Improving Iowa health and health care

This year, the Legislature approved several initiatives to improve the health and wellbeing of Iowans:

>> Protecting seniors from abuse: Iowa is among the top states in the nation for the quality of care provided to its senior citizens, according to the AARP. We want to keep it that way. That’s why we re-established 10 long-term care inspectors, three inspectors for residential care facilities and an attorney with the Iowa Department of Inspections & Appeals. The AARP applauded our efforts to give Iowans improved oversight of quality standards in nursing homes. Unfortunately, the Branstad Administration has failed so far to hire the necessary inspectors, meaning there’s more work to be done on this issue.

>> Preventing brain injuries: As a result of legislation approved this year, student athletes suspected of sustaining a concussion in a game will now be removed from competition until they’ve been examined by a licensed healthcare provider. In addition, guidelines and information about the risks, signs and symptoms of concussions and brain injuries will be provided to coaches, students and parents. The National Football League and the Brain Injury Association of Iowa encouraged us to take this step to better prevent permanent damage due to sports-related head injuries among our kids.

>> Enhancing services for Iowans with disabilities:  We established a special committee to provide recommendations for improving mental health and disability services in Iowa. The goal is to reorganize our system to provide higher-quality, more accessible, efficient services to Iowans who need them. The committee is meeting this fall and will draft legislation for consideration during the 2012 session. To learn more about the committee’s work, visit the Department of Human Service’s Web site: www.dhs.iowa.gov/Partners/MHDSRedesign.html.

>> Improving treatment for Alzheimer’s and epilepsy: We created task forces to study the best ways to treat Iowans suffering from Alzheimer’s and epilepsy. They will report their results to the Legislature next spring.