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Data: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services; Note: Medians include Veterans Health Administration and Department of Defense hospital data; Chart: Jacque Schrag and Alice Feng/Axios

Hoosiers spend less time in emergency rooms than other Americans on average, but more than we used to, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

Driving the news: The state's average time spent in an ER was 2 hours, 18 minutes in 2022, according to the latest CMS data.

Yes, but: That figure is roughly on par with 2 hours, 17 minutes in 2021 (a pandemic year), but up from about 2 hours, 2 minutes in 2014.

Indiana's average fell below the national median of 2 hours, 40 minutes in 2022.

Why it matters: Time spent in the ER is a key metric for tracking hospital performance, and it's been steadily rising across the country.

Increasing ER visit times are an indication that a hospital may be understaffed relative to a community's need or is facing other issues.

Zoom out: Washington, D.C., hospitals racked up the longest median time for ER stays in 2022, at 5 hours and 29 minutes.

North Dakota (1 hour, 48 minutes) had the lowest median time.

Be smart: This data captures the length of patients' entire ER visits, not just the time spent waiting to be first seen and covers more than 4,000 Medicare-certified hospitals nationwide.

Plus: According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, Indiana saw the sixth-highest per capita emergency room visits in 2021 in the country, at 485 per 1,000 residents.  

That was down from a high of 553 visits per 1,000 in 2018. 

The big picture: The steady nationwide increase in ER wait times comes as hospitals face a staffing crisis — a problem plaguing all sorts of vital industries, from health care to teachers to air traffic controllers.

Emergency rooms are also struggling with unique challenges, including a lack of resources to handle a surging youth mental health crisis.

Youth mental health-related ER visits approximately doubled between 2011 and 2020, per a May report in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

"Emergency rooms weren't designed to be mental health providers, but limited mental health support for children outside of hospitals has led to understaffed ERs being overwhelmed by young patients with behavioral emergencies," Axios' Sabrina Moreno recently reported.

The intrigue: Fear of getting stuck at the ER for hours on end is fueling a boom in urgent care and retail health clinics, including in Indiana, which has seen high growth in the industry.

Indiana ER wait times stay below national average

Hoosiers spent an average of 2 hours, 18 minutes in emergency rooms in 2022.

Indiana

Hoosiers spend less time in emergency rooms than other Americans on average, but more than we used to, according to the Centers for Medicare &amp; Medicaid Services.Driving the news: The state&#x27;s average time spent in an ER was 2 hours, 18 minutes in 2022, according to the latest CMS <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="data" data-vars-click-url="https://data.cms.gov/provider-data/dataset/apyc-v239" data-vars-content-id="1101dfca-8378-4d45-b8f8-447f60466bd0" data-vars-headline="Indiana ER wait times stay below national average" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://data.cms.gov/provider-data/dataset/apyc-v239" target="_blank">data</a>.

Health

Data: Census Bureau; Chart: Alice Feng/Axios

Much has changed about how we work, but there's at least one constant: short commutes.

What's happening: Indianapolis workers took less time getting to work than the national average before the COVID-19 pandemic — and still come out ahead now even as commute times have dropped nationwide.

Why it matters: It's a quality of life feature. Quicker commutes are tied to better mental health, greater job satisfaction and a host of other personal benefits.

By the numbers: 39.3% of Indianapolis workers had a commute of 15-29 minutes in 2022, up from 38.6% in 2019, per a new Axios analysis of census data.

Another 23.8% had a commute of less than 15 minutes, up from 23.2%.

Meanwhile, the share of Indianapolis-area workers with a commute of 30 minutes to more than an hour dropped slightly between 2019 and 2022.

Of note: These findings don't include employees who work from home, and thus have a commute time of zero — or maybe a minute or two, if you stop to pour a cup of coffee on your way to your home office.

The total number of Indianapolis-area workers who commute to a physical location dropped from 973,250 to 923,363 between 2019 and 2022.

The big picture: Nationally, commutes under 30 minutes became more commonplace, while those 30 minutes and longer became more rare.

36.8% of U.S. workers had a commute of 15-29 minutes in 2022, up from 35.6% in 2019.

Another 26% had a commute of less than 15 minutes, up from 24.8%.

Between the lines: The "Great Reshuffling" led many Americans to move and/or find new jobs, and some of those who enjoyed the benefits of pandemic-era remote work decided to prioritize shorter commutes in favor of more personal or family time.

Some degree of remote and hybrid work is persisting post-pandemic, leading to fewer cars on the road and thus less traffic and faster commutes.

Indianapolis commutes get even shorter

Short commutes are a quality of life feature for Indianapolis.

Transportation

Much has changed about how we work, but there&#x27;s at least one constant: short commutes.What&#x27;s happening: Indianapolis workers took less time getting to work than the national average before the COVID-19 pandemic — and still come out ahead now even as commute times have dropped nationwide.

News

Transit

Data: U.S. Energy Information Administration; Chart: Axios Visuals

Indiana's outage rate has remained below the national average since 2016.

Driving the news: The average Indiana electricity customer experienced 4.8 hours of power outages in 2021 — barely up from 4.7 hours in 2020, and up from 3.9 hours in 2013.

That's per the latest available data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, an agency within the Department of Energy.

The average U.S. electricity customer experienced 7.3 hours of power outages in 2021 — down from 8.2 hours in 2020, but more than double 2013's rate.

Why it matters: Electricity outages stand to become more common as extreme weather events — many driven by climate change — wreak havoc on the country's aging power infrastructure.

While some outages are short-lived annoyances, others are widespread events that can become deadly.

Zoom out: 2021's nationwide numbers were driven in large part by widespread power outages in Texas amid severe winter weather and by broad outages following Hurricane Ida.

The average Louisiana electricity customer experienced a staggering 80.2 hours of downtime in 2021, trailed by Oregon (24.8 hours) and Texas (19.6 hours).

Washington, D.C. (0.9), Delaware (1.1) and Florida (1.35) customers experienced the fewest hours of downtime — the latter a noteworthy stat, given Florida's hurricane vulnerability.

Of note: In a national ranking of electric utility performance, Indiana's average affordability and reliability fell towards the middle, but it ranked 48th in environmental responsibility given high grid emissions, the Indiana Capital Chronicle reported.

Data: U.S. Energy Information Administration; Map: Axios Visuals

Between the lines: Access to reliable power is increasingly an equity issue, Axios New Orleans' Chelsea Brasted reports, as wealthier people are better able to afford backup generators and other adaptations compared to those less well-off.

The intrigue: Some homeowners are turning to whole-home batteries, sometimes charged via solar power, that can store backup electricity in case of an emergency.

A few electric vehicles, like Ford's F-150 Lightning pickup, can also act as residential power sources by funneling electricity from the vehicle's battery into owners' homes.

And several communities, including a Decatur County crop production facility, are turning to "microgrids," which can supply power to a small number of homes and businesses when the main grid goes offline. 

Yes, but: While incentives exist for solar and home battery installation, they're still prohibitively expensive solutions for many homeowners — to say nothing of renters with limited say over their home's energy options.

What's next: Efforts to modernize the grid and reduce outages are underway.

The 2021 infrastructure law allocated $13 billion for modernizing the electrical grid, and the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act guarantees up to $250 billion in loans for projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions from existing energy infrastructure, Axios' Jacob Knutson reports.

The bottom line: It'll take time — years, most likely — for those funds to translate into real-world improvements.

In the meantime, storms will likely keep driving massive outages, putting lives at risk for hours, days or even weeks after they pass.

Indiana electrical outages below national average

That's per the latest available data from the Department of Energy.

Indiana&#x27;s outage rate has remained below the national average since 2016.Driving the news: The average Indiana electricity customer experienced 4.8 hours of power outages in 2021 — barely up from 4.7 hours in 2020, and up from 3.9 hours in 2013.<ul><li>That&#x27;s per the latest available data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, an agency within the Department of Energy.</li></ul>

Latest news on Wall Street, Corporate America and financial regulation.

Business

Climate

Data: U.S. Census; Note: Includes women ages 16 to 50; Chart: Kavya Beheraj/Axios

The share of new moms in the Indianapolis area participating in the workforce — higher than the national average — is particularly at risk with an impending child care affordability crisis.

Why it matters: Motherhood often knocks women out of the labor force, at least temporarily — often slowing their career and earnings growth and contributing to the gender pay gap.

By the numbers: 71.3% of Indy women who gave birth in the previous 12 months were participating in the labor force as of 2022, per the latest American Community Survey data.

That's compared to 71.5% in 2021, and 63.9% in 2010.

The big picture: Nationally, the percentage of women who recently gave birth and are participating in the workforce reached a decade-plus high last year, Axios' Alex Fitzpatrick and Kavya Beheraj report.

66.6% of U.S. women who gave birth in the previous 12 months were participating in the labor force as of 2022.

That's compared to 66.5% in 2021, and 61.6% in 2010.

Driving the news: Remote and flexible work is making it easier for new moms to juggle both parenting and their careers, Axios' Emily Peck has reported.

In fact, the workplace gender gap is at a record low.

That's true for new dads, too — but women tend to bear the brunt of work/life priority changes brought on by parenthood.

Between the lines: One complicating factor is the skyrocketing cost of child care, which is driven in part by a lack of supply and low caretaker pay.

As care gets more expensive, more and more families are put in the difficult position of deciding whether it makes sense for both parents to work, or for one to stay home and watch the kids.

Often, it's mothers who wind up staying home — in part because they likely make less to begin with.

What we're watching: Whether the loss of federal funding for child care facilities reverses the trend of more moms in the workforce.

Plus: Some employers are desperately trying to drag workers back to the office, but are finding mixed success as many employees embrace a lifestyle that affords better flexibility — whether to raise a family, pursue a hobby or simply avoid a stressful commute.

an impending child care affordability crisis.

Axios' Alex Fitzpatrick and Kavya Beheraj report

New moms are working at record rates

As child care centers face closure, it could reverse a decade-long trend.

Indianapolis, Indiana

The share of new moms in the Indianapolis area participating in the workforce — higher than the national average — is particularly at risk with <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="an impending child care affordability crisis." data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/indianapolis/2023/10/02/indiana-child-care-centers-closing" data-vars-content-id="34f740d5-5b1b-4605-a23f-49d4ea70b8bc" data-vars-headline="New moms are working at record rates" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/indianapolis/2023/10/02/indiana-child-care-centers-closing" target="_self">an impending child care affordability crisis.</a>Why it matters: Motherhood often knocks women out of the labor force, at least temporarily — often slowing their career and earnings growth and contributing to the gender pay gap.

Data: University of Toronto; Note: Downtown defined as the central location with the highest concentration of employment in each metro area; Chart: Kavya Beheraj/Axios

Indianapolis now ranks 21st out of more than 50 major U.S. cities in terms of post-pandemic downtown recovery, with a 79.4% recovery rate.

That's based on the number of downtown visitors in March through mid-June 2023, as compared to the same period in 2019.

The big picture: Indianapolis' rank changed from 48th following a methodology shift by University of Toronto researchers tracking how cities are emerging from the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Most crucially, the researchers changed their definition of "downtown." They used to define it by ZIP codes with the highest job density, but now do so by broader areas with a high concentration of jobs.

The Indianapolis data previously used only the 46204 ZIP code, excluding areas such as the Indiana Convention Center, which are part of the downtown core and serve as key indicators of traffic.

Of note: Researchers also shifted from using two location data sources to one and looked at a slightly more current time frame as compared to their last update. (These analyses are based on anonymized mobile device location data.)

What they're saying: School of Cities director and project leader Karen Chapple says the decision to change the definition of "downtown" came after pushback from some cities and business associations.

"We've looked at cities' own definitions of downtown, but those boundaries are historic and don't reflect where the current buildings are, or they're political, or they've been drawn to match census boundaries," Chapple tells Axios. "So they have the same flaws as using ZIP codes."

"We decided to go with job densities ... figuring that's what people really care about — these are the hearts of our regions and of our cities."

What's next: Chapple's team is about to roll out a new widget allowing users to choose from different versions of "downtown," to illustrate how any given city's numbers might change depending on the chosen area.

Downtown Indy recovery looks healthier from new angle

Indianapolis now ranks 21st out of more than 50 major U.S. cities in terms of post-pandemic downtown recovery.

Indianapolis now ranks 21st out of more than 50 major U.S. cities in terms of post-pandemic downtown recovery, with a 79.4% recovery rate.<ul><li>That&#x27;s based on the number of downtown visitors in March through mid-June 2023, as compared to the same period in 2019.</li></ul>

Alex Fitzpatrick

Featured stories

Downtown Indy recovery looks healthier from new angle

Indianapolis commutes get even shorter

Indiana ER wait times stay below national average

New moms are working at record rates

Indiana electrical outages below national average