Boone - Healthcare at the Boone County Memorial Hospital

We are just leaving Boone after a very enjoyable visit.

We got to town with some time to spare, so we went grabbed a bite to eat at a restaurant called the Giggling Goat. I had a very delicious, healthy salad.

After lunch, we still had some time, so we visited a very nice antique shop called Iron Horse Antiques. It is owned and operated by a former state employee who retired a few years ago. I was able to pick up a few Haviland bowls that match a pattern I am collecting, and even Troy found something. Unfortunately, our trooper, Mike, who is with us on this trip didn't find anything - because he didn't go in. Apparently he is allergic to antique stores. Oh well, he doesn't know what he is missing.

With our treasures secured safely in White Beauty, we moved on to our event at the Boone County Memorial Hospital.

Rejoining the tour was Tom Newton, who skipped this morning for the Public Health Conference in Ames. And meeting me in Boone was Rep. Donovan Olson, another hardworking member of the legislature who has been a great partner in our health care efforts.

We did our event in the main entrance to the hospital, and in the atrium were about two dozen little chairs all painted and decorated differently. I asked what they were for, and they told me it is a fundraiser they are doing, and they are calling it a "CHAIR-ity". Some of them are really cute, and I thought about bidding on one but unfortunately, I had to hit the road.

But this fundraiser and all the little chairs symbolize the community support that rural hospitals enjoy. Community hospitals are critically important to the health of our state. As someone who used to work in a small, rural hospital, I know that these facilities are a source of pride for a community.

It is not easy for these hospitals. They often times have a hard time finding and funding qualified staff. And it is often difficult to make ends meet.

That is why the Governor and I have worked hard to prevent cuts in medicaid reimbursements, which are vitally important to supporting these institutions.

And with federal health care reform, there is some hope that we will be able to address the problems of Iowa's chronically low federal medicare reimbursement rates.

We are going to keep on doing whatever we can to help support these community hospitals and ensure they continue to meet the health needs of Iowans.

Well, we have one more event in Perry before our conference in Ames this evening.

Until next time,

Patty