Atlantic, IA – Cass Health (in Atlantic) has been named as a recipient of the 2021 MAP Award for High Performance in Revenue Cycle, sponsored by the Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA). Hospital officials say as a national award winner, Cass Health has met industry-standard revenue cycle benchmarks, implemented the patient-centered recommendations and best practices embodied in HFMA’s Healthcare Dollars & Sense® initiatives, and achieved outstanding patient satisfaction. Award recipients are acknowledged as industry leaders and share proven strategies with their colleagues. The award was formally presented on June 29 during the HFMA Annual Conference Preview and this November winners will be celebrated at the HFMA Annual Conference in Minneapolis, MN.

Cass Health Revenue Cycle Director Cindy Petty says “We are extremely honored to be recognized. Across our organization, the dedication and support of our entire revenue cycle team has helped us become a high performing organization.” Cass Health Chief Financial Officer Abbey Stangl commented that earning this award is wonderful praise for the team’s work. She says “It is a testament to the efforts of our staff to champion this focus beyond just direct patient care. Our goal to continue these efforts into the future are what will help us continue to grow and support our vision of being the best rural hospital in the country.”

HFMA President and CEO Joseph J. Fifer, FHFMA, CPA added, “Congratulations to all of our winning organizations, which have not only adopted HFMA’s Best Practices for Patient Financial Communications but also achieved excellence in revenue cycle overall. These exceptional organizations have superior processes for communicating complex financial issues to patients in understandable ways.”

Created by and for healthcare leaders, HFMA’s MAP initiative sets the standard for revenue cycle excellence in the healthcare industry. MAP is a comprehensive strategy that allows organizations to measure revenue cycle performance using the industry-standard MAP Keys; apply evidence-based strategies for improvement; and perform to the highest standards to improve financial results and patient satisfaction.

Creston Police report two women and four children suffered suspected minor/non-incapacitating injuries during a collision Wednesday evening. Authorities say a 2006 Chevy Impala driven by 18-year-old Alexandria Whitfield, of Creston, was traveling in the outside lane east on Highway 34 a little before 5-p.m. A 2001 Chevy Tahoe driven by 33-year-old Kayla Harris, of Creston, was traveling westbound in the inside lane and attempting to turn south onto Abell. The vehicles collided head-on, sustaining disabling damage estimated at $10,000 each.

Whitfield and Harris were transported by EMS ambulance to the Greater Regional Medical Center, in Creston. A passenger in the Impala, 13-year-old Aundreah Whitffield, and three passengers in the Tahoe: 13-year-old Madysen Ford, 12-year-old Keyona Robb, and 13-year-old Olivia Robb, all of Creston, were also transported to the hospital by EMS. With the exception of Kayla Harris, each of the vehicle occupants were wearing their seat belts. Personnel with the Creston Fire Department assisted at the scene.

Police say Whitfield was cited for Operating a motor vehicle with and expired license and Possession of a Controlled Substance. Harris was cited for Failure to Yield Upon Left Turn. Authorities said following the collision, the Tahoe came to rest on the Iowa Savings Bank property, at 504 W. Taylor. The SUV struck the front of a brick structure. It also hit a road sign. Collateral damage as a result of the crash amounted to $600.

(Atlantic) – Cass County Engineer Trent Wolken, Wednesday, reported on County bridge projects and other Secondary Roads Department news. He told the Board of Supervisors last week was spent applying spot road rock on different roads that needed it, in light of recent rain and heavy traffic on those roads. Work installing project pipe along Troublesome Creek Road began Wednesday.

He said work on two bridge projects in the County are progressing, including the Olive Street Bridge, a few miles south of I-80, that has left one of the main corridors from Atlantic to the Interstate, closed. Wolken said the project is moving closer toward completion.

As for the bridge on Boston Road, Wolken said all four parts of the substructure are poured.

He said also, they expect to start work on a box culvert project on Indian Creek Road in far western Cass County, in the next month or so.

(Radio Iowa) – The housing market in Iowa continues to be strong with bidding wars, and realtors struggling to find houses for their buyers. Iowa Association of Realtors president, Jen Burkamper of Ames, says that issue hasn’t dampened interest in the profession. “No, actually we make it look easy — so everybody wants to get in,” Burkamper says. She says more people have joined the realtor ranks in the past couple of years.

“At the Iowa Association of Realtors we just broke eight-thousand-members,” Burkamper says. “In my 21 years we’ve always ranged around that 78-hundred, 77-hundred, and we just broke eight-thousand members.” Burkamper says the pandemic has had a lot to do with the increase. “With the changes in jobs and unemployment and everything in the pandemic, I think it’s caused people to want to get into this industry,” she says.

Burkamper says quick sales and higher selling prices may draw people to the business — but she says you have to be ready for the long haul. “It looks easy when things are selling quickly, but they don’t see all the work involved in what that takes,” according to Burkamper. She says Iowa is a good place overall to be a real estate agent. “We are pretty steady — we’re not like the coasts where you have high fluctuations and then you have high drops — we sit pretty steady,” Burkamper says. “So as long as you are on top of your game and doing what you need to do, you are probably not going to see a problem in sales. You’ve got to work hard.”

Burkamper calls the most recent market the craziest she’s seen in her career, and expects things will eventually return back to a more normal situation.