vital pursuit of a responsible, measured, coordinated and effective way to reopen the regional economy over the critical weeks ahead. With his ready acknowledgement of the special healthcare challenges we still face here in containing this disease, we are confident that the Mayor is pursuing these deliberations based upon the best data and right priorities for all of us.

Gail K. Boudreaux
President & CEO
Anthem, Inc.

Aman Brar
CEO
Jobvite

James M. Danko
President
Butler University

Scott Davison
Chairman, President and CEO
OneAmerica

Sue Ellspermann, PhD
President
Ivy Tech Community College

Rick Fuson
President and CEO
Pacers Sports and Entertainment

David Graziosi
President and CEO
Allison Transmission, Inc.

J. Mark Howell
President and CEO
Conexus Indiana

David Johnson
President and CEO
Central Indiana Corporate Partnership

Jason Kloth
President and CEO
Ascend Indiana

Mike Langellier
President and CEO
TechPoint

Tom Linebarger
Chairman and CEO
Cummins Inc.

Patty Martin
President and CEO
BioCrossroads

Kristin Mays-Corbitt
President and CEO
Mays Chemical Company

Mark Miles
President and CEO
Penske Entertainment Corp.

Bryan Mills
President and CEO
Community Health Network

Paul Mitchell
President and CEO
Energy Systems Network

Dennis Murphy
President and Chief Executive Officer
IU Health

Syam Nair
Executive Vice President, Technology
Salesforce Marketing Cloud

Jonathan Nalli
CEO, St. Vincent Health; Senior Vice President,
Ascension, and Ministry Market Executive,
Ascension Indiana

Dave Ricks
Chairman and CEO
Eli Lilly and Company

Matt Sause
President and CEO, North America
Roche Diagnostics

Aaron Schacht
Interim President and CEO
AgriNovus Indiana

Jeff Smulyan
CEO and Chairman
Emmis Communications

Connie Bond Stuart
Regional President for Central and Southern
Indiana
PNC Bank

John Thompson
CEO
Thompson Distribution