Iowa Ideas 2024

< All Tracks

Health Care

Physical and behavioral need for generations.

Health Care Articles

  • 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...
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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...
  • 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...
  • 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...
  • 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,...
  • 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 ...
  • 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...
  • 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...

Iowa Ideas is free to all attendees. Join the conversation!


Register for Iowa Ideas
2024 The Gazette   PrivacyWeb Accessibility