Iowa
Grassley wants answers about hospital where nurse assaulted unconscious patients
A robust Senate Republican is demanding solutions from a private-equity backed hospital in southeast Iowa amid revelations {that a} male nurse practitioner on the facility sexually assaulted 9 feminine sufferers there in 2021 and 2022.
The power, Ottumwa Regional Well being Heart, is a part of Lifepoint Well being Inc., a hospital system headquartered in Brentwood, Tennessee, and owned by Apollo World Administration, the large private-equity agency in New York co-founded by Leon Black.
The incidents on the Ottumwa facility got here to gentle late final 12 months after the overdose loss of life within the hospital of Devin Caraccio, 27, an authorized nurse practitioner who was a contract worker on the hospital, in keeping with its spokeswoman. After he died on the job in October, the Ottumwa police accessed his cellphone, discovering picture and video proof that he had assaulted the sufferers, in keeping with a police division investigator, Jeremy Tosh.
The police division mentioned in an announcement in December that “It’s suspected that all the victims had been asleep, or in a state of unconsciousness when the assaults happened.” Two of the victims haven’t but been recognized; two had been beneath 18, Tosh mentioned in an interview final week.
Eight-term Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa despatched a letter this month to the hospital, Lifepoint Well being and Apollo’s chief government, Marc Rowan. In it, he requested whether or not monetary practices had lowered cash for affected person care and will have facilitated the sexual assault.
One in all Grassley’s questions was whether or not Apollo contractually shields itself from legal responsibility for actions that happen at hospitals it invests in, operates or manages. He additionally requested Apollo to element its “experience concerning rural or non-urban hospitals.”
A spokeswoman for Apollo mentioned: “Our funds are traders in Lifepoint and we’re responding to the questions from Senator Grassley’s workplace.”
Along with Ottumwa Regional, Lifepoint has greater than 60 acute care hospitals in 17 states, together with Arizona, Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia. The power in Ottumwa, a city of 25,000, is one among many rural hospitals owned by Lifepoint; it’s the solely hospital within the 432-square-mile county of Wapello.
Rural hospitals have skilled appreciable monetary strain in recent times, alleviated considerably by authorities reduction funds disbursed in the course of the pandemic. In keeping with analysis from the KFF, a nonprofit group previously generally known as the Kaiser Household Basis, median working margins at rural hospitals earlier than the pandemic had been 1.5%, versus 5.2% for nonrural services.
In an announcement, Cara Clouse, a spokeswoman for Ottumwa Regional Well being Heart, mentioned the ability is dedicated to the protection and well-being of its sufferers.
“The heinous acts of this former contractor clearly violate our insurance policies and values, and our hearts are with all these affected by his misconduct,” she mentioned. “Ottumwa Regional continues to cooperate with legislation enforcement, and now we have adopted various reforms to additional strengthen our controls and safety to safeguard these we serve and stop rogue unhealthy actors.”
A Lifepoint spokeswoman mentioned that the corporate “is deeply disturbed by the horrible acts dedicated by a contractor at Ottumwa Regional Well being Heart,” and that the corporate is implementing “new insurance policies and reforms to assist guarantee sufferers and their households are protected.”
Over the previous decade, private-equity corporations like Apollo have spent a whole bunch of billions of {dollars} shopping for up well being care companies, together with nursing houses, hospital staffing corporations and doctor practices. To finance these purchases, private-equity homeowners usually burden the businesses they purchase with debt, then slash the businesses’ prices to extend earnings and enchantment to potential patrons down the street.
Within the enterprise of well being care, the drive for income can run counter to the purpose of serving to sufferers, critics say.
Caraccio’s assaults on sufferers elevate “critical questions with respect as to if these hospitals have the proper assets or if they’re being loaded with overwhelming quantities of debt to the purpose the place they’re pressured to shift cash away from affected person care,” Grassley wrote in his letter. It additionally went to the CEO of Lifepoint Well being; the chief government of Warburg Pincus, one other private-equity agency that owned Ottumwa Regional Well being Heart earlier than Apollo purchased it; and the CEO of Medical Properties Belief, an actual property funding firm that had carried out a monetary transaction involving the ability.
Apollo purchased the Ottumwa facility in 2015 from Warburg Pincus, and it turned a part of RegionalCare Hospital Companions. A flurry of transactions adopted: The following 12 months, Apollo merged RegionalCare with Capella, one other well being care firm, and in 2018 Apollo merged these operations with Lifepoint Well being.
Then, in 2019, Medical Properties Belief purchased the true property beneath 10 Lifepoint hospitals, together with Ottumwa Regional, leasing them again to the services. Personal-equity corporations usually conduct such transactions, producing money for themselves and their companions from the sale of actual property underlying the services, however usually saddling the hospitals with elevated prices in rents.
The sale and leaseback of the true property in Ottumwa doesn’t seem to have added to the ability’s rental prices, in keeping with an individual briefed on the transaction.
Nonetheless, such transactions are a priority to Grassley. “The fixed promoting and reselling of hospital belongings by non-public fairness, non-public capital, actual property funding trusts (REITs), and different associated entities raises questions with respect as to if these monetary maneuvers have negatively impacted the assets and thereby the care our nation’s rural hospitals present to their sufferers,” he famous in his letter.
The Lifepoint spokeswoman mentioned: “The actions of this one disturbed particular person don’t replicate who we’re, our core values, or how we function any hospital and on no account could be linked to Ottumwa Regional’s monetary standing. Lifepoint is happy with the substantial investments now we have made since turning into part of the Ottumwa neighborhood in 2018, together with the greater than $31 million in facility and expertise updates and for doctor recruitment and retention.”
A spokesman for Grassley mentioned the investigation by his workplace is ongoing. The recipients of his letter had been requested to reply by Friday, March 31. The spokeswoman for the hospital declined to touch upon the letter.
Iowa
Iowa State women’s basketball star Emily Ryan discusses eating disorder in video
Iowa State women’s basketball star Emily Ryan released a video Thursday in which she discusses her battle with an eating disorder.
Ryan, a senior from Claflin, Kansas, has been one of the Big 12 Conference’s best point guards for the past few seasons. She was a first-team all-conference pick in 2022, and a second-team selection in 2023.
“By sharing my story, I hope to build awareness and provide hope to everyone else fighting an invisible battle,” Ryan said in the video.
Ryan said her sense of self-worth was dependent on Iowa State’s success and her individual performance. That led to increased time spent in the weight room in an effort to get stronger and faster. When Ryan didn’t see the results that she desired, she began to focus on her diet.
Ryan said the Iowa State medical staff expressed their concern about Ryan’s eating habits and what it was doing to her body. Ryan said she was in “complete denial” about having an eating disorder, but her health continued to worsen.
Ryan missed the first nine games of the 2023-24 season due to the eating disorder. When she returned, she said, “off the court I was really struggling. By the end of the season, I was physically and mentally hanging on by a thread.”
During the offseason, Ryan spent 88 days at a treatment center in Denver.
“It took a long time but I finally came to the understanding that being sick wasn’t my fault, and eating disorders are real, complex illnesses,” she said.
How to get help
For resources on disordered eating, call the National Eating Disorders Helpline at 800-931-2237 or text NEDA to 741741.
Iowa
Latest Iowa high school volleyball rankings reveal regional pairings
It was an important date around the state for volleyball teams in Iowa, as the latest rankings were released and regional pairings in all five classes were revealed.
The two come into play once regionals reach the championship round, as the higher-ranked team will serve as the host for those games.
All five No. 1 squads remained the same, as Ankeny Centennial (Class 5A), Cedar Rapids Xavier (4A), Mount Vernon (3A), Denver (2A) and Ankeny Christian (1A) held serve.
New teams to the Top-15 include Iowa City West in 5A, Ballard in 4A, Wapsie Valley in 2A and Stanton in 1A. The entire 3A poll remained the same while Sidney made one of the biggest climbs, moving to ninth from 12th in 1A.
Regional play for 1A and 2A begins Oct. 21 with 3A, 4A and 5A starting Oct. 22. The state tournament is scheduled for Nov. 4-7 in Coralville from the Xtream Arena. Complete regional pairings can be found on Bound.
Class 5A
1. Ankeny Centennial; 2. Pleasant Valley; 3. Ankeny; 4. West Des Moines Dowling; 5. Indianola; 6. Waukee Northwest; 7. Cedar Falls; 8. Cedar Rapids Prairie; 9. Waukee; 10. Iowa City Liberty; 11. West Des Moines Valley; 12. Sioux City East; 13. Iowa City West; 14. Iowa City High; 15. Linn-Mar.
Class 4A
1. Cedar Rapids Xavier; 2. Sioux City Bishop Heelan; 3. North Scott; 4. Clear Creek-Amana; 5. Lewis Central; 6. Pella; 7. Glenwood; 8. Carlisle; 9. Marion; 10. Adel-ADM; 11. Norwalk; 12. Sergeant Bluff-Luton; 13. MOC-Floyd Valley; 14. Ballard; 15. Grinnell.
Class 3A
1. Mount Vernon; 2. Western Christian; 3. West Delaware; 4. Dubuque Wahlert; 5. Davenport Assumption; 6. Sioux Center; 7. Carroll Kuemper; 8. Mid-Prairie; 9. Cherokee; 10. Wilton; 11. Solon; 12. Anamosa; 13. Roland-Story; 14. Clarinda; 15. Nevada.
Class 2A
1. Denver; 2. Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont; 3. Dyersville Beckman; 4. Dike-New Hartford; 5. Aplington-Parkersburg; 6. South Hardin; 7. Boyden-Hull; 8. Pella Christian; 9. Iowa City Regina; 10. Hinton; 11. Grundy Center; 12. Sumner-Fredericksburg; 13. Wapsie Valley; 14. West Burlington; 15. Shenandoah.
Class 1A
1. Ankeny Christian; 2. Holy Trinity; 3. Saint Ansgar; 4. Riverside; 5. BCLUW; 6. Janesville; 7. North Tama; 8. Don Bosco; 9. Sidney; 10. River Valley; 11. Akron-Westfield; 12. Stanton; 13. Fremont-Mills; 14. Southwest Valley; 15. Gladbrook-Reinbeck.
Iowa
Iowa high school football computer rankings (10/10/2024)
Week 6 of the 2024 Iowa high school football season has wrapped up, and High School on SI is continuing its weekly computer rankings for the season.
The Dowling Maroons kept their top five placing in this week’s 5A Iowa computer rankings after a thrilling 41-35 victory over Ankeny Centennial. They face a strong Urbandale team on Friday, to keep their momentum going.
The top of the 5A computer rankings stay the same this week as the Bettendorf Bulldogs take home another win, this time defeating Kennedy 33-14. The Bulldogs look forward to Friday, where they will travel to Davenport Central in hopes to hold their place in the standings.
SBLive’s formula was created using its linear algebra-based ranking algorithm inspired by the Colley Bias-Free Ranking Method. Colley’s Method was created by Wes Colley, Ph.D., an astrophysicist at the University of Alabama at Huntsville. He devised his algorithm to help address the subjectivity and controversy regarding BCS college football selections in the 1990s and early 2000s, using a method that used no subjective variables.
- FAQ: SBLive High School Football Computer Rankings
Here are SBLive’s latest Iowa football computer rankings, as of Oct. 7, 2024:
IOWA HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL COMPUTER RANKINGS
CLASS 5A | CLASS 4A
CLASS 3A | CLASS 2A
CLASS 1A | CLASS A
CLASS 8 MAN
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— Ben Dagg | @sblivesports
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