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THURSDAY, MARCH 1, 2018 | IN THIS ISSUE
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University of Iowa Health Care leaders have notified the three health systems that comprise the UI Health Alliance of its decision to withdraw from the alliance and to dissolve the UI Health Alliance's Accountable Care Organization.
The UI Health Alliance was established in 2012 and the UI Health Alliance ACO was formed in 2015, with the aim of allowing the four member entities to contract together to provide coordinated care to patients across 18 hospitals and 3,000 providers. The three other health systems that comprise the alliance are Cedar Rapids-based Mercycare Service Corporation, Davenport-based Genesis Health System and West Burlington-based Great River Health Systems.
"We've been working together for four years in creating an accountable care organization and developing data analytics tools and ways of understanding our performance and our populations and their risks to more effectively manage their care," Jennifer Vermeer, CEO of the UI Health Alliance,
told the CBJ in 2016. "This really builds on that accountable care organization foundation, where we're building coordinated care for patients and ensuring that patients receive the right care at the right place at the right time."
In a statement released to the CBJ, UI Health Care said the
alliance has enabled collaborations and trust that have been valuable to each of its members.
However, given the rapidly changing health care environment, reductions in federal and state reimbursements, uncertain financial headwinds and looming cuts in state appropriations to the University of Iowa, continuing to participate in the Alliance and its ACO has become increasingly difficult.
Withdrawing from the alliance and dissolving its ACO will allow UI Health Care to continue to fulfill its missions of patient care, medical education and training, and research responsibly and sustainably, the statement said, adding that the decision was made after considerable deliberation.
UI Health Care will continue to collaborate with other health systems in ways that improve the delivery of high-quality, affordable care, the statement said, and the decision will not affect patient care quality or availability at any of the four institutions.
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ACT has announced plans to cut 100 positions in what the Iowa City-based nonprofit is calling an "organizational realignment."
The national leader in college and career assessments said the reorganization was being implemented to position ACT for future growth as it "transitions from a company that has primarily focused on assessment to one that is also a leader in learning."
The 100 eliminated jobs include positions at its Iowa City headquarters, where the bulk of the nonprofit's workforce is located, and at other locations across the country. ACT spokesman Ed Colby said a specific breakdown of how many Iowa City jobs were affected was not yet available.
The eliminated jobs represent about a twelfth of ACT's 1,200-employee workforce. A
CT officials said they planned to provide impacted employees with
severance packages exceeding industry norms, as well as outplacement services and additional support to help them transition to new positions or careers.
"These moves are being made to ensure we have the right capabilities as we reprioritize our work," ACT CEO Marten Roorda said in a release. "ACT will continue to innovate and invest in key competencies. We are focusing on the outcomes most essential to fully realizing our transformation to a learning company, which means ending work that is not aligned to our strategic direction."
ACT has focused on assessments for almost 60 years, Mr. Roorda said, adding that "as we hear from the people we serve, it is clear this limited scope no longer meets the holistic needs inherent to helping people achieve education and workplace success."
"Essentially, we will be working toward providing programs and services that don't simply assess what students have learned, but help them learn," Mr. Colby said. He
stressed that ACT remains financially sound and will continue to make investments and create new positions aligned with its mission.
The company in early February
announced a $7.5 million strategic investment in Smart Sparrow, an adaptive learning company based in Sydney, Australia and San Francisco, and last August invested $10.5 million in New Markets Venture Partners, an investment firm focusing on education companies.
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 Hart delivers first State of the City address
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Cedar Rapids Mayor Brad Hart, speaking yesterday at the DoubleTree by Hilton.
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Brad Hart, the new mayor of Cedar Rapids, offered his first State of the City address just two months into his tenure, using the annual platform to outline his goals for the years ahead and pay an early tribute to the 10th anniversary of the 2008 flood.
For business leaders in attendance, there was certainly a lot to like. The leader of the Corridor's largest city touched on the need for economic development, infrastructure improvements, workforce housing and flood protection, and promised the city will "be very involved in supporting our local employers."
He offered upbeat assessments on the future of the city's economy and philanthropic climate following the acquisitions of major employers like Rockwell Collins and Diamond V, describing them as creating "real potential" for growth, and hailed a recent ranking of U.S. communities with a high density of Inc. 5000 growth companies that included Cedar Rapids at No. 16.
The creation of affording housing will be a particular point of focus for Mr. Hart, which he described as "an ongoing need." He said the city is reinstating its long-dormant Affordable Housing Commission, and will focus on developing more housing options, including workforce housing and new single-family developments. It will also invest in extending utilities to areas where new neighborhoods can be developed "with appropriate amenities to build a sense of community and easy living."
On the topic of flood protection, Mr. Hart expressed optimism that the Trump administration's proposed infrastructure plan, which would allocate $50 billion dollars in aid for rural states, could provide additional funding needed to speed up the city's $750 million flood mitigation project to protect both sides of the Cedar River, despite
recent news reports that the plan is likely dead for this year in the U.S. Senate.
He also offered some insight into his February meeting with the president and other mayors and city officials at the White House, during which he asked Mr. Trump if he could "do anything to shake loose" the $78 million in federal funding for the project that has been approved by the Army Corps of Engineers but not yet appropriated by Congress.
"He said, 'We're going to fix it,'" Mr. Hart said. "I don't know what that means, but he said 'We're going to fix it.'"
Look for more coverage from Mr. Hart's State of the City address in Monday's print and digital editions of the CBJ.
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Yvon Chouinard |
The founders of 1 Percent for the Planet shared their best ideas for addressing climate change and making businesses more socially responsible Thursday at the Coe College Contemporary Issues Forum.
Patagonia Founder Yvon Chouinard and Blue Ribbon Flies founder Craig Mathews said climate change is the greatest challenge facing the world, threatening food systems, land, water and wildlife species like never before.
"It's the elephant in the room, and it supercedes everything else we're doing," said Mr. Chouinard.
The nonprofit 1 Percent for the Planet enables retailers to use its brand if they contribute 1 percent of their annual sales to help grassroots environmental organizations work for change. It was expanded last year to individuals on an income-based formula, and has also added the ability for members to calculate volunteer time as part of their contribution. More than $175 million has been raised since its inception.
"If you believe in taxation, tax yourself - that's what this is," Mr. Chouinard said. "The best thing is, you decide where it goes."
Mr. Mathews said he sees community-building as the number one way to address climate change, aligning world citizens among shared interests that transcend political parties and ideologies. Regenerative organic agriculture is a big part of the solution, he said, with the potential to reduce carbon buildup and replenish depleted soils.
As a way of moving regenerative organic agriculture forward, Mr. Chouinard said he is looking at considering another nonprofit venture that will buy small tracts of land and divide it among groups of families or individuals who will farm it using regenerative organic practices and share equipment. Once they have demonstrated their mastery of the practices and begin to make a profit, they will be able to buy the land.
Mr. Chouinard's advice to students was to avoid seeking the jobs "that millions of other people want" and create their own opportunities.
In an interview, Mr. Chouinard and Mr. Mathews described the devastating effects of climate change they have witnessed in their global travels, and rejected the description of the successes they have had as victories.
"There are no victories," Mr. Chouinard said. "You just stall the evil."
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The city of Cedar Rapids on Tuesday reported that results of its latest Insurance Services Office (ISO) Public Protection Classification (PPC) evaluation have resulted in an improved rating of 2/2X.
The new rating takes effect June 1, and places the city in the top 3 percent of all communities nationwide for its fire suppression delivery system.
ISO is a leading source of information about property/casualty insurance risk and evaluates more than 46,000 public fire service providers nationwide. Because a
community's investment in fire mitigation is a proven predictor of future fire losses, insurance companies use PPC information to help establish fair premiums for fire insurance, and generally offer lower premiums in communities with better protection.
Many communities use the PPC as a benchmark for measuring the effectiveness of their fire protection services. The PPC program is also a tool that helps communities plan for, budget and justify improvements.
"The improved ISO rating is the result of a commitment by city leadership and the Utilities Department, Joint Communications Center and Fire Department devoting countless hours to identifying and addressing areas of improvement," City Manager Jeff Pomeranz stated in a press release. "The results affirm that our community has an excellent fire protection system. These results are a major economic development tool that can be added to an attractive list of reasons why businesses and industry can thrive and grow in Cedar Rapids. It is also great news for residents of our community and demonstrates our commitment to public safety."
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Short-Term Event Planner
Virtual Career Fair, by Cedar Rapids Iowa City Corridor, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Connect with more than a dozen Corridor employers and research new careers via online chat sessions with recruiters. Free. Register at bit.ly/2G6M4xQ.
March 5
Coralville Roundtable, by Iowa City Area Chamber of Commerce, noon-1 p.m., The Radisson, 1220 First Ave., Coralville. Roundtables are social lunches over the noon hour. All are invited to network, keep up-to-date with chamber and community events. Free for members. Call the chamber at (319) 337-9637 if interested and not a member.
March 6
Customer Discovery for Product & Service Success, by Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance, 8-9:15 a.m., 501 First St. SE, Cedar Rapids. Julie Zielinski of EDC Inc. will discuss best practices for productive customer delivery. Free. To register, visit bit.ly/2ozsanI
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Headlines from CBS2/FOX 28
These news items are provided by CBS2/FOX 28
Eco Lips Owner Steve Shriver admits it's a good problem to have as he maneuvers around boxes stacked to the ceiling in a large room once meant for offices. After 15 years of taking over more and more space for his lip balm company in the Cherry Building in NewBo, EcoLips will be moving to Marion. As an environmentally responsible company he says the goal was to use every inch of space and he had done that, but now the company has to move. "There was never any intention to leave New Bohemia - it's going to be a sad day," said Mr. Shriver, who took a leading role in flood recovery, helped in the effort to bring art and an entrepreneurial spirit to the area, worked to discourage chains and fast food from moving in and became such a constant in the neighborhood that many refer to him as The Mayor of NewBo. Work will begin next week to renovate a 35,000-square-foot warehouse space in Marion which will give Eco Lips room to grow in the future.
Besides gun control, many people across the United States are calling for better mental health screening and new security measures to cut down on gun deaths. Here in the Corridor, gun shop owner Ernie Traugh said there is a bigger issue almost everyone can help with right now, which is preventing suicide deaths associated with guns. Mr. Traugh is the owner of Cedar Valley Outfitters, and while he does not believe the tool used to inflict violence should be blamed for that violence, he said having access to a gun is not always a good thing. "There are times that you maybe need to have those tools less accessible to people that are in a bad place," he said. That message hit close to home when a friend told Mr. Traugh one of his customers recently committed suicide using a gun. "He literally said, will you make a video? Will you do something about this," said Mr. Traugh. He created a Facebook video on Tuesday, which has now reached thousands of views in less than 24 hours, urging members of the gun community to seek help or recommend help in fighting suicide. "We know that often deaths by suicide are linked to a connection with firearms because it's a more effective means of ending one's life," said Elisabeth Kissling, marketing director for Foundation 2.
T
hese news items are provided by CBS2/FOX 28
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CBS2 Chief Meteorologist Terry Swails' Weather First Forecast
Clouds are moving out and cooler air is moving in. There will be plenty of sunshine today and temperatures will warm into the low to mid 40s. Winds will be kicking out of the northwest this afternoon at 15-30 mph which will make it feel even colder. Winds will die down tonight and skies will stay clear, which will allow temperatures to fall into the 20s by Friday morning.
Temperatures will be in the 40s once again tomorrow and then warm back up over the weekend. It will be sunny and dry Saturday and Sunday and temperatures will be in the 50s both days. Late Sunday clouds will build in ahead of our next storm.
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