(Radio Iowa) — A bill pending in the Iowa House would set up a state grant program to cover the moving expenses for Puerto Ricans who’ve landed jobs in Iowa — outside of the largest Iowa cites. Republican Representative Joe Mitchell of Wayland is the bill’s sponsor.  “Help employers bring folks from Puerto Rico up to fill these workforce voids,” Mitchell says.

He says with the hurricanes and earthquakes rocking their communities, many Puerto Ricans — who are U.S. citizens — are looking to move to the mainland. “Right now for a family of four, it’s about $5000 to fly them up here, to move their belongings up here, to get them in good, quality, affordable housing,” Mitchell says. The bill sets up a “Grow Iowa’s Talent Pool Fund” to award grants for businesses that reimburse employees for moving expenses.

The grants would be limited to companies located in a city or township that has fewer than 50-thousand people. The Census Bureau estimated that in 2017, about 75-hundred people who were originally from Puerto Rico had moved to Iowa. “Obviously the biggest marketer of this program is going to be Puerto Ricans themselves who’ve already come up here and encourage family members to come up,” Mitchell says.

Puerto Rico became a U.S. territory in 1898 and people born in Puerto Rico are U.S. citizens. Hurricane Maria struck the island in 2017. Earthquakes struck in January. Thousands remain without power.

(Radio Iowa) When you call 9-1-1 in parts of rural Iowa, there’s no guarantee an ambulance will be available, as emergency medical services aren’t considered essential, like fire or police. Mark Sachen, president of the Iowa Emergency Medical Services Association, says three-fourths of local departments are volunteer-run. Because the service isn’t guaranteed by local or state funding, many get their money from billing patients or bake sales.

Sachen says, “I think we’re to the point now where the demands on the system are far exceeding the available resources available to provide those services.” In the past five years, Iowa saw a four-percent decrease in the number of registered E-M-Ts. Fourteen counties are covered by just one ambulance service while Worth County has none for its 400 square miles. In Tripoli (Trip’OH-lah), director Kip Ladage has just a few E-M-Ts to cover 99 square miles in Bremer County. He notes staff shortages in neighboring areas create a domino effect.

“From six in the morning to six at night we probably have two, maybe three, if we’re lucky that are available,” Ladage says. “What if Tripoli can’t cover and Denver is already out and can’t cover. Then where do we go? Then that response time just gets that much longer.” Wright County supervisor Karl Helgevold says voters in 2018 overwhelmingly approved a property tax levy to make Wright County the first in the state to declare E-M-S services as essential. That raised a half million dollars a year for training, equipment and a countywide E-M-S coordinator.

Helgevold feels it’s something the state needs to ensure. “Would it be great if the state had a way to mandate it and fund it in a perfect world? Yeah, but we don’t live in that type of world right now,” Helgevold says. “So we need to do what we need to do and provide a good service to our citizens.” One proposal in the Iowa legislature would make it easier to follow Wright County’s example. It would allow counties to set up partnerships and use existing local taxes to fund E-M-S without voter approval.

Representative Bobby Kaufmann, a Republican from Wilton, doesn’t think the service should be declared essential at the state level as it could impose a cookie cutter set of requirements. Kaufmann says, “I still think it should be done county-by-county because there are different mechanisms that work for different areas.” Kauffman is asking the state to appropriate about five-million dollars toward the state’s various E-M-S departments.

(Reporting by Natalie Krebs, Iowa Public Radio)

ATLANTIC – Cass County Health System Foundation is offering $10,000 in scholarships to students who are enrolled and have been accepted into a nursing or medical doctor training program. The scholarships were established by a bequest from Louie and Elsie Hansen.

“The Hansen’s believed strongly in the importance of education, and the need for well-trained healthcare professionals,” explained Kent Gade CCHS Foundation board President. “We are very proud to provide this scholarship in their memory.”

The Louie and Elsie Hansen Memorial Scholarship was established to benefit Cass County high school graduates who are enrolled and have been accepted into a college of nursing or medicine, leading to an LPN, RN, BSN, or MD degree. Two $5,000 awards will be presented. Consideration will be given to applicants’ scholarship, citizenship, and leadership abilities. Applications are available at the CCHS Foundation office and online at casshealth.org.

In 2019, the CCHS Foundation awarded four $5000 scholarships. The recipients were Emily Beerman, Madison Helvie, Morgan Anstey and Tatum Heath. “This is the third time the board has awarded four scholarships,” said Kent Gade, Foundation President. The awards are based on the applications received each year.

Scholarship applications are due to the Foundation Office no later than April 1, 2020. For further information, contact Dawn Marnin, CCHS Foundation Director, at 712-243-7409 or mardd@casshealth.org.