(West Des Moines, Iowa) – Iowa REALTORS® distributed more than $609,000 in housing relief grants to 547 households across the state following devastating spring and summer storms this year.  According to the organization, Iowa REALTORS® is dedicated to ensuring Iowans impacted by natural disasters are afforded the resources to rebuild their homes and sense of community through relief grants. Iowa Realtors CEO Gavin Blair said in a press release, “The sense of home for thousands of Iowans was diminished this spring and summer as a result of destructive severe weather events. As Iowans, we know that helping one another is the first line of action. Iowa REALTORS® stand behind our communities and are proud to provide needed support to those who faced the unimaginable.”

Through three separate grant relief campaigns, Iowa REALTORS® distributed $609,373 in funding to 547 Iowans. The funding was available to individuals impacted by storms in April, May and June to assist with mortgage and rental payments or hotel reimbursements.  Recipients received funding through a simple application process, sharing the stories and photos of the devastation they encountered following these deadly storms.

A woman from Minden- identified only as Jennifer – said she and her family experienced the total loss of their home following tornadoes that struck this past May. She said “The shock of this traumatic event still haunts us. Not only did we deal with wind damage, but the rains that followed for the following days made it extremely difficult to salvage anything that remained.” When flood waters filled the basement and five feet of the first floor of their home in Rock Valley, Stacia and her family lost all of the contents on the two floors. Because of the nature of the disaster – flooding – Stacia’s insurance claim was denied. The ability to obtain relief from Iowa REALTORS® will help her family as they begin to pick up the pieces.

In order to provide needed assistance following three major storm events and their subsequent flooding, Iowa REALTORS® received generous grant funding from the National Association of REALTORS’® REALTORS® Relief Foundation.

HARLAN, IA, September 16, 2024 – The Alzheimer’s Association is inviting Harlan area residents to join the fight to end Alzheimer’s by participating in the Walk to End Alzheimer’s this Saturday, Sept. 21st. The Walk to End Alzheimer’s helps support the Alzheimer’s Association’s critical research, care and support across Iowa. It is the world’s largest event to raise awareness and funds for Alzheimer’s care, support and research.

Registration begins at 9-a.m. with the Promise Garden Ceremony & Walk at 10 a.m., in Harlan’s Pioneer Park. Register and donate at alz.org/walk to get the most out of Walk day and support the fight to end Alzheimer’s.

The Alzheimer’s Association and its volunteers and walk participants are fighting for a different future. For families facing the disease today, for more time, for treatments. Alzheimer’s research is closer than ever to stopping Alzheimer’s, but to get there, the Alzheimer’s Association needs Harlan to join them for the world’s largest fundraiser to fight the disease. Nearly 7 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s disease – the sixth-leading cause of death in the United States. Additionally, more than 11 million family members and friends provide care to people living with Alzheimer’s and other dementias. In Iowa alone, there are more than 62,000 people living with the disease and nearly 100,000 caregivers.

The Alzheimer’s Association Walk to End Alzheimer’s is the world’s largest event to raise awareness and funds for Alzheimer’s care, support and research. Since 1989, the Alzheimer’s Association mobilized millions of Americans in the Alzheimer’s Association Memory Walk^®; now the Alzheimer’s Association is continuing to lead the way with Walk to End Alzheimer’s. Together, we can end Alzheimer’s. Visit alz.org/walk to register and learn more.

(Greenfield, Iowa) – The Adair County Sheriff’s Department reports a woman from Ankeny was arrested Sept. 10th on an Adair County warrant. 30-year-old Chutaia Marika Kei Brown was arrested at and extradited from the Polk County Jail, on a warrant for OWI/2nd offense, and two counts of Child Endangerment. The offenses allegedly occurred on January 13, 2024. All three charges are Aggravated Misdemeanors.

Brown was being held in the Adair County Jail on a $6,000 cash-only bond. A status hearing in her case is set for Sept. 27th.

(Des Moines, Iowa) – Iowa’s Auditor of State Rob Sand, today (Monday), released a report showing that the State of Iowa is failing to meet the federal mandate on inspections of nursing homes certified to accept Medicare or Medicaid and that Iowa is inspecting certified nursing homes at a slower rate compared to neighboring states. Additionally, Iowa ranks 46th nationally in the amount of licensed nursing staff per resident. Iowa has the 17th highest turnover rate among nursing staff. Nearly 11 out of 20 nurses who worked at a certified nursing home in the previous year are no longer employed at the facility.

The Auditor’s Office calculations find that the State of Iowa conducts inspections, on average, every 17.1 months. This is more than 4 months more than the federal mandate requiring certified nursing homes to be inspected, on average, every 12.9 months. CMS also instructs states to inspect individual nursing homes at least once every 15.9 months; 85.4% of Iowa’s 403 certified nursing homes did not meet this expectation on at least one occasion in the past 3 inspections.

In preparing this report, the Auditor’s Office used publicly available data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Specifically, the Auditor’s Office calculated the duration between completed standard inspections across all certified nursing homes to determine the frequency. This report also takes into consideration the national pause on inspections at nursing homes during the COVID-19 pandemic to reach its findings. Durations that occurred during the COVID-19 stoppage are shortened by 147 days – the length of time between official federal guidance to stop and restart onsite standard inspections.

(Glenwood, Iowa) –  Police in Glenwood report two weekend arrests. 42-year-old Catherine Brown, of Glenwood, was arrested Saturday on an outstanding warrant. Brown was released after posting bond. And, on Sunday, Glenwood Police arrested 35-year-old Ashley Flint, of Glenwood, for Driving While Driver’s License is Suspended. Flint also posted bond and was released.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The  Cass County Board of Supervisors will meet 9-a.m. Tuesday, in their Atlantic Courthouse Boardroom. Among the action items on their agenda is to discuss and possibly approve “Consent to Extend Division of Revenue in Urban Renewal Area for the City of Atlantic, to complete the Camblin Hills Subdivision Project from 10-years-to 15-years. The Board will also discuss and/or take action on a commercial lease with the Fourth Judicial District, Dept. of Correctional Services, for County-owned property at 601 Walnut Street, Suite 1.

In other business, the Supervisors will set the date for a public hearing to consider an application for a zoning change of a parcel by Farmer’s Electric Cooperative (FEC), from Agricultural District to Light Industrial, as approved by the Zoning Commission. The hearing will tentatively take place on October 1st. The Board will also act to appoint a member of the Board of Supervisors to the Southlawn Memory Gardens Cemetery.

See the full meeting agenda below:

DES MOINES, September 16, 2024 — The American Heart Association reports 31 facilities across Iowa have received recognition for participation in the AHA’s Mission: Lifeline Stroke post-acute care initiative to enhance guideline-based care for stroke patients, ultimately improving and prolonging lives.

Locally, achievement awards were presented to the Midlands Living Center, in Council Bluffs, and Myrtue Medical Center, in Harlan. The Audubon County Memorial Hospital received a recognition award from the American Heart Association. (View the full list of Achievement and Recognition Awards below)

Stroke is a leading cause of serious long-term disability in the U.S. and approximately 795,000 people each year experience a new or recurrent stroke, according to the American Heart Association’s 2023 statistical update. Participation in the American Heart Association’s post-acute care initiative can help facilities support faster and more effective recovery from stroke through standardized coordination, adherence and implementation of evidence-based care.

Evidence-based rehabilitation and secondary prevention interventions improve recovery after stroke and reduce secondary complications. However, stroke rehabilitation expertise, processes of care, and educational resources vary among sites where post-acute care is delivered. The American Heart Association, the world’s leading nonprofit organization focused on heart and brain health for all, developed quality standards based on the Association’s 2016 Guidelines for Adult Stroke Rehabilitation and Recovery to address these gaps.

The post-acute care initiative provides a framework for assisting facilities to improve care according to the American Heart Association’s rigorous science-based requirements for stroke rehabilitation, including program management, patient and caregiver education and support, care coordination, clinical management and quality improvement.

Facilities participating in the post-acute care initiative receive a participation stipend and site-specific quality improvement support and process improvement ideas surrounding quality standards for stroke recovery, rehabilitation and secondary prevention. Facilities also have the opportunity to be part of a learning collaborative, working with experts in stroke rehabilitation to build tools and share and create best practices. Participation improves collaboration between post-acute care facilities and others involved in stroke care, including hospitals and outpatient providers.

Certificate of achievement recipients have committed to establishing a stroke-specific rehab program, providing stroke education to all staff members, implementing evidence-based protocols and policies, and continuous quality improvement.

Mission: Lifeline Stroke is the American Heart Association’s community-based initiative to develop systems of care to improve outcomes for stroke patients. The program launched in Iowa in July 2022 with the support of a $7.5 million grant from the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust. The goal of Mission: Lifeline stroke is to bring together hospitals, emergency medical services and first responders, rehabilitation facilities, communications and regulatory agencies, state and local government, and payers to forge a proactive system of stroke care that saves and improves lives.

Sites receiving achievement awards included:

• Gundersen Palmer Lutheran Hospital, West Union
• Guttenberg Municipal Hospital, Guttenberg
• Hegg Health Center, Rock Valley
• Jackson County Regional Health Center, Maquoketa
• Jones Regional Medical Center, Anamosa
• Kahl Home, Davenport
• Lucas County Health Center, Chariton
• Mary Greeley Medical Center, Ames
• Midlands Living Center, Council Bluffs
• Myrtue Medical Center, Harlan
• NewAldaya Lifescapes, Cedar Falls
• UnityPoint Health- Finley Hospital, Dubuque
• University of Iowa Health Network Rehabilitation Hospital, Coralville

Sites receiving recognition awards are:

• Audubon County Memorial Hospital, Audubon
• Buchanan County Health Center, Independence
• Cedar Ridge Village, Des Moines
• Community Memorial Hospital, Sumner
• Davis County Hospital, Bloomfield
• Genesis Medical Center DeWitt, DeWitt
• Good Samaritan LeMars, LeMars
• Hearthstone, Pella
• Independence Village, Waukee
• Kennybrook Village, Grimes
• Lone Tree Health Care Center, Lone Tree
• On With Life, Ankeny
• Prairie Vista Village, Altoona
• Sanford Sheldon Medical Center, Sheldon
• St. Luke’s, Sioux City
• Solon Retirement Village, Solon
• Van Buren County Hospital, Keosauqua
• West Ridge Care Center, West Ridge

(Radio Iowa) – Leaders of the Iowa Medical Society say the state faces a workforce crisis in the health care sector. Dr. Christina Taylor is president of the Iowa Medical Society’s board of directors. “We actually have a very looming physician shortage and it’s a real issue and we’re concerned about the ability to maintain proper access to Iowans,” Taylor says. Iowa already ranks 45th in doctor-to-patient ratio. “As of recent data, we have about 5778 doctors, down from 5900 a year ago,” Taylor says, “so we are seeing the number of practicing physicians decrease.”

Iowa Medical Society CEO Steve Churchill, Dr. Christina Taylor and Dr. Gerard Clancy were guests on “Iowa Press” on Iowa PBS. (Iowa PBS photo)

Dr. Gerard Clancy is a clinical professor of psychiatry and emergency medicine and one of five deans at the University of Iowa’s College of Medicine. He says the number of physicians, nationally, does not match demand. “It’s a complex issue. We have a terrible mismatch of demand for health care versus the supply of health care workers, including the physicians,” Clancy says. “Ten thousand Baby Boomers are retiring every day in America right now. Those Baby Boomers need more health care.” Iowa Medical Society C-E-O Steve Churchill says the group will ask the 2025 Iowa Legislature to provide state funding to significantly increase the residency slots for medical students at Iowa hospitals and academic centers.

“That is the leading indicator of where a resident will choose to practice is where they went to residency school, a residency slot,” Churchill said. “In Iowa, we have a shortage.” The group will be asking lawmakers to fund creation of 200 more residency slots — at a cost of 20 million dollars a year.

The Iowa Medical Society will also recommend expanding state programs that erase college debt for physicians who choose to practice in Iowa after getting their medical license. The Iowa Medical Society leaders discussed the state’s physician shortage during a weekend appearance on “Iowa Press” on Iowa P-B-S.