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Healthcare has once again been the topic of conversation around the dinner table and on the political circuit during 2025. We appreciate that healthcare sits at the intersection of business and compassion. Our challenge is to honor both, ensuring that we sustain the organization so we can support the community that depends on us.

Understanding Recent Federal Legislation and Its Local Impact

The signing of H.R.1, otherwise known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, has prompted questions about what this means for Great River Health and the communities we serve. Medicaid is a critical lifeline for many of our patients and a foundational piece in our ability to deliver care in a rural setting. Great River Health, in our seven-county primary and secondary market area, has 36,205 Medicaid members, more than 15,000 of which are children. Any decrease in funding puts additional pressure on our already thin or negative margins and could impact services over time.

Fortunately, these changes are not due to take effect until 2028. We are committed to navigating these changes thoughtfully and responsibly, and we are thankful for the ongoing and productive conversations with our elected officials.   

Caring for Southeast Iowa: A Year in Numbers

This past year Great River Health, with clinics in West Burlington, Fort Madison, Mount Pleasant, Keokuk, New London, Wapello, and Winfield, provided primary and specialty care to over 341,000 patients.

Southeast Iowa Regional Medical Center (SEIRMC) in West Burlington and Fort Madison, and Henry County Health Center (HCHC) in Mount Pleasant, had very busy Emergency Departments, caring for over 52,000 patients; 7,100 patients admitted to one of our inpatient units; performed over 7,300 surgical procedures, welcomed 824 newborns in the Birthplace and Women & Family Center, and made more than 32,000 visits to patients in their homes, providing home health and hospice care services.

Strengthening Our Workforce and Investing in People

The health system employs over 2,800 medical professionals and support personnel, making us the largest employer in the region. We value every team member’s contribution to the care we provide in our communities. We continue to look for ways to attract and retain top talent.

Some initiatives of note from the past year include the expansion of our Internal Resource Pool (IRP) beyond Registered Nurses and Certified Nursing Assistants to Diagnostic Imaging, Laboratory, and Respiratory Therapy. Our IRP team members have flexibility in when and where they work.

In addition, Great River Health was recognized by IowaWORKS as the first major medical center in Iowa to receive the Home Base Iowa Employer designation. This certification is presented to employers committed to supporting the veteran community in Iowa through programs, incentives, and veteran-specific recruitment and retention efforts.

We continue to partner with Southeastern Community College, Indian Hills, and A.T. Still University to educate, train, and prepare our next generation of healthcare professionals. We successfully recruited 21 new healthcare providers to keep quality healthcare close to home. This is a testament to the caliber of the communities we call home.

Recognizing Excellence and Celebrating Service

We also took time to celebrate our successes and the positive impact our employees make every day on our patients, co-workers, and community. In February, we held our Excellence in Practice/Service Awards banquet honoring six of our employees: Dawn Clayburn, Breanne Carlson, Nova Pety, Dr. Muhammad Ajmal, Karyn Streicher, and Allison Blodgett as nominated and selected by their peers.

At this same banquet, we recognized our 272 Great River Health employees reaching 45-to-5-year service milestones.

Enhancing the Patient and Family Experience

Great River Health remains focused on refining the patient and family experience through quality improvements and new initiatives. We are halfway through the implementation of our new electronic medical record, Epic.

This conversion will give us the tools we need to be successful well into the future by enhancing every aspect of the patient’s journey, starting with the recruitment of top-tier healthcare providers. As we create the new Epic system for Great River Health, we are focused on patient safety and quality. We are investing in Epic because of you; it is the gold standard for patient and end-user experience.

The switch of our patient portal to MyChart is especially exciting. MyChart puts the patient truly in charge of their health, with the ability to schedule appointments, send messages to their healthcare team, pay their bill, and get helpful health information.

Advancing Care Through Technology and Innovation

Other initiatives we look forward to expanding in 2026 include the addition of a DaVinci 5 Robot in our surgery department. This surgical system is designed to help our surgeons provide the best minimally invasive surgeries with better patient outcomes. Staying ahead of technology not only improves patient outcomes but also helps us to recruit new providers.

Expanding Services to Meet Community Needs

The opening of our Specialty Pharmacy will allow us to provide hard-to-access specialty medications for patients with chronic conditions. Working closely with a patient’s medical team, the expert pharmacy staff provides guidance, medication management, and treatment support. 

Klein Center is now back to full capacity with the opening of its last two households this summer, after reducing capacity during the pandemic. They offer 160 private residential suites offering long-term, skilled, and memory care options.

Commitment to Quality, Safety, and Continuous Improvement

We have a dedicated Quality Team focused on ensuring every patient encounter is safe, compassionate, and consistent. Constant improvement is their priority. This year, they oversaw the recertification of Southeast Iowa Regional Medical Center and the certification of Henry County Health Center by the Center for Improvement in Healthcare Quality (CIHQ), successfully meeting the requirements for Hospital Accreditation by demonstrating compliance with CIHQ Standards and the Conditions of Participation by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

One innovation to improve patient outcomes included the implementation of Leaf Sensor Technology to reduce pressure injuries (bedsores) for inpatients. This technology provides our medical team with real-time data to know when to turn a patient to reduce further injury while hospitalized. It has proven successful in improving patient outcomes.

Investing in Our Communities

Being an engaged partner in the communities we serve remains a top priority of the health system. Through the work of our Great River Health and Henry County Health Center Foundations, we supported many community organizations, donating over two million dollars.

They were also successful in raising dollars to support hospital initiatives focused on improving patient experience, safety, and access to care. Our hospital auxiliaries along with the Friends of HCHC donated their time and talents to raise funds for healthcare career scholarships and hospital projects. Many community members attended the second annual Gala in support of the health system. Our employees contribute to the success of the communities they live in by volunteering their time and talents to local organizations.

The Complexity — and Heart — of Healthcare

As stated at the beginning of this article, healthcare is a complex business. It takes a diverse team of medical professionals, support staff, and experts in a variety of disciplines, which include information technology, medical records, environmental services, and financial skills, to keep quality healthcare in Southeast Iowa.

We look forward to finding more ways to better serve our patients, our communities, and our employees through process improvement and innovative new ideas.

Thank you for partnering with us for your good health,

Dr. Michael McCoy

President & CEO | Great River Health