A new state report has determined nearly all pregnancy-related deaths of Iowa residents in recent years were preventable.
The state’s Maternal Mortality Review Committee report looked at 20 pregnancy-related deaths that occurred between 2019 and 2021 and determined 19 were preventable.
It found the deaths disproportionately affected people who are Hispanic and Black and on Medicaid.
Stephanie Radke is an OB/GYN at University of Iowa Health Care and the chair of the committee. She says the committee reviewed extensive records to determine how preventable each death could have been.
"What were their interactions with the healthcare system? What was their social situation around the time they became pregnant? And could those things, if we think they contributed to the person dying, do we have a chance of addressing those things," Radke said.
The report makes numerous recommendations for health care providers, facilities, systems and communities including better screening and care coordination effort
*The Federal Emergency Management Agency has denied a request for funding from the city of Spencer, Iowa, to be used to replace the wastewater treatment facility that was damaged by summer 2024 flooding.
As reported by Explore Okoboji News, City Manager Kevin Robinson said the treatment facility is operable, but could certainly benefit from a modernization. The overflow from the Little Sioux River in Spencer has impacted some sanitary sewer system infrastructure.
Robinson said city officials are aiming to project a cost for infrastructure needs and then decide how to proceed in upcoming council meetings. He said about 70 percent of Spencer, a Clay County town, had some impact from the natural disaster.
Spencer officials are also looking into ways to try to prevent Little Sioux water from entering the storm sewer system when the levels are high. There will be community meeting as an update from the 2024 disaster on May 9 at a time and place to be determined in Spencer.
*Relatedly, a new report from early April on emergency preparedness has ranked Iowa in the middle-tier.
The annual report by the non-profit Trust for America’s Health ranks states on how prepared they are for things like disease outbreaks, natural disasters and bioterrorism.
Iowa ranked in the middle tier for preparedness with 15 other states, which is the same placement as last year.
Matt McKillop is with Trust for America’s Health. He says no hospitals in Iowa have received an A grade ranking from the LeapFrog group which indicates there’s a lot of room to improve patient safety practices.
McKillop says Iowa’s strengths include its increased funding of public health.
*In other news, a special project is underway to boost home ownership by lower-income people in Sioux City.
There will be an open house at noon on Sunday, April 13, on West Fifth Street, between Isabella and Myrtle streets.
There will be 11 homes, of roughly 1,400 square feet, in that area that are designed to be affordable for families of varying sizes making under $85,000 annually.
The city’s Neighborhood Services Division worked with a developer, using HOME Investment Partnership Program funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
