Author: Theresa Rose

WHEN WILL IOWA REALLY BE READY TO RE-OPEN?

As the weeks and months pass, waiting for the COVID-19 outbreak to run its course can feel painfully slow.

It is a stressful time for thousands of Iowa families. We read each day about higher and higher numbers of documented infections and deaths. And we still may be weeks away from hitting a peak.

While some folks are eager to return to their routines, re-open their shops and get life back to normal, there is also concern. Will re-opening large parts of our state too soon prolong the spread of the virus or even worsen the outbreak as people begin to gather again?

After all, Iowa is nowhere close to hitting the benchmarks that the federal coronavirus task force says states should meet before beginning the three-phase process of re-opening. These benchmarks include:

• A 14-day drop in the number of cases.
• A 14-day drop in the percentage of positive tests.
• Robust testing, contact tracing and treatment.

On the contrary, the virus is spreading faster in Iowa than almost anywhere else. Long-term care residents, Iowans in state-run facilities and communities with meatpacking plants continue to be hard hit by the pandemic.

Iowa has drawn nationwide attention, as thousands of meatpacking employees who work in close quarters test positive for COVID-19. Inadequate worker protections are causing sickness and death, a tragedy for families and communities with ripple effects that impact us all—our food supply, our farmers, our mental health, our economy.

All of Iowa can safely and successfully re-open once we contain the virus, but we aren’t there yet. We’ll get there by continuing to follow the advice of our public health experts: staying home except for essential errands, washing our hands, wearing a mask and gloves while running errands, and keeping our distance from those we don’t live with.

Additional information

This is a legislative update from State Senator Rich Taylor, representing Henry and Lee counties and portions of Washington and Jefferson counties. For bio, photos and further information, go to senate.iowa.gov/senator/taylor.

To contact Senator Rich Taylor when the Legislature is in session, call the Senate Switchboard at 515-281-3371. Otherwise he can be reached at 319-931-1568. E-mail him at rich.taylor@legis.iowa.gov.

Senator Rich Taylor is an Assistant Leader. He serves on the following committees:

• Agriculture
• Judiciary
• Labor and Business Relations
• Veterans Affairs (Ranking Member)
• Administration and Regulation Appropriations Subcommittee

The Iowa Department of Public Health has been notified of 397 new cases of COVID-19 in the state of Iowa.  12 additional deaths have been reported for a state-wide total of 243.  In Henry County there are now 42 reported positive cases. Louisa County has 281. The total as of Friday in Washington County is 155.  Des Moines County has three additional for a total of 31.  There are 18 positive cases in Lee County.  Van Buren County total remains at 8 and Jefferson County at 6.

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds cancelled her news briefing Friday on the due to scheduling conflicts created by Vice President Mike Pence’s visit to Iowa, according to the governor’s office.

According to the governor’s staff, Reynolds plans to resume her regular schedule of 11 a.m. press conferences next week.

(courtesy of the Iowa Board of Nursing)

When the World Health Organization designated 2020 as the Year of the Nurse and Midwife, the intent was to highlight the ability of nurses and midwives to transform healthcare around the world. Additionally, the celebrations were set to honor the 200th anniversary of Florence Nightingale’s birth on May 12th.  Early in the year – everything changed.

Little did the modern world know how very critical nurses and all healthcare workers are until experiencing the impact of the pandemic caused by the novel coronavirus and the disease called COVID-19. Never before has the knowledge, commitment and sacrifice of healthcare heroes been so evident. Inside hospitals, long-term care facilities, clinics and homes around the world, nurses and the healthcare teams are learning more about the new disease every day, testing and tracing patients, collecting data, observing trends, trying to flatten the disease curve, educating the public and providing the care for people fighting for their lives.

When Florence Nightingale (born May 12, 1820; died August 13, 1910) was sent to care for British soldiers during the Crimean War in 1854, she and her trained nursing team found the mayhem of war which included the wounded soldiers: More importantly, they observed the lack of sanitary sewers, ventilation and other needed medicine and equipment. Nightingale immediately set into place the foundation of hospital hygiene and sanitation. She began the use of statistical data to justify those actions she suggested. Infection rates declined. Hospital designs changed. The field of nursing changed. (https://www.biography.com/news/florence-nightingale-hygiene-handwashing)

The more things change – the more they stay the same.

Wash your hands often.

Cover your cough and sneezes.

Avoid close contact.

Stay home if you’re sick.

Clean and disinfect.

Those statements have been ingrained into the public’s thinking over and over in the last eight weeks. It brings back Nightingale’s findings from 1854. Crowded conditions can add to the infection rates. The lack of sanitation and poor hygiene will spread the disease. “Fresh air” is critical for the healing of all. Today, we are back to basics to fight the dreaded COVID-19 disease.

Florence Nightingale was hailed as a hero. For centuries, nurses have impacted lives in meaningful and important ways. Nurses are leaders. Nurses are critical to the success of interprofessional healthcare teams. Nurses are collaborators. Nurses are innovators. Nurses are the caregivers.

Today – more than ever – nurses are heroes.

IOWA FARM BUREAU ANALYSIS SHOWS FARMER AND CONSUMER IMPACT DURING LOWEST PORK AND BEEF PROCESSING NUMBERS IN A DECADE

Weekly Pork Production Down 44 Percent, Cattle Down 38 Percent for Week Ending May 2, 2020

WEST DES MOINES, Iowa – May 7, 2020 – Iowa farmers and rural communities face mounting challenges and uncertainty as disruptions to meat processing plants impacted by COVID-19 have created a bottleneck in the supply chain with major negative impacts for both farmers and consumers.

            While some meat processing plants have partially reopened, the impacts to the nation’s leading pork producing state amidst the supply chain disruption are significant.  The week ending May 2 saw the lowest weekly hog slaughter in the past decade (2011-2020), and cattle slaughter also faced a decade low for a non-holiday week.  Prior to the COVID-19 global pandemic, consumer demand and pork and beef production levels were at all-time highs, with Iowa farmers responsible for nearly one-third of U.S. pork production and a top-10 beef producing state. 

            “Looking back just two months ago to March 1, 2020, market hog inventories were at their record high for that time,” said Sam Funk, IFBF director of ag analytics and senior economist.  “U.S. and Iowa pork farmers went into this pandemic producing at record levels to meet consumer needs, but the shortened capacity to harvest pigs due to COVID-19 resulted in an excess supply of pigs, despite a very strong demand for pork protein from U.S. and global consumers.”

            The IFBF analysis shows that from the week ending March 21 to the week ending May 2, the weekly hog slaughter decreased by more than 44 percent or nearly 1.3 million head.  The bottleneck in the supply chain coupled with a growing number of market ready hogs has depressed prices to the point where many pork farmers face significant losses in 2020 and beyond continuing an eight-year economic downtown for Iowa farmers. 

            “The plight facing pork farmers today is shared by cattle farmers, another industry producing at decade high levels in March 2020 before the pandemic disrupted the supply chain,” said Funk.  “Just as we observed with pork, the COVID-19 induced slow-downs and suspensions of processing facilities dropped decade high cattle production to a weekly low for all non-holiday weeks during the past decade.”

            Looking back to the week ending May 2, 2020, harvesting of cattle had decreased by 260,000 head from the week ending March 28.  Scale back in meat processing has forced some grocers, retailers and fast-food chains to restrict or limit consumers’ purchases given the supply chain disruptions. 

            “While consumers may see short-term impacts at the grocery store when it comes to the meat selection and quantities available for purchase, it’s important to note the challenges Iowa farmers face are immense and likely to extend throughout this year and into the next.  The data in the study clearly underscore the need to get the supply chain moving again in a way that protects workers and provides a lifeline to farmers,” Funk said.

            “With each passing day, tens of thousands of animals are unable to be processed due to the bottleneck in the supply chain caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, impacting consumers and devastating farmers.  Farmers are doing a great job filling the animal protein needs of consumers in the U.S. and around the world. The reduced capacity to process market animals is now forcing extremely difficult and heart-wrenching decisions for farmers. The public health pandemic that is COVID-19 is hurting most of the world’s population – and significantly impacting farmers who are providing the food, fuel and fiber we all depend on the deepest in terms of economic costs and livelihoods.  Some people are out of work.  Farmers are working and investing more every day to feed their livestock and plant crops, and the market prices they face threaten their ability to continue to produce the products on which we depend.” 

KANSAS CITY, MO – The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has obligated
$78 million to the State of Iowa to help reimburse eligible expenses for emergency protective
measures that the state has incurred as a result of its response to COVID-19.
The grant funds, awarded by FEMA’s Public Assistance (PA) Grant Program, were made
available Thursday, May 6, and are authorized under a major disaster declaration approved by
President Trump on March 29 for the entire state. In total, FEMA has provided nearly $150
million to date in support of the state’s COVID-19 efforts.
The money reimburses 75 percent of projected eligible costs associated with buying essential
Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), and medical supplies and equipment during the months of
May and June 2020. The supplies include medical gowns, surgical masks, face shields, safety
glasses and gloves, disinfectant, respirators and viral swab collections kits.
This obligation also includes: $19.5 million in contract services for TestIowa, $35,000 in
contract services associated with overseas PPE purchases and $13.7 million for additional
medical supplies and equipment for the month of April. All figures represent the 75 percent
federal share. The 25 percent is paid by the grant recipient.
“We are pleased to provide this significant grant to the State of Iowa to help them manage the
financial demands that they’re experiencing as a result of COVID-19,” said Paul Taylor, FEMA
Region VII Administrator. “We will continue to work closely with them as our shared efforts to
respond to this pandemic continue.”
In addition to the $78 million, FEMA has obligated the following money for Iowa (75
percent federal share):
▪ $44 million to reimburse eligible costs for buying essential PPE, medical supplies
and equipment for March and April;
Page 2 – FEMA Awards $78 Million for Iowa
▪ $4 million to reimburse state administrative costs associated with COVID-19 response;
▪ $17 million to pay costs associated with the deployment of Iowa National Guard members deployed under Title 32 authorities;
▪ $4.2 million to the Veterans Health Administration to pay for use of up to 20 beds at VA facilities and to pay for extra nursing care at state veteran’s facility.
**Note: Numbers are rounded to the nearest million and represent money made available to the state. Final dollars will be determined after expenses are reconciled so totals may differ.
The Public Assistance program provides grants at a 75/25 cost share to state and local governments, tribal nations and certain non-profit entities to assist with eligible costs associated with responding to and recovering from disasters.
For COVID-19, FEMA has simplified the Public Assistance application and funding process to address the magnitude of this event and to allow local officials to receive eligible funding more quickly. These reimbursements can play a critical role in helping local, state and tribal officials assist their communities during this response.
The current disaster declaration for Iowa authorizes help with Emergency Protective Measures, which includes the purchase of PPE, durable medical equipment, and consumable medical supplies necessary to respond to COVID-19 cases.
The disaster declaration also authorizes Direct Federal Assistance to help governmental entities and tribal nations with certain COVID-related actions that the states, localities and tribes themselves cannot undertake at this time for some reason, such as the inability to use their own personnel to perform a function or an inability to contract with someone else to do the work.
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FEMA’s mission is helping people before, during, and after disasters.

Fort Madison, State Center and West Des Moines students top this year’s list

DES MOINES – While Iowa schools are closed for the rest of the year, the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs is helping four graduating high school fine arts students prepare for the future.

Claire Graham of Holy Trinity Catholic High School in Fort Madison, Darien Dennis of West Marshall High School in State Center, and Aidan Drake and Aviana Gedler of Valley High School in West Des Moines have received the Iowa Scholarship for the Arts from the Iowa Arts Council, a division of the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs.

The award is given annually to Iowa high school students with a proven artistic ability in dance, creative writing, music, theater, traditional arts or visual arts who plan to attend an Iowa college or university during the next academic year and pursue a major in the arts. Each student will receive $1,500 for their 2020-2021 college tuition and related expenses as a full-time undergraduate at a fully accredited Iowa college or university.

“We are delighted to recognize these students for their exceptional artistic ability and to know they will pursue their education right here in Iowa,” said David Schmitz, administrator of the Iowa Arts Council. “An education in the arts will give them opportunities to develop their creativity and critical-thinking skills as they puruse their hopes and dreams for a career in the arts.”

The list of this year’s Iowa Scholarship for Arts award recipients is below. More information about their educational pursuits and artistic visions is available online at iowaculture.gov.

Fort Madison

Claire Graham of Holy Trinity Catholic High School will study English at the University of Iowa. Drawing inspiration from Louisa May Alcott’s “Little Women” and Oscar Wilde, she will immerse herself in the literary culture of Iowa City and plans to share her knowledge with others as a published author and teacher.

State Center

Darien Dennis of West Marshall High School will study fine arts at the University of Iowa. Her works range from two-dimensional illustrations to acrylics paints and pastels that use color, shape, timelessness and nature to express thoughts and emotions of confidence, wonder, joy and anticipation.

West Des Moines

Aidan Drake of Valley High School will study art education at the University of Iowa. Her artistic passion centers on semi- and hyper-realistic portraits that are often inspired by photorealism. She aims to channel her energies into a career as an art educator and show children their full potential and creativity.

West Des Moines

Aviana Gedler of Valley High School will pursue a degree in music at Southwestern Community College. She plans to develop a career in music performance in an orchestra or as a singer while teaching at a public school.

The Iowa Scholarship for the Arts program was founded in 1986 with proceeds from a benefit concert by world-renowned opera singer and Centerville native Simon Estes as well as contributions from organizations and private citizens to ensure outstanding young artists continue to be recognized and educated in Iowa.

More information is available at iowaculture.gov.