Our Roadmap for Funding Improved Children's Health
By Cory Martinson, M.D.
As we begin Riley Children’s Health’s second century, I am honored to take on the role of chair of the Riley Children’s Foundation Board of Governors. Since the hospital’s opening in 1924, the Foundation has played a vital role in supporting Riley, and I’m excited to continue the legacy of ensuring Indiana’s children and families have access to the very best care.
What does that look like to me?
It means attracting and retaining top talent. As a nation, we’re facing a shortage of pediatricians and pediatric specialists. Last year, close to 30% of pediatric residency programs across the country did not fill all their positions. Many factors contribute to this problem, but much of it boils down to simple economics. As a society, we pay adult clinicians significantly more than their pediatric counterparts. Add hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt from medical school, and many young physicians no longer view pediatrics as a sustainable career path.
If we don’t act, I worry that families who receive a devastating diagnosis won’t be able to get their children the help they need. I fear community pediatricians like me will struggle to make referrals when we have a patient with Crohn’s disease or Type 1 diabetes or chronic ear infections that require tubes. I wonder if my kids will be able to find a pediatrician they know and trust when they eventually become parents.
Riley has plans to build a pipeline of up-and-coming clinicians to stave off this shortage – and maintain the high-quality care that is a hallmark of Riley – but they need funding to make it happen. We can help. We must help.
It means turning the tide on the youth mental health crisis. Our kids are suffering. I see this every day, as my patients struggle with depression, anxiety, eating disorders and other mental and behavioral health conditions in growing numbers. They’re not unique. Indiana’s teen suicide rate has been above the national average since 1999. And due to a shortage of mental health experts, about half of Indiana kids with major depression aren’t receiving any treatment at all.
Riley has built a strong strategy. The team is embedding mental health services in primary care offices, partnering with the state Department of Education to launch prevention and education programs, expanding outpatient services, implementing intensive programs for kids and teens in crisis, and training providers statewide on evidence-based therapies. To really make a difference, we need government, business, civic and philanthropic partners to come together. We’ve started this critical work. We must accelerate and sustain it. Our kids can’t afford for us to fail.
It means fueling discoveries that result in new treatments and cures. Pediatric drug development and other children’s health research isn’t big business. Unlike adult conditions like Alzheimer’s or heart disease, there typically aren’t enough sick kids to justify a major investment from the private sector. That means it’s up to academic medical centers like Riley and its partners at Indiana University School of Medicine to lead the way.
If we believe every child deserves the best chance at a healthy childhood, then we must prioritize research. The Riley-affiliated research program is consistently ranked in the top 10 nationally. Riley researchers are pursuing improved gene therapies for conditions like Duchenne muscular dystrophy. They’re pioneering new, AI-guided therapies for childhood cancers. They’re testing new treatments for conditions like severe asthma and played a major role in a drug that can effectively delay the onset of Type 1 diabetes.
They’re fighting the good fight on behalf of kids whose diseases have imperfect or no treatments. We must fight alongside them.
Every so often, I prompt myself to think about how I will leave my mark. How will I contribute to making our community better? I hope I will one day look back and know that I contributed to improving children’s health in our state in a meaningful way. That’s my passion. If it’s yours, too, I invite you to join us by meeting with our team, attending an event, or visiting the hospital.
I believe that every child deserves Riley. Let’s work together to make that happen.
Cory Martinson, M.D., joined the Riley Children’s Foundation Board of Governors in 2017 and was elected chair in November 2024, becoming the first physician in the Foundation’s 104-year history to lead the board. The Indianapolis native is a pediatrician at Meridian Pediatrics with privileges at IU Health North Hospital. Dr. Martinson is a graduate of Bucknell University and completed her doctorate in medicine at the University of Chicago, Pritzker School of Medicine. She completed her pediatric residency at Boston Children’s Hospital.