Tuesday, February 11th, was the annual Community Health Day on the Hill. After weeks of planning, Iowa PCA staff and CEOs and representatives from health centers all over the state, including Promise Community Health Center, convened at the Iowa State Capitol to meet with legislators and discuss our priorities for the 2020 session. In all, we met with Governor Kim Reynolds, Lieutenant Governor Adam Gregg, and over 50 legislators, including leadership in the Iowa House and Senate. We also had the opportunity to host a panel discussion with representatives from the Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH), Iowa Medicaid Enterprise (IME), and the Department of Human Services (DHS).
This Community Health Day on the Hill in Des Moines provided Promise Community Health Center the opportunity to meet with our local legislators Randy Feenstra and Skyler Wheeler, to discuss legislative issues that affect our ability to provide services to our patients and community. We were able to educate these local legislators on the WHY and WHO of Promise and how we impact the communities we serve. FQHCs in the state of Iowa have appreciated the support at both the state and federal levels over the past 50 years.
Community Health Centers have been able to provide services in the state of Iowa to a vulnerable population at a 27% lower cost rate than traditional care providers, while maintaining quality outcomes exceeding the national averages.
We are proud of the relationships we built and strengthened during our Community Health Day on the Hill and look forward to continuing to work towards accomplishing our legislative goals. If you want to read more about the number of reasons these meetings are important to Promise Community Health Center as well as Community Health Centers across Iowa, please click button to read more on the Iowa Primary Care Association’s website.