Red Oak, Iowa – The Iowa Hospital Association has awarded the Montgomery County Memorial Hospital + Clinics (MCMH) Board of Trustees the prestigious three-star award for having 100% of trustees certified in their Hospital Board Certification Program. This is the highest honor given to a board certified in the program. The IHA Hospital Board Certification Program is designed to promote governance best practices and encourage the coordination of care and best use of resources. The program requires new and returning trustees to complete a certification form and 12 hours of continuing board education over a period of two years.

(L-R): Top row: Jill Bergstrom, James Norris and Ann Carder; Bottom Row: Jim Robinson, Kevin Cabbage, Lorin Petersen and Roger Ehmke (Photo Courtesy Michelle Zanders, MCMH Community Relations)

MCMH CEO Ron Kloewer says “This is excellent news. The certification program is a big time commitment and shows true dedication to their office.” Trustees who participate in the program demonstrate to community members that they understand and embrace the need for governance accountability, govern according to standards of excellence, are committed to coordination of resources in our community, embrace community accountability and transparency, and utilize quality and patient safety performance data to identify opportunities for improvement.

The MCMH Board of Trustees include: Kevin Cabbage, Chairman; Lorin Petersen, Vice Chairman; Jim Robinson, Treasurer; Roger Ehmke, Secretary; Jill Bergstrom, Trustee; Ann Carder, Trustee; and James Norris, Trustee. The Board will be honored at the IHA Governance Forum in Des Moines on April 22nd.

(Radio Iowa) – Advocates for victims of domestic violence and other crimes are urging lawmakers to dedicate more money to assist victims. In 2021, 20 fatalities in Iowa were attributed to domestic violence — the highest level in a decade. Marti (MAR-tee) Anderson of Des Moines was director of Iowa’s Crime Victim Assistance program for 22 years before being elected to the Iowa House in 2012.

“Victim service advocates need special skills, insight and the capacity to help victims recover from physical, emotional, financial and often spiritual trauma,” Anderson says. Anderson says the work is not for volunteers, as it requires special training — and that costs money, but Anderson says state funding for the Crime Victim Services division has been stuck at five MILLION dollars a year since 2016.

“Those $5 million support nearly 100 programs in the state,” Anderson says. “Justice is not served until the victims of crime are served.” Anderson, a Democrat who is not seeking reelection this year, says the state spend 99 percent more on the offenders than it does on victims.

“There is a lot of work to be done to assist crime victims in this state,” Anderson says, “and people who do the work should be paid for it.” Republican lawmakers writing the state budget say they’re reluctant use state money to replace the reduction in federal grant money that has supported the state’s Crime Victim Services program in the past. They say the federal funding glitch will be fixed in a year or two.

(Radio Iowa) – A bill that would strengthen penalties for crimes against Iowans who are 60 or older has cleared its final legislative hurdle this week. The bill creates new criminal penalties for emotional abuse and neglect of elderly Iowans. Senator Julian Garrett of Indianola says the bill also deals with alleged cases of fraud.

“The bill establishes a crime of financial exploitation of an older individual,” Garrett says, “and this occurs when a person who is in a position of trust abuses that trust to misuse the assets of the older individual.” Representative Dustin Hite of New Sharon says in 13 years as a lawyer, he’s seen cases of hucksters and even family members taking advantage of elderly Iowans.

“What this bill does is it says to those people who are looking for vulnerable victims: ‘Not here,'” Hite says. “…When somebody when somebody picks on the most vulnerable of Iowans, they deserve a harsher punishment.”

The bill has been a top priority for A-A-R-P for several years. It won unanimous approval in the House and Senate and is headed to the governor for her approval.

Atlantic, Iowa – Cass Health officials have announced the addition of Emily James, MSN (Master of Science/Nursing), ARNP (Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioner), FNP-BC (Family Nurse Practitioner-Board Certified), to the team of providers in the Emergency Department and AMC Rapid Care. As a board-certified family nurse practitioner, James will provide care to patients of all ages. A familiar face to many, she has worked in the Cass Health Emergency Department as a nurse since 2017.

Emily James, MSN, ARNP and, FNP-BC

James says , “I always knew I wanted to continue my education. One of the advantages of the healthcare field is the constant learning and continual change. I’ve already had the experience of caring for patients as a nurse, but now as a nurse practitioner, I can provide care to patients on a different level.”

Emily James earned her Master of Science in Nursing from Purdue University Global and is board-certified by The American Nurses Credentialing Center. She received her Associates of Applied Science in Nursing from Southwestern Community College in 2015, and her bachelor’s in 2018 from Purdue University Global. Emily is also a DAISY award nominee; she received nominations in 2016, 2018, and 2019.