Fishers Health Department releases Community Health Assessment Report

Nearly 1,500 survey responses identify mental health, healthy living & aging well as priorities

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Fishers residents report strong overall health and quality of life, but a new Community Health Assessment identifies mental health as a top local priority and highlights the city’s rapidly aging population.

The Fishers Health Department (FHD) released its 2025 Community Health Assessment on Friday, Sept. 11. The report is the culmination of a year-long analysis of primary and secondary data to assess the health and well-being of Fishers residents and how the FHD can provide the greatest impact. The assessment includes local, state, and national health data, nearly 1,500 community survey responses and input from over 60 focus group participants.

The assessment identifies three strategic priorities for FHD:

• Mental Health Across the Lifespan: Support mental well-being, especially among youth and young adults, through prevention, early support, and easier access to resources.
• Healthy Living: Help residents stay healthy longer through screenings, physical activity, nutrition, and chronic disease prevention.
• Aging Well: Support older adults through fall prevention, mobility, social connection, caregiver resources, and aging-in-place support.

“Creating a local health department gave Fishers the ability to better understand the health needs of our own community and respond in ways that make sense for our residents,” Mayor Scott Fadness said. “As Fishers continues to grow and change, this information helps us make thoughtful investments that support quality of life for residents at every age.”

Mental health is the most frequently identified health priority among residents and is reinforced by focus groups and local health data. While 92.4 percent of Fishers adults report moderate, good, or excellent overall well-being and 86.5 percent said they are satisfied with life, 36.4 percent report anxiety and 25.2 percent report depression, highlighting a clear need for continued mental health prevention and support.

“Fishers has a strong foundation for health and well-being, and this assessment shows us where we can build on that,” FHD Director and Health Officer Monica Heltz said. “The community’s desires for more focus on mental health, aging well and healthy living came through clearly in both the data and what residents told us. This localized information will help us focus our efforts to provide value and services in the areas that impact our residents and achieve our goal of connecting people to prevention measures before poor health outcomes become a reality.”

The findings from the assessment are already shaping FHD’s next steps, including mental health services and specialized health programming and social opportunities for residents ages 65 and older. In the coming days, the department will announce a new free mental health navigation service to help residents connect with resources and treatment options.

The findings from the assessment point to a shift in Fishers’ demographics: adults aged 65 and older are the city’s fastest-growing age group, increasing 188 percent between 2010 and 2024.

That growth is increasing the demand for fall prevention, mobility support, social connection, caregiver resources, and services that help residents remain independent as they age. FHD’s work in this area was recently recognized by the National Association of County and City Health Officials with a Model Practice Award for its Fall Prevention Program.

Healthy Living rounds out the department’s three priorities. While Fishers performs well on many measures of physical health, obesity, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol still affect a significant share of adults. Heart disease and cancer remain the leading causes of death, reinforcing the importance of prevention, screenings and healthy habits that help residents stay healthier longer.

Access to health care is another area where the assessment found both strengths and opportunities. Nearly 97 percent of adult residents have health insurance and about nine in 10 have a regular health care provider. Still, more than 12 percent reported delaying care in the past year, most often because of cost or difficulty getting an appointment.

The Community Health Assessment will help shape FHD’s Community Health Improvement Plan, which will outline specific strategies and actions for the coming years. The Community Health Assessment and Community Health Improvement Plan are part of FHD’s initial accreditation efforts through the Public Health Accreditation Board process.

Read the full report at Health.FishersIN.gov/CommunityHealthAssessment and learn more about the Fishers Health Department at Health.FishersIN.gov.