IPHA Day

On February 2, 2010, Jan Frerichs and I journeyed to the "Hill". While not the "Hill" that we all think of in Washington, D.C. this was our own personal "hill" here in Iowa. We went to Des Moines for a chance to experience a "lobbying" day in Des Moines. It is far different form then what I was used to in Washington, D.C. Des Moines definitely has a more personal site to it as we met with one of my Representative, Nick Wagner, and a Senator, Shawn Hammerlinck (whom I went to school with). They took us around and talked to us about our issues. In D.C. we usually meet with aids and it feels like a very hurried environment, which don't get me wrong I love. In Des Moines they took time out of meetings to discuss things with us on a personal level.
We also were able to talk to Iowa Public Health Alliance and discuss issues that impacted us both. They understand the need for Licensure and have in the past worked towards it with us. I look forward to working with them in the future. It was a wonderful opportunity to see how things work at a state level and to open the lines of communication with IPHA. This experience helped us to understand what would possibility occur if we did a "Day on the Hill" as ASCLS-IA. I will be writing an article and including a picture of our day. Please look for it in the next newsletter.

Healthcare Reform

Healthcare Reform has passed! After a year long debate about reform a bill has passed. What these means is that all Americans now have access to healthcare, but the debate rages on as to how it will affect us all. We are looking at a definite influx of patients at our hospitals and clinics with hopefully more funding for laboratories. I have been hearing pros and cons from both sides and right now all that is clear is that we will need to wait and see what the next few months and years bring. As we all know healthcare is not an easy issue and continues to become more complex as testing evolves to more complex methods. The one thing that is for certain you can't turn on the T.V., look through a newspaper or surf the web with out encountering news on the Healthcare Reform.
I encourrage you to post thoughts about the current bill and where you see it possible heading and the impact it will have on us.