Press Release: Regional Care Group Honors Local Human Services Pioneer

MERRILLVILLE, IN – Regional Care Group honored local human services pioneer, Robert “Bob” Krumwied, by dedicating its Geminus building as the Krumwied building. Mr. Krumwied was joined by community members, Regional Care Group CEO Bill Trowbridge, Geminus President Sonia Magallon and board members at a dedication Thursday morning. As Northwest Indiana’s first administrative service organization and one of the area’s largest not-for-profits, Geminus is the brain child of Mr. Krumwied.

“It is a privilege to honor a person who brought our community a revolutionary health care concept—that a person’s mental, physical and social health are central to quality of life,” said Terry Quinn, chairman of the Regional Care Group board of directors. “Bob united our focus on whole person health, and worked to create access to services that could not only help individuals recover from substance misuse or manage a mental illness, but also help them survive and thrive in life.”

For more than two decades, thousands of Northwest Indiana families have received access through Geminus to affordable, high-quality early childhood education opportunities, family social services and suicide-prevention and substance-use-prevention services. The not-for-profit formed in 1992 and was originally intended as a management company for Northwest Indiana’s two community mental health centers: Tri-City Community Mental Health Center and Southlake Center for Mental Health (now Regional Health Systems).

Mr. Krumwied, who periodically served as president and CEO of Geminus, also served as the president and CEO of Regional Health Systems (formerly Regional Mental Health Center) from 1989 to 2019.

“Bob wasn’t afraid to take on the challenges of social health care programs,” said Don Levinson, vice chair of the Geminus board of directors. “He believed that if we help ease the impact of mental health, addictions, health care or social issues in one person’s life, it will impact the community surrounding the individual.”

Under Mr. Krumwied’s leadership, Geminus transformed from a management company to a community-based resource for social services. Today, the not-for-profit routinely employs more than 500 staff to support services for federal, state and local governmental organizations. Services include Head Start, Early Head Start, child care resource and referral services, community-based programs focusing on rental assistance, child abuse prevention, domestic violence intervention, substance-use and suicide prevention, case management, residential services, truancy prevention services, and more. In addition to community-based social services, Geminus is a member of the Regional Care Group, providing administrative support services for the network.

“Bob’s commitment to whole-person health gave thousands of Hoosiers hope and a chance at lifelong resiliency,” said Bill Trowbridge, CEO of Regional Care Group. “I’m glad the Geminus building will serve as a reminder of his achievements and our purpose.

“I had a front row seat to work with talented and empathetic staff who helped Hoosiers get much needed assistance where it worked best for them—in their home community,” Krumwied said. “It’s been a wonderful to be a part of a journey that will continue to grow and change community-based health.”

ABOUT ROBERT “BOB” KRUMWIED 

Robert “Bob” Krumwied spent his career striving for Hoosiers to receive the highest quality of care in mental health and substance use treatment possible. After creating Geminus, Krumwied went on to unite Lake County’s two community mental health centers, the Tri-City Community Mental Health Center — Tri-City — and the Southlake Mental Health Center, into Regional Mental Health Center, now known as Regional Health Systems, and sought to integrate treatment for mental health, physical health and social health needs. Regional’s innovative strategy of aligning the importance of mental health with physical health and social health led to the eventual creation of Regional Health Clinic, the first federally qualified health center in Indiana to open within a community mental health center.

The expansions and changes, however, do not end there. Krumwied identified the area’s need to provide long-term residential care to homeless and low-income adults coping with complex and severe mental health issues. Lake Park Residential Care opened its doors in 2006 in Lake Station and, since then, has served hundreds of adults who would have otherwise been displaced, homeless or worse.

Krumwied’s last significant professional achievement—before retirement—helped bring the first psychiatry residency program to Northern Indiana. The psychiatry residency program is a partnership with the Indiana University School of Medicine, the Northwest Indiana Graduate Medical Education Consortium and Regional Health Systems.

Krumwied’s commitment to building lifelong resiliency for each individual served will resonate for generations to come. His dedication to the betterment of people and of Indiana was recognized early in his profession: Krumwied received the Distinguished Hoosier Award from Governor Robert Orr, and the Sagamore of the Wabash award—the highest honor an Indiana governor bestows—from Governor Evan Bayh. Prior to joining Tri-City Mental Health Center, now Regional Health Systems, as its CEO in 1989, Mr. Krumwied served as the acting commissioner for the Indiana Department of Mental Health.

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ABOUT REGIONAL CARE GROUP

Regional Care Group is Indiana’s largest and most comprehensive network of community-based health care and social services. Providing a complete continuum of care through Regional Health Systems, Geminus Corporation and Lake Park Residential Care, we treat the whole person.