The Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) hosted a discussion with Senator Chuck Grassley about the barriers that rural Iowans face in securing quality health care on August 13 at UnityPoint Health-Des Moines. Hospital leaders, including Dawn Bach, BVRMC Chief Clinical Officer at Buena Vista Regional Medical Center, sat on a panel to help BPC’s Rural Health Task Force address rural America’s health care shortages.
Senator Grassley talked about efforts in Congress to address rural health care challenges and answered audience questions. A panel of the following area experts also discussed the shortage of physicians and clinicians in rural areas and potential solutions:
Dawn Bach, heart patient and Chief Clinical Officer, Buena Vista Regional Medical Center, Storm Lake; James Roetman, CEO, Pocahontas Community Hospital; Susan K. Thompson, Senior Vice President, Integration and Optimization, UnityPoint Health, Des Moines; Ed Friedmann, Administrator and Physician Assistant, Redfield Medical Clinic; Jennifer McKay, Medical Information Officer, Avera Health.