f you take the Hoosier Heartland

northeast to the small town of

Flora, you take a step back in
time.
Kids ride their bikes in the
street, theres a grocery store
and a Pizza King, and one caf
where the locals sip coffee and chat all
afternoon. Its rural, but the residents of
the town of 2,013 dont have to go far for a
gallon of milk or a quick checkup at the
doctor a real benefit for the large el-
derly population that has made Flora
their home.
Its what Dr. Jordan Dutter, Floras
only physician, loves most about his
hometown.
Dutter grew up in Flora, attended the
high school and decided to stay close for
college, graduating from Indiana Uni-
versity Kokomo. Flora is where he chose
to return after graduating from medical
school at Wright State University in Day-
ton, Ohio. And at age 40, its where he and
his wife, Deanna, are raising their four
children.
This town wouldnt have a doctor if I
hadnt stayed, Dutter said.
Forty miles to the northwest, the
small town of Wolcott is not so fortunate.
IS THERE A
DOCTOR IN
THE HOUSE?
This town wouldnt have a doctor if I hadnt stayed, Jordan Dutter says of his hometown, Flora. PHOTOS BY JOHN TERHUNE/J&C
Rural towns struggle to hold on to primary care physicians
By Haley Dover | hdover@jconline.com
Jordan Dutter and Warren
Root, a nurse practitioner, oper-
ate Flora Family Medicine on
Main Street. The pair offer a
little of everything to their
patients. As an independent
practice, Dutter and Root dont
have the luxury of going next
door for a second opinion or a
specialist, so they do all they can
before sending a patient to
Lafayette or Monticello for
more help.
The towns longtime physi-
cian, James Shields, recently
retired after 10 years in practice.
Now the 991 residents and
1,170 more in nearby Reming-
ton have no local doctor at
all. The nearest medical care is
nearly a half-hour away in
Monticello. Now that residents
have to travel for health care,
they spend their dollars on
more than hospital bills in other
towns.
See DOCTOR, Page A4
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A Gannett Newspaper, Copyright 2014
Volume 96, Number 215
MORE THAN $130 IN COUPONS INSIDE TODAY!
Helping others
The loss of her son empowers
one mother to support other
grieving moms. Page C1
Purdue power
An A-list of former standouts
compete in the
alumni basketball
game. Page D1
In Indiana, its much more com-
mon for women to attend a univer-
sity than to be entrusted by the
state with governing one.
While women outnumber men
among students at most public uni-
versities in Indiana, they occupy
barely a fifth of the seats on
boards that make big decisions
about these institutions, a review
by The Indianapolis Star found.
Its a trend visible on campuses
nationwide and one that experts
say inhibits universities ability to
adapt to the needs of increasingly
diverse student bodies, faculties
and communities.
Trustees manage public univer-
sities on behalf of the state. They
hire presidents, control multi-
million-dollar budgets and often
make crucial decisions about con-
troversial policies, from reorga-
nizing schools on campus to rais-
ing tuition.
Demographically, these
boards, mostly appointed by the
governor, are much different
from the student and faculty pop-
ulations they oversee.
Five of the states seven public
universities have more female
students than male; Purdue and
Vincennes are the only exceptions.
See TRUSTEES, Page A5
One-fifth
of trustees
are women
Indianas university
boards dont reflect
diversity of student body
By Michael Auslen
michael.auslen@indystar.com
FLORA WOLCOTT
Spacecraft, comet
to finally hook up
PAGE 3B