May 23, 2012

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Next Mission of Mercy dental clinic set for Davenport in October

May 4, 2012 By

Organizers of the annual “Iowa Mission of Mercy” (I-MOM) dental clinic are moving the location from the west to the east side of the state. Sioux City dentist, Dick Hettinger, says the 2012 I-MOM is set for October 5th and 6th at the River Center in Davenport.

“It’s primarily directed to people who are having a problem. It’s not designed so much for becoming your routine dental visit..but somebody who has a broken tooth, or missing teeth that need to be replaced, tooth aches, things like that,” Hettinger explains. And the dental work is provided by volunteer professionals like Dr. Hettinger for free.

“We don’t ask any questions about whether they can afford it someplace else, we don’t ask where they live,” He says. “If they’re willing to get in line and wait for us and take pot luck on who takes care of them — we’re willing to try and fix their biggest problem.” Hettinger says they usually open at seven in the morning and work until five in the evening each of the two days.

“We’ve been getting around a thousand people a day taken care of. Last year we had a pretty severe weather day on Saturday and we were fighting ice storms for the first half of the day to get people in there. We still ended up doing about one-point-two million dollars worth of work,” Hettinger says. Dr. Hettinger says they’ve never run out of patients, including the first event five years ago.

“That was before the big disaster in the economy, but there were plenty of people then who had been out of work for a long time,” Hettinger explains. “There’s always a group of people who are struggling financially, even in the best of times I don’t think we’d have a problem finding patients to take care of.” Hettinger says the dentists who donate their time to do the work get a big reward by helping improve the smiles of the people they work with.

He says that benefit extends to the many others who donate their time. Hettinger says,” People in the community, the community leaders, the mayors, the city councilmen and so on, they will show up and often times help and actually be some of our volunteers. And they’re smiling because it’s their citizens (who’re) being taken care of. Last year we had the mayor of Sioux City helping pack up at the end of it. And he’s trudging around stacking chairs and packing boxes for us. It was pretty neat.”

The events prior to last year’s in Sioux City where held in Waterloo, Newton, and Cedar Rapids.

Filed Under: Health & Medicine, News

Social media expected to boost organ donation efforts

May 2, 2012 By

Iowa’s organ donor network is expecting to get a healthy boost in awareness from a gesture by the giant in social networking websites. Facebook is going to allow people to show if they’re registered organ donors in their “about me” sections.

Chris Keahi, a spokesman for the Iowa Donor Network, is applauding the addition. “You are able to indicate on Facebook, if you do have the Timeline, to indicate that you are a donor and you are able to list where and when you did that,” Keahi says.

“If you’re not officially registered, there is another link for you to click on and register in the appropriate state.” Facebook hasn’t initiated the change yet, but Keahi says it’s expected to be coming within a day or two.

Keahi says, “Facebook has nearly one-billion members and by people sharing their decision to become a donor upon their time of death, we think it’s a great opportunity to share that message and raise awareness.”

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg says the new policy was inspired by last year’s earthquake and tsunami in Japan and the way the social networking website was able to help people reach out to each other. Keahi says the move can only help increase the number of registered donors, which is now about 43% of American adults.

“Nationwide, there are over 114,000 people now waiting for an organ transplant,” Keahi says. “Here in Iowa, that number is roughly 625 and anywhere between 85 and 90% of those are waiting for either a kidney or a liver transplant.”

Learn more at the website: www.iowadonornetwork.org.

Filed Under: Health & Medicine, Human Interest, News

Motorcycle safety forum underway in Ames

April 27, 2012 By

Motorcycle enthusiasts, dealers and traffic safety officials are gathered in Ames today for an annual Motorcycle Safety Forum. Toni Kerkove, with the Iowa Department of Transportation, says the event at the Scheman Building on the Iowa State University campus is sold out , with 450 pre-registered participants.

“In my wildest dreams, I didn’t know that we’d reach that amount,” Kerkove said. “We’ll try our best to accommodate everyone that comes.” This is the ninth year for the Iowa Motorcycle Safety Forum.

Kerkove anticipates next year’s event will be moved to a larger venue. Today’s forum runs through 5 p.m. and involves rider training, various motorcycle-related exhibits, vendor booths and several speakers. One of the featured speakers is Brittany Morrow, a young Albuquerque, New Mexico resident who has dedicated her life to educating riders and promoting motorcycle safety apparel.

Morrow was badly injured in a motorcycle crash in 2005. She spent two months in a hospital and received skin grafts on over 50 percent of her body. Kerkove noted many of the speakers and displays at the forum are reminding motorcyclists to make themselves as visible as possible.

“We encourage them to (wear) bright colored clothing, bright colored helmets with reflective material, and use modulating headlamps that allow other motorists to see them more easily…anything that can help them be more visible to the motoring public,” Kerkove said.

Filed Under: Fires/Accidents/Disasters, Health & Medicine, News Tagged With:

Time to clean out and turn in unused prescription drugs

April 25, 2012 By

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency is working with state and local officials to hold the “National Prescription Drug Take Back Day” this Saturday. The acting director of the Iowa Office of Drug Control Policy, Dale Woolery, says it’s not uncommon for people to have old prescription drugs collecting dust in their medicine cabinets.

“We don’t all necessarily use every pill that gets prescribed and especially with prescription pain killers. They work great when you need them, but at some point you may not need them anymore. And if you’ve got some sitting around, it’s time to get rid of them, now is a good opportunity to get rid of them,” Woolery says.

He says there will be approximately 100 sites around the state set up to take the unused medicine and safely get rid of it. Woolery says the take back day is part of the spring cleaning mindset, and you should check for expired or unused medications, now is the time to get rid of them in an environmentally friendly way.

Some people might throw expired prescription drugs in the garbage, or flush them down the toilet, but doing that can allow those drugs to cause environmental problems. And he says clearing out old drugs ensures they are not misused.

“We know that in Iowa, like the rest of the nation, we have a growing problem with prescription drug abuse that leads to some addiction, and tragically, ultimately can lead to an overdose death. And the major source for those prescription drugs that are abused, unfortunately happens to be the medicine cabinet,” according to Woolery.

This is the fourth federal take back day. “Over the last two years, more than 10,000 pounds of unused or unwanted or expired medicines have been disposed of by Iowans so far,” Woolery says. Most sites will be open from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. on Saturday.

To find a collection site near you, go to: www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov.

Filed Under: Crime & Courts, Health & Medicine, News

House approves state-run mental health service plan for Iowa’s poor (audio)

April 24, 2012 By

The Iowa House has approved a bill that calls for massive changes in the way poor Iowans receive mental health services.

Counties currently provide those services and use property taxes to pay for it. The legislation sets the stage for a regional system, managed and paid for with state tax dollars. Representative Nick Wagner, a Republican from Marion, said a state-managed system will be fairer to Iowans who cannot afford to get mental health treatment on their own.

“We have the situation in Iowa today because of where I live I may not even get the medication I need, but another Iowan in another part of the state is getting a free cell phone. That is not right. That is not what this system should be doing,” Wagner said. “These are our most vulnerable citizens that need our help.”

Democrats, however, raised objections to the plan that cleared the Republican-led Iowa House today. Representative Mary Gaskill, a Democrat from Ottumwa, said some counties — like Wapello County — will get less money in the future to help county residents who need mental health services, but can’t afford it themselves.

“What you’re doing is punishing those who have been able to provide the services and did a good job under the current system,” Gaskill said. “…What you’re doing is picking winners and losers — and we’re the losers.”

Representative Renee Schulte, a Republican from Cedar Rapids who led the reform effort in the House, said the bill is not perfect, but it’s a start.

“This was an unsustainable system with an unsustainable future and this gives us a path to get from here to there,” Schulte said.

AUDIO of House debate of SF2315.

The bill passed on a 65-32 vote. It now goes to the Democratically-led Senate to consider some of the changes Republicans made in the House.　

Filed Under: Health & Medicine, News, Politics & Government Tagged With: , , ,

Whooping cough cases on the increase

April 23, 2012 By

Cases of whooping cough, also known as pertussis, are rising in Iowa. Pertussis germs spread through the air when someone with it coughs. The illness can last for months and coughs can worsen and become uncontrollable.

So far this year, Iowa has recorded 92 cases of pertussis or whooping cough. That’s an 83% increase over Iowa’s five-year average. There was an outbreak this month in Polk County and a number of cases have been reported in Scott and Linn counties. The Scott County Health Department says most, but not all, cases there have been among children.

Dr. Louis Katz, the Scott County Health Department medical director, encourages parents to protect their children by making sure they are vaccinated. Iowa does not require pertussis vaccinations, but most states do.

By Phil Roberts, Davenport

Filed Under: Health & Medicine, News

Iowa House votes to cut off state funding for Planned Parenthood (audio)

April 18, 2012 By

Republicans in the Iowa House have voted to prohibit state tax money from being used to provide abortions to Medicaid patients in cases of rape or incest.

The proposal, attached to large bill which outlines state spending for the Iowa Departments of Human Services and Public Health, also would prohibit Medicaid patients from going to Planned Parenthood to get reproductive health exams, cancer screenings or sexually-transmitted disease tests. Representative Annette Sweeney, a Republican from Alden, urged the House to adopt the policy.

“Your vote…will prioritize health care funding in this state,” Sweeney said.

Representative Beth Wessel-Kroeschell, a Democrat from Ames, voted against the proposals.

“Every family circumstance is different,” Wessel-Kroeschell said. “Even if we have difficulty understanding why, that’s not a reason to impose our own beliefs on someone else.”

Wessel-Kroeschell was the only opponent to speak and Sweeney was the only advocate to make remarks during what turned out to be a 12-minute debate in the House.

AUDIO of debate.

Wessel-Kroeschel suggested federal policy requires the Medicaid program to cover abortions in cases of rape or incest and the State of Iowa risks losing federal money with the GOP proposal.

“I assume that you have done the research to find out what will happen,” Wessel-Kroeschell said.

Sweeney suggested up to $6 million in federal funds would be “at risk” if Iowa takes this policy step — to which Wessel-Kroeschell countered that the state stands to lose “many, many” millions in federal funds.

Democrats in the Iowa Senate last week rejected a similar proposal from Senate Republicans, so this abortion-related debate is likely to linger as a major stumbling block to completing the work of the 2012 legislative session.

The proposal from House Republicans would still allow state-funded abortions in cases when a Medicaid patient’s life is endangered by her pregnancy.

Filed Under: Health & Medicine, News, Politics & Government Tagged With: ,
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