by Dan Royer on Friday, October 16, 2009
Leave a Comment
State Representative Lisa Heddens (R-Ames) and Brian Dieter, CEO at Mary Greeley Medical Center in Ames.
As part of the first annual IHA PAC reception at the 80th IHA Annual Meeting last week, two Iowa legislators were honored and presented with 2009 IHA Legislator of the Year awards for their tireless advocacy of Iowa hospitals over the past Iowa legislative session.
Two legislators, one House member and one Senate member, were given awards to honor their leadership and experience at the Capitol and the well-earned respect of their peers.
In the House, Representative Lisa Heddens (R-Ames) was honored for her work for hospitals and health care in Iowa. Heddens has served in the Iowa House since 2002 and sits on the Joint Health and Human Services Committee.
Brian Dieter, CEO at Mary Greeley Medical Center in Ames, presented the award and stated, “Rep. Heddens was a critical player in maintaining Medicaid payments to hospitals even in these challenging economic times. When Medicaid cuts were proposed in the House, she was a leader in reversing those cuts. Now in her fourth term in House, this legislator is a leader who truly cares about health care.”
In the Senate, Senator Dennis Black (D-Newton) was recognized for his work for hospitals as an outspoken hospital
State Senator Dennis Black (D-Newton) and Gary Kahn, trustee at Skiff Medical Center in Newton.
and health care advocate. Gary Kahn, IHA Board member and trustee at Skiff Medical Center in Newton, presented the award to Senator Black saying, “Senator Black knows a well supported health care system is also critical to that quality of life. And he has provided that support consistently during his many terms both in the House and in the Senate. This past session, his leadership was unparalleled in support of the IHA supported public hospital bill and fighting for adequate Medicaid payments for hospitals.” Black is serving his fourth term in the Iowa Senate.
IHA plans to continue both the IHA PAC reception, hosted for contributors whose donations were at the $350 level or above, as well as the Legislator of the Year awards at the Annual Meeting as a means to heighten the profile of hospital advocacy efforts and recognize legislators who consistently show leadership and support for Iowa hospitals.
by Scott McIntyre on Thursday, October 15, 2009
Methodist West Hospital in West Des Moines is holding its grand-opening ceremonies this weekend. The 230,000-square-foot, $118 million hospital sits on 49 acres and includes 95 private beds in its five stories. The new hospital has six operating rooms, a heart catheterization lab, an endoscopy suite, 12 maternity beds and 13 exam/treatment rooms in its emergency department. Features around the hospital grounds include a lake, healing garden and outdoor dining.
Two IHA Associate Members played major roles in Methodist West’s construction: Shive-Hattery was the project architect and the Weitz Company was the construction manager.
Staff at Methodist West will officially begin seeing patients on October 26.
by Dan Royer on Tuesday, October 13, 2009
After months of negotiations, hours of committee meetings and hundreds of amendments, the Senate Finance Committee has voted to move its health care reform bill out of the committee phase thus moving health care reform efforts closer to the finish line.
The vote was 14-9 with Senator Olympia Snowe (R-ME) as the sole Republican vote for the bill. Snowe said in her remarks that she will vote “yes” today, but that did not mean that she will vote “yes” in the future. Iowa Senator Charles Grassley (R) voted “no” stating in his remarks, “This bill is already moving on a slippery slope toward more government control of health care.”
The committee’s move completes the committee phase on health care reform, as the other four Congressional committees (1 Senate, 3 House) have completed work. The Finance bill will now be melded with the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions bill before moving to the Senate floor for a vote. Meanwhile, the House continues to wait and see what results in the Senate before taking its bill to the floor for a full House vote.
Many are speculating that the health care reform debate will continue, and some are questioning whether or not a bill will make it to the president’s desk before the Congressional Thanksgiving recess in November.
by Dan Royer on Monday, October 12, 2009
The state scorecard released this week by the Commonwealth Fund (CF) ranks Iowa second in the country across key dimensions of health system performance. Vermont was the highest ranking state, followed by Iowa and Hawaii, which tied for second. Six of the 13 top-ranked states are located in the Upper Midwest.
The new report, “Aiming Higher: Results from the 2009 State Scorecard on Health System Performance,” is a follow-up to CF’s 2007 state scorecard report; it ranks states on 38 indicators in the areas of access, quality, avoidable hospital use and costs, healthy lives and equity. Iowa fell within the top quartile of states for 21 of the 38 measures. Compared with 2007 results, Iowa improved 5 percent or more in 14 measures, worsened in seven measures and remained unchanged in 14 measures.
Poorly coordinated care and inefficient use of resources continue to undermine care and drive up costs in many state health care systems, according to the report. States with higher medical costs tend to have higher rates of readmissions to the hospital and potentially preventable hospital admissions for chronic conditions like asthma and diabetes.
The report finds that Iowa and other Upper Midwestern states are all providing high quality care at lower cost. “Their examples suggest that better coordinated care and more efficient use of resources could improve the quality of care people receive while keeping cost in check,” a CF statement concluded.
The scorecard points to substantial opportunities to improve. If all states could reach the level achieved by the top-performing states like Iowa:
- Nearly 78,000 fewer adults and children would die prematurely every year from conditions that could have been prevented with timely and effective health care.
- Nine million more adults age 50 and older would receive recommended preventive care, and almost 800,000 more children would receive key vaccinations.
- Five billion dollars could be saved annually by avoiding preventable hospital admissions and readmissions for vulnerable elderly and disabled residents.
- Twenty-nine million more people would have health insurance, cutting the number of uninsured by more than half.
“The differences we see among the states translate to real lives and dollars,” said CF President Karen Davis. “If we can enact health reforms that give all states the opportunity to do as well as the best states we will save lives, improve quality and cut costs. And, the good news is that these aren’t pie-in-the-sky goals – we know they are attainable because we see it happening in the states at the top of the pack.”
The authors concluded that federal action is needed to raise the floor on performance levels across all states and create a supportive climate for state innovation. If the health care system continues on its current course of rising costs and declining health insurance coverage, states will have an increasingly difficult time going it alone on providing access to affordable, quality health care.
by Scott McIntyre on Monday, October 12, 2009
Among more than 71,000 employees, Iowa hospitals have countless examples of amazing people doing outstanding work. Each year, IHA honors some of those employees as Iowa Hospital Heroes. In the coming weeks, IHA will share the stories of our 2009 Iowa Hospital Heroes. Below is our Hero for this week:
Timi Brown
Med-Fit Coordinator
Covenant Medical Center, Waterloo
Timi Brown has been with Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare for 20 years, working in the Recreational Therapy Program and most recently at Wellness Services as the Medical Fitness Coordinator. She has an amazing “never give up” attitude and shows endless compassion for her patients!
A phenomenal recreational therapist with excellent clinical skills, Timi works with patients with all types of medical conditions, ranging from stroke, cancer, obesity and diabetes, to severe arthritis, fibromyalgia and cardiac rehab issues. But what makes Timi stand out from most in her profession is her unconditional commitment to making her patients healthier, physically and mentally. She is an advocate for the “underdog” and cheers on those who may be written off by others.
Whether by working with children in the Hals Pals Program for youth or teaching post-chemotherapy cancer patients how to rebuild their strength, Timi is always there. She goes beyond the call of duty – at times going to a patient’s home to see how they are doing or to deliver clothes and household items she purchased because the patient is not able to afford basic necessities.
Timi has written numerous grants to fund Wellness Services that benefit many patients in the Cedar Valley. This past year, Timi worked on a grant through the Iowa Legislature to fund childhood obesity and programs like Hals Pals and Med-Fit to help those who wouldn’t be able to afford such services. Timi Brown has an amazing spirit about her and passes on good will to all around by the wonderful attitude she carries daily. She makes people smile, laugh and, most importantly, feel good about who they are.
Timi is truly a hero to her co-workers and her patients and Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare is very fortunate to have her as an associate.
