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Celebrating National Rural Health Day November 19th

Name
Darin Leach
City
Des Moines
Release Date

By Bill Menner, USDA Rural Development State Director in Iowa

November 19th is National Rural Health Day.  Across the country, celebrations and events are scheduled to recognize rural health care providers and the patients they serve.

In Iowa, that amounts to a lot of celebrating!

There are 90 rural hospitals and 152 certified rural health clinics located in all corners of the state.  That’s a good thing because 43 percent of Iowans live in communities or areas that are considered rural.  Those hospitals and clinics provide outstanding care that is among the most affordable in the country.

A recent survey by the Iowa Department of Public Health shows we continue to be among the top 10 states in our percentage of adults with excellent or good health. And the percentage has increased since 2013.

Rural leaders often wonder why the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is involved in the financing of hospitals and clinics in small towns.  USDA Rural Development has supported more than 50 rural hospitals, medical clinics, nursing homes and/or assisting living facilities in rural Iowa since 2009 with nearly $350 million in direct loans, guaranteed loans and grants to make needed facility and equipment improvements.

An easy answer is that rural residents deserve the same access to quality health care as urban dwellers.  Time matters in a life-threatening situation, and the distance required to get to a doctor can be a matter of life or death.  At the same time, rural Iowa has more elderly residents with greater ongoing health care needs.  Again, distance to a doctor matters.

But health care providers are more than caregivers.  They create jobs and opportunity in rural areas and are economic engines in the communities they serve.  A recent Iowa Hospital Association (IHA) study found health care in Iowa provides about 294,000 jobs, or more than one-fifth of Iowa’s total non-farm workforce.  In terms of economic impact, Iowa’s health care industry contributes more than $14.3 billion.  

Those are big numbers in Iowa’s urban centers, and they are astronomical in rural areas and small towns.

Think about the largest employers in our small towns.  The school district is one.  County and municipal government might be another.  Hospitals and clinics are often among the largest, and best paying, employers in town.

That’s why USDA Rural Development steps in.

We have invested in the construction of new hospitals in places like Clarinda, Denison and Sumner. We have financed expansions and improvements in Oskaloosa, Belmond and Guttenberg. We have partnered to create rural clinic spaces, both for doctors and dentists, from Ogden to Wapello.

But, there is always more to be done.

Rural hospitals are facing challenges.  Because of their size, modest assets, limited financial reserves, and a higher percentage of Medicare patients, small and rural hospitals disproportionately rely on government payments.   Meanwhile, only 10 percent of the physicians in the United States practice in rural areas. Plus, rural residents are less likely to have employer-provided health care coverage.

Those factors have prompted the closures of rural hospitals in a number of states outside Iowa.  In fact, 55 rural hospitals have closed since 2010, and 283 more are on the brink of closure. 

In Iowa, our rural hospitals are strong, provide quality care and do so in an amazingly affordable way.  That is way it is important for rural Iowans to stand up, celebrate the health care they receive and work to ensure the hospitals and clinics which provide that care are around for many years to come.

Author Information

Bill Menner was appointed as the USDA Rural Development State Director in Iowa in July 2009. During his time with USDA Rural Development he has overseen the investment of more than $3 billion to help with essential public services, facilities and infrastructure, small and emerging businesses, water and sewer systems, and housing opportunities in rural Iowa.