by Scott McIntyre on Wednesday, July 28, 2010
1RAGBRAI, the mobile festival that each year crosses Iowa on 10,000 pairs of skinny bike tires (give or take a few thousand), is about halfway through its 2010 route as the mass of cyclists, support vehicles and vendors makes its way from Clear Lake to Charles City today.
Perhaps the most recognized event in Iowa, RAGBRAI is a huge undertaking for everyone involved, particularly in the towns and cities at the end of each day’s ride. Hospitals play several important roles in that preparation.
RAGBRAI is driven by volunteers. As pools for talent and manpower, few entities match up to hospitals. Inevitably, hospital employees – from CEOs to nurses to materials managers – end up participating on (and often leading) organizing committees. This is in addition to handling their most important mission: making sure the hospital can respond to the medical needs of the community at all times.
This is a real challenge when RAGBRAI comes to town. For instance, take Charles City, which is served by Floyd County Medical Center. With a population of less than 9,000, the city will more than double in size when RAGBRAI is in full swing later today.
The hospital’s 200 employees must be prepared to serve that population, which today will be particularly susceptible to injury and illness. At the same time, those hospital employees have been called upon to volunteer at their churches, schools and other organizations that are also working to make sure RAGBRAI is a success. Those activities are uniformly supported by hospital leaders; they recognize that the community needs the manpower. But it’s a difficult balancing act for hospitals, which, unlike other businesses, cannot easily down-staff or close for the day (or any part of it).
It’s no coincidence that on every RAGBRAI route, year after year, nearly every overnight community has at least one hospital. But the hospitals provide more than health and safety for RAGBRAI participants; hospitals are also a big part of the economic health of their communities. Along this year’s route, hospitals employ more than 13,000 people and have an economic impact of nearly $700 million.
This means that in addition to providing some of the best health care in the nation, these towns and cities have the quality of life and overall vibrancy that attracts RAGBRAI organizers and delights RAGBRAI participants.
by Scott McIntyre on Friday, July 23, 2010
Sister Mary Brigid at the Clark Street House of Mercy in Des Moines.
Sister Mary Brigid Condon, a former IHA executive and a longtime advocate for nurses and nursing education in Iowa, died this week at Provena Mercy Medical Center in Aurora, Illinois. She was 93 years old.
A graduate of the University of Iowa with both master’s and doctoral degrees in nursing, Sister Mary Brigid was well known in the field of nursing education, especially in Iowa, where she spent nearly 50 years. She began in Marshalltown in 1943, where she was the director of nursing and the school of nursing and then took on similar duties at Mercy Hospital in Iowa City.
She was head of the department of nursing and a professor at Davenport’s St. Ambrose College (now St. Ambrose University) and Marycrest College from 1954-1973. In March 2010, St. Ambrose recognized Sister Mary Brigid by dedicating a classroom in her honor at the school’s new Center for Health Sciences Education, located on the campus of Genesis Medical Center.
At IHA, Sister Mary Brigid was a vice president for seven years in the 1970s and 1980s and was appointed by the governor to the Iowa Board of Nursing and the Physicians Assistants Board. During this time she served as a consultant to all Iowa hospitals and spoke at medical seminars nationally and abroad. At age 70, she became the founder and executive director of House of Mercy, a home for single mothers and children in Des Moines.
A Liturgical Wake service will be held July 26, at 2 p.m., followed by visitation until 8 p.m. at Provena McAuley Manor, 400 W. Sullivan Road, in Aurora. Mass of Christian Burial will be July 27 at 10 a.m. in McAuley Chapel, also at Provena McAuley Manor. Interment will be at Mount Olivet Cemetery in Aurora. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Sisters of Mercy.
by Scott McIntyre on Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Kelly Lillie, scholarship recipient
A while back, a post on this blog talked about the newest recipients of the scholarships that IHA provides each year through the Iowa Hospital Education and Research Foundation (IHERF).
At that time, we wanted to share the excitement – both IHA’s and the recipients’ – that comes with handing out large sums of money. But it was more than simply being “springtime Santas”; it was changing lives in a very real and personal way.
More than a few of these scholarship recipients have made it clear that the help they received from IHA, which comes by way of contributions from hospitals and sponsors (more about that later), will allow them to remain on track and on time to finish their degrees. Otherwise, they might have to work more, study less and maybe even drop out of school, at least temporarily.
Since that post in May, we’ve had the chance to look more closely at the 31 men and women who received the IHERF Health Careers Scholarship for 2010. Here are some observations:
- These are outstanding students. The numbers are all there – class-leading GPAs and ACT scores – along with long lists of school and community involvement.
- These are students who are much more than students. Besides supporting various community organizations with their time and talent, several are also supporting children and working part time (at least) to do more than pay for books and gas.
- These are leaders. Many are seeking advanced degrees to advance their careers, but also to put themselves in positions where they can mentor, teach and influence the next generation of health care professionals. They are energized by the national focus on health care and the role they can play to make the system work.
- These are Iowans who care. Yes, as a condition of receiving the scholarship, all of the students must agree to work at an Iowa hospital for one year. But it’s clear that these students have a strong desire to serve Iowans – in many cases, in the very towns and hospitals where they were born. As scholarship recipient Kelly Lillie, an aspiring nurse practitioner from Hancock County Memorial Hospital in Britt put it, “I am ready and willing to step up to the plate, to take on the role as a midlevel provider and be part of the solution for health care in rural Iowa, my home.”
As our scholars commit themselves to Iowa hospitals and the communities they serve, it completes the circle that also starts with Iowa hospitals, whose donations, along with funds from generous businesses, have made the Health Care Careers Scholarship Fund possible. Many of these donations come from hospital leaders and the sponsors who participate in IHA’s annual Swinging for Scholars golf fundraiser.
It adds up to more than a half-million dollars in scholarship support since the fund started in 2004. But the real bottom line is found in town and cities all over Iowa, where these high-performing, scholarship-earning men and women will ensure access to high-value health care.
by Chris English on Thursday, May 27, 2010
On May 13, a tragic accident near Carroll claimed the life of Sheryl Stoolman, a well-known and highly respected health care worker. Stoolman was a dedicated nurse who had worked at St. Anthony Regional Hospital for more than 25 years.
In 2007, Stoolman was named one of that year’s Iowa Hospital Heroes at the IHA annual meeting. On May 18, Stoolman was recognized at a National EMS Week event at Mercy Medical Center-Des Moines.
The Iowa Hospital Association dedicates the video below to the life and work of Sheryl Stoolman, a true Iowa Hospital Hero.
YouTube link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnysb31IpLk
by Scott McIntyre on Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Lucas County Health Center
IHA staff will be in Chariton today to celebrate the staff at Lucas County Health Center (LCHC). As is the case in much of Iowa, LCHC is the county’s only hospital. It is also one of the county’s largest employers. Hy-Vee’s main distribution hub, one of the largest companies in south-central Iowa, is the only employer that is bigger.
LCHC has 185 employees and a payroll exceeding $7.1 million. But the impact is more than the hospital’s employees and their salaries. The hospital also creates local jobs and businesses to the tune $9.4 million, not to mention the LCHC employees purchasing more than $1.5 million in retail goods in the county each year.
The jobs offered at the hospital are the kind that attract and keep young people in the area. They are the kind of jobs people can build a family, home and life on. There are several LCHC employees who have been with the hospital 25, 30 and even 40 years.
The hospital itself is also in for the long-term. The community began pursuing a fully equipped hospital in the mid 1950s. A public vote allowed $200,000 in bonds to be sold and an additional $180,000 was secured in federal Hill-Burton funds, which helped many Iowa communities establish their first modern hospitals. The community further voiced its support by donating $170,000 to the effort. Construction commenced in the fall of 1959 and the hospital opened its doors on May 1, 1961.
As LCHC approaches enters its 50th year of service, it has become much more than a hospital. For example, Lucas County Health Center Foundation purchased in 2001 the former corporate headquarters of Hy-Vee, Inc. The purchase was made possible through a donation from the Vredenburg Foundation, with support from Hy-Vee, Inc. The building encompasses 55,000-square feet on two stories. A large portion of the second story was remodeled to house LCHC’s Kids’ Life Discovery Center and Discovery Preschool. Other parts of the building are leased to various tenants. In December, 2008 ownership of the Vredenburg Center transferred to the Lucas County Health Center. By 2009, Kids’ Life Discovery Center had created a Nature Explore Classroom for playground use.
This is one example of how hospital leadership and resources identified a community need and addressed. It is something that LCHC does every day, as do Iowa’s other 117 hospitals.
