Miller-Meeks tours Meller center with USDA Under Secretary

FORT MADISON – The Meller Family Health Center got a drop -in from Congresswoman Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA-1) and USDA Under Secretary for Rural Development Glen Smith Tuesday afternoon.
Miller-Meeks was in town for a pre-election meet-and-greet at Turnwater Bar and Grill, and met with Smith at the facility to give him a tour of the building that was made possible with about $3 million in USDA rural health and community project funding.
The $6 million building received $2.1 million in a congressional appropriation out of Miller-Meeks’ office through the USDA’s Community Development funds. They also received $975,000 in rural emergency health care funds from the USDA. The rest of the funds came in part from Lee County’s share of America Rescue Plan Act funding and private donations secured by the North Lee County Community Foundation.
The land for the property was donated by Glen Meller on behalf of his family. Their name was bestowed on the building to honor the donation.
Miller-Meeks championed the USDA’s role in the building as she walked through the hallways with LCHD Administrator Michele Ross, shaking hands with staff and thanking them for their work.
The two also toured the EMS bay and met with EMS Director Mark Long and staff. Miller-Meeks told Smith on the tour this is how government spending is supposed to benefit rural America.
“We had to do this. There’s not a group of people more hard working or more deserving between our EMS and our public health people. And this is a fantastic building,” Miller-Meeks said.
The USDA also helped fund a Lee County EMS command/quick-response vehicle about four years ago and that vehicle has about 125,000 miles on it.
Smith asked if command vehicles were a common practice and Long told him it has recently become common practice as it allows more flexibility in service to EMS staffs as well as quicker response.
Miller-Meeks took a moment to talk about rural health care access in Lee County and said she’s hearing about progress with the Insight effort in Keokuk to open the a 24/7 ER/Trauma Center in the old Keokuk Blessing building.
“That's almost $1 million we got to help them reopen as a rural emergency hospital. Our conversations with them is that is going to evolve and that should reopen,” she said.
“Keokuk as you know has been a hospital that has been under stress for decades, quite honestly, given the growth in Quincy, Illinois. But we think it’s going to be very helpful.”
She said having the hospital in Fort Madison coupled with the public health center in Lee County, and then having rural emergency access in Keokuk will help deliver health care services to the area.

She said she isn’t hearing about any sticking points with Insight in moving forward.
“I think everything is moving ahead,” she said, but no timelines are in place.
She said reimbursement rates on Medicare and Medicaid are the top priorities increasing viability of rural health care across the country.
“They are the lowest reimbursers. Private insurance is above that so if you have a population that is predominantly senior and low income and those are your predominant payers, then it really makes it difficult for (providers),” she said.
She said Keokuk declined acritical access hospital status in the past, but Fort Madison does have the designation, and they get reimbursed at cost-plus, which helps sustain operations.
The Congresswoman added that getting more providers to the area is also key to standing up successful rural health care providers.
She also referenced dollars that are coming into the state for cancer research and radon detection services as steps to help improve the state’s health outlook.
With regard to rural public-owned ambulances she said efforts are underway to get higher reimbursements there as well. She said growing the economy with higher payment jobs increases revenue to the federal government, which allows more money to go where it is needed.
Smith talked briefly about the proposed steel mill and how USDA Rural Development is engaging with housing assistance efforts.
“Our state director for rural development, Mike Sexton, has instructed his staff to reach out to the communities and the surrounding counties,” he said.
“What is the one thing an industry asks when they come into a rural area? What is the affordable housing - and that’s where rural development can really step in to rural communities.”
Smith said rural development is all about community infrastructure, and the possibility of Mesabi Metallics building in the county is on the USDA radar.
“Obviously, we’re looking at health care today, but housing is also one of our primary areas. They should be prepared to work with our state office to be putting in applications as the need arises. We have programming and funding for low, very low income residents, but also direct financing working with community banks for guarantees.”