Hardin County Sheriff Finds Specialty Care Closer to Home
A monthly medical appointment once took nearly an entire day for Hardin County Sheriff Keith Everhart.
The 25-minute anti-rejection infusion he needs following liver and kidney transplants required a three-hour drive each way to Indianapolis. By the time Everhart made the trip there and back, he could be away from his office for six to nine hours.
Now, the trip takes about an hour.
Everhart now receives the infusion at OhioHealth Hardin Memorial Hospital, just 15 minutes from home.
“It’s just much more convenient,” Everhart said. “I don’t have to pencil out all day at the office. I pencil out an hour and I’m back.”
The change came after Hardin Memorial’s pharmacy and infusion teams worked through the requirements needed to make Everhart’s medication available at the hospital. Because the medication was not initially on their formulary, Jake Abbott, advisor of pharmacy services, worked with care teams to determine what was needed to provide the treatment locally.
Although Everhart’s situation prompted the hospital to explore whether his treatment could be provided closer to home, the goal was bigger than finding a solution for one patient.
“We had the resources to do it,” Abbott said. “And it’s not just him. We want to help everyone.”
That effort is part of a broader push at Hardin Memorial to make more acute and specialty care available locally.
“They don’t need to be driving to Columbus. They don’t need to be driving out of state when they can get their infusion treatments here,” Abbott said.
Receiving an infusion locally can mean more than simply cutting down on miles. A long trip for a short treatment can require taking time off work, arranging transportation or finding someone to accompany a patient. For someone who is already not feeling well, the trip itself can be physically demanding.
“Any way we can get patients to come here and keep care local is a win,” Abbott said.
He encouraged patients who currently travel outside the community to reach out to Hardin Memorial to see whether their treatment may be available. Most patients can continue working with their existing physicians while receiving infusions at Hardin Memorial and the hospital can coordinate with a patient’s provider as needed.
Everhart said receiving his treatment at Hardin Memorial also brings familiarity. He has known many of the hospital’s employees for years and his wife, Kim, works as an administrative nurse manager.
“I have a team who I know personally, and I know they’re advocating for me,” Everhart said. “I’m just so blessed.”
After years of dealing with a chronic disease that damaged his liver, Everhart received a liver transplant in December 2022. He later received a kidney transplant in October 2023. His monthly infusion is part of the ongoing treatment needed to help prevent his body from rejecting the transplanted organs.
Everhart said he’s always been grateful for the care he’s received in Indianapolis. But for a treatment he needs every month, being able to receive it just 15 minutes from home has made a noticeable difference.
“I think it’s more than just convenience,” he said. “I think it actually keeps me healthier because I’m in a better mindset.”
The shorter trip means less time away from his work, his community and his family. Everhart said he hopes more people recognize what their local hospital has to offer.
“You have a lot of talented people working here who want to do good for the community. This is a tremendous facility, and people are missing out if they don’t use it.”
To learn more about Infusion Services at OhioHealth Hardin Memorial Hospital, click here or contact (567) 295-6900.
