March 28, 2023, Des Moines – Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signed a rural emergency licensure bill establishing the new hospital designation. IHA advocated for passage of the legislation throughout the legislative process. “In the last decade, more than 140 hospitals have closed in the United States. Most of those hospitals

March 14, 2023, Des Moines – The Iowa Senate unanimously passed the amended rural emergency licensure bill establishing the new hospital designation. IHA advocated for passage of the legislation throughout the legislative process. “In the last decade, more than 140 hospitals have closed in the United States. Most of those

Feb. 16, 2023, Des Moines – Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds today signed a tort reform bill that establishes hard caps on noneconomic damages in cases of medical malpractice. The bill places a $2 million cap for hospitals or a $1 million cap for other health care providers. “This bill is

Feb. 8, 2023, Des Moines – The Iowa House of Representatives and the Iowa Senate held floor debates and voted today to approve the amended House File 161, establishing hard caps on noneconomic damages in cases of medical malpractice. The amended bill places a $2 million cap for hospitals or

Iowa news Study finds fewer postpartum hospitalization in states expanding Medicaid A new study has found states that have expanded Medicaid eligibility saw fewer postpartum hospitalizations. The study, which was published in the journal Health Affairs this week, compared hospital data from 2010 to 2017 for four states that expanded Medicaid and

Iowa news Iowa pharmacist compounds medicines in wake of Tylenol shortages An Iowa pharmacy is relying on “old school” methods to provide liquid forms of common medications to children. Leslie Herron, a pharmacist and owner of the Sumpter Pharmacy in Adel, is compounding acetaminophen to fight Tylenol shortages. “The reason

Iowa news New website aims to help Iowans find treatment for opioid use disorder Using funds from settlements with companies at the center of the nation’s opioid epidemic, the Iowa Attorney General’s Office launched IowaOpioidHelp.com. The website has a list of providers contracted with the state to offer treatment options for

Iowa news COVID has killed nearly 10,000 Iowans. That’s not the whole story. As of the last official count Wednesday, 9,994 Iowans officially have died from the coronavirus, according to the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services. The massive death toll helped drop Iowa’s average life expectancy 1.5 years

Iowa news Iowa joins rollout of national mental health and suicide hotline Iowans experiencing a mental health crisis will soon have a faster way to reach the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. On July 16, Iowa will join states across the country rolling out a three-digit number — 988 — that people can call or text

Iowa news Iowa hospitals offer incentives, programs to fill staff vacancies Some rural hospitals in Iowa were forced to temporarily shut down departments because there were not enough staff. Incentives to hire more employees include sign-on bonuses of as much as $25,000. The need is great because with fewer people

Shenandoah Medical Center CEO pleased with population health improvement Shenandoah Medical Center officials revealed the results of their 2022 Community Health Needs Assessment. The study and survey are conducted every three years to gauge progress in addressing the area’s health needs cited in previous assessments. SMC CEO Matt Sells says

Iowa News Iowa OSHA won’t enforce the federal vaccine-or-test mandate for large businesses Iowa’s Labor Commissioner Rod Roberts has submitted notice that Iowa will not adopt or enforce the Biden administration’s vaccine-or-test requirement for large businesses, Gov. Kim Reynolds’ office announced Friday. Iowa is a State Plan state, which means