DES MOINES, Iowa—More than 1,500 Iowa health care professionals and volunteers attended the Iowa Hospital Association (IHA) Annual Meeting, October 8th, 9th and 10th , at Community Choice Credit Union Convention Center in Des Moines.

Annual meeting attendees explored innovative approaches and perspectives through 48 breakout sessions and engaged with more than 85 exhibitors. Other highlights included:

Keynote speakers deliver purpose and inspiration

The annual meeting featured an engaging lineup of four internationally recognized keynote speakers. They were:

• Sanjay Gupta, M.D., CNN chief medical correspondent
• Thom Mayer, M.D., FACEP, FAAP, NFL Players Association medical director
• Chris McChesney, FranklinCovey executive and Wall Street Journal bestselling author
• Indu Subaiya, M.D., MBA, health care technology leader

IHA Political Action Committee (PAC) hears from election analyst, recognizes members

David Wasserman, house editor for The Cook Political Report and one of the nation’s top election forecasters, shared his analysis of the 2020 Iowa and national congressional races at the IHA PAC luncheon. The American Hospital Association also honored three Iowa hospital CEOs with PAC awards during the annual meeting. The awards and recipients were:

• Grassroots Champion Award – Robb Gardner, CEO of Henry County Health Center in Mount Pleasant and vice president of government affairs at Great River Health System in West Burlington
• Most Valuable PAC Player – Kim Price, CEO of Franklin General Hospital in Hampton
• Most Valuable PAC Player – Lisa Radtke, chief administrative officer of Winneshiek Medical Center in Decorah 

Hospital staff honored for their time, talent and leadership

IHA recognized several hospital employees and volunteers for their service:

• Excellence in Governance Award – Vic Hamre and Jay Willems, trustees, Jones Regional Medical Center in Anamosa
• Excellence in Leadership Award – Scott Curtis, vice president of network development with MercyOne–North Iowa Medical Center in Mason City
• Iowa Hospital Heroes – IHA honored 11 Iowa hospital employees for performing heroic acts or tirelessly working to better their hospitals, patients or communities.
• Young Executive Achievement Award – Matt Sells, CEO of Shenandoah Medical Center

Anniversary celebration and storytellers event toasts 90 years of service

Nearly 300 hospital staff and guests came together at the Hilton Des Moines Downtown to celebrate IHA’s 90th anniversary. A storytelling event featured four hospital CEOs sharing specific events in their careers that helped them decide or reinforced their decisions to dedicate themselves to the communities they serve. Storytellers were:

• Laurie Conner, president of MercyOne Newton Medical Center
• Mike Myers, CEO of Veterans Memorial Hospital in Waukon
• Joe Smith, CEO of Boone County Hospital
• David Stark, CEO of UnityPoint Health-Iowa Methodist Medical Center in Des Moines

Iowa Organization of Nursing Leadership (IONL) presents scholarships, leadership awards

The IONL recognized a nurse executive and a nurse leader for their achievements:

• Outstanding Nurse Executive – Victor Bycroft, chief nurse executive at Humboldt County Memorial Hospital
• Outstanding Nurse Leader – Brenda Oehler, director of nursing operations at UnityPoint-St. Luke’s Hospital in Cedar Rapids

The organization also awarded two continuing-education scholarships:

• Jo Beth Lawless, chief nursing officer at Lucas County Health Center in Chariton, who is pursuing her family nurse practitioner degree
• Casey Orth-Nebitt, director of surgery at Buena Vista Regional Medical Center in Storm Lake, who is pursuing her Master of Science in nursing with a leadership emphasis

Leadership Develop Program salutes 2019 graduates

IHA recognized their 2019 Leadership Development Program’s 83-member graduating class. The yearlong program develops skills and competencies to support leaders in navigating their roles and maximizing success in an ever-changing health care landscape.

IHA House of Delegates elects 2020 officers

IHA’s House of Delegates met during the annual meeting and elected the current officers for another one-year term. Officers who will remain in their IHA leadership roles for 2020 are:

• Chair, Marty Guthmiller, CEO of Orange City Area Health System
• Chair-Elect, Jason Harrington, CEO of Lakes Regional Healthcare in Spirit Lake
• Treasurer, Bob Kroese, CEO of Pella Regional Health Center
• Past-Chair, Steve Baumert, CEO of Methodist Jennie Edmundson Hospital in Council Bluffs

IHA is a voluntary membership organization representing hospital and health system interests to business, government and consumer audiences. All of Iowa’s 118 community hospitals are IHA members.

CNN chief medical correspondent Sanjay Gupta, M.D., shares his experiences with attendees during his keynote address at IHA’s annual meeting, Wednesday, Oct. 9.

(contributed press release, IHA)