Iowa Ideas 2024

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Health Care

Physical and behavioral need for generations.

SESSION 1
Addressing long-term care challenges in Iowa

Iowa nursing homes face heightened scrutiny after reports of deaths, abuse and neglect in recent years. This session will look at the issues and challenges facing Iowa’s long-term care facilities, from staffing, to training, family access, and security.

October 10, 2024 at 9:35AM
SESSION 2
Protecting Iowa's health care workers

Health Care and social service workers face some of the highest rates of workplace violence. Current Iowa law makes it a crime to assault health care providers. This session will discuss whether that’s enough, and what more can be done.

October 10, 2024 at 10:40AM
SESSION 3
Cancer in Iowa

Iowa has the second highest cancer rate in the nation and the fastest growing rate of new cancers. What’s behind that rate, and what’s being done to address it? Iowa legislators on both sides of the aisle have proposed bills aimed at cancer prevention in the state. This session will look at access to treatment, insurance, and testing used to diagnose, treat, manage or monitor cancer.

October 10, 2024 at 11:45AM
SESSION 4
Equitable treatment and services in health care

For immigrants who have just arrived in Iowa, emergency dental care may be one of the first issues that leads to seeking out medical treatment. But language barriers and cultural differences can make it difficult for refugee families to navigate the limited options. This session will discuss the barriers, resources and supports needed in Iowa for a growing diverse population.

October 10, 2024 at 1:55PM
SESSION 5
Bolstering Iowa's maternal health system

Iowa's maternal death rate and infant mortality rate have spiked as birthing units have closed in recent years. A 2023 report from the March of Dimes found a third of Iowa's counties are "maternity care deserts." This session will explore how state policies have and have not worked to improve outcomes for moms and babies, and what's missing in efforts to bolster Iowa's maternal health system.

October 10, 2024 at 3:00PM
SESSION 6
Solving the health care worker shortage

Iowa’s hospitals are facing a perfect storm. About 70 percent of medical facilities report struggling to find qualified nurses, while at the same time nursing schools are turning away prospective students because of capacity issues. What are Iowa institutions and state officials doing to address this industry challenge?

October 11, 2024 at 9:40AM
SESSION 7
Nursing home oversight in Iowa

More than 40 percent of Iowa's nursing homes do not meet upcoming federal mandates on staffing levels, while more than 30 centers across the state have closed because of staffing and financial duress. State legislative efforts to address the staff shortages and provide other protections failed to advance last session, while the struggle to keep up with annual inspections remain. How does Iowa balance these interests in ways that keep residents safe, control costs and provide adequate levels and training of staff?

October 11, 2024 at 11:50AM

Health Care Articles

Iowa Ideas: Staffing shortages, flat funding impacting patient care

The question that wakes Iowa’s health care leaders up at night is whether they will have enough nurses and other staff to care for Iowa’s patients and long-term care residents. “The most challenging issue that is systemic is the workforce shortage,” said Angela Van Pelt, Iowa’s long-term care ombudsman. “In our world, it’s people who work in lo...
Iowa hospitals reflect on lessons learned from pandemic, derecho

Emergency preparedness plans take into account unconnected disasters taking place at the same time. But the confluence of the derecho and pandemic — and the need to follow public health measures that, at times, clashed with typical natural disaster response — placed an additional burden on Cedar Rapids hospitals.
Focusing on mental health following COVID-19

Even as much of the nation began to emerge from the pandemic this summer, some have struggled to feel as if things are back to normal. The percentage of Americans reporting feelings of anxiety or depression spiked this past year as the COVID-19 spread across the globe and into the United States by early March 2020.
Iowa’s public health workforce is burned out. Can it recover?

The pandemic public health emergency placed an overwhelming burden on an already underfunded and understaffed public health workforce. For at least 15 months, staff at public health agencies have worked seven days a week, sometimes unable to take more than two hours away at a time from their email and phones, administrators told The Gazette. The...
Iowa Ideas 2020 replay: Reimagining the Future of Health Care

The COVID-19 pandemic challenged the state's health care system in truly unique ways as elective and preventive care was put on hold for weeks. What did health care systems learn from the pandemic and how does it change how the state's health care system will work going forward? How did health care come together, and how can it be improved? We'l...
Iowa Ideas 2020 replay: Health Care Access Disparities

The COVID-19 pandemic and racial injustice protests following the murder of George Floyd brought the disparities that communities of color have with health care. We'll take a look into the gaps Blacks and Latinx communities face when it comes to health care access. What is being done to close these gaps and what challenges exist in Iowa? Panelis...
Iowa Ideas 2020 replay: Future of Prescription Drug Prices

Prescription drug prices is a pocketbook issue with voters, but progress in controlling prescription drug pricing has been difficult to get traction on. The COVID-19 pandemic complicated an already difficult scenario too. How have state reforms been working and what will it take to get meaningful on the issue? Panelists Include: Anthony Carroll,...
Iowa Ideas 2020 replay: Rural Health Care Issues

With Iowa's rural health providers seeing challenges even in the best of times, the coronavirus pandemic has brought forth an entire new host of challenges for Iowa's rural health providers. The pause on appointments had a big impact to finances, but how did telehealth help and could some of those changes become permanent? How does Iowa's rural ...
Iowa Ideas 2020 replay: Mental Health

The elements of 2020 are ingredients for a dramatic increase in mental health issues across the state. Quarantine fatigue, political stressors, shifts in family and social dynamics are jolting all areas of life. How do we differentiate between expected bouts of anxiety vs. high-risk, long-term impact? Panelists include: Peggy Huppert, NAMI; Jaco...
Iowa Ideas 2020 replay: Caring For an Aging Population

The coronavirus pandemic has created an especially challenging set of conditions for delivering care to Iowa's aging populations, who are especially vulnerable to the effects of COVID. What will this mean for the future of care facilities – from design to care? How is this impacting hospice and family caregivers? Panelists Include: Brent WIllett...