Univ. of Iowa delivers help to address OB care needs in rural areas

IOWA CITY, Iowa (KCRG) – Since 2000, 31 Iowa counties, most of them rural, have closed their OB services forcing women to travel farther for medical care. The University Hospital saw a 24% increase in how many babies its delivering in the last four years. Which is why they are making efforts to help rural areas in the state care for expecting parents and their babies.

TV9 spoke with Dr. Stephanie Radke who went into the field of obstetrics and gynecology early in her medical schooling to help with what she describes as the justice issues present in the field.

Now, as an OB-GYN with the University of Iowa, she’s helping educate people in rural areas.

“We know that both in Iowa and around the country that women and pregnant individuals who reside in rural communities as a whole are at increase risk of experiencing maternal morbidities,” said Dr. Radke.

While they see many pregnant people come to campus in Iowa City for care, there still remains a gap for those who have higher risk pregnancies.

Having been in her position with UI for 15 years, Dr. Andrea Greiner says she has seen the number of babies delivered there increase over that time frame.

“Even though the birthrate in Iowa has pretty much stayed stable, there really appears to have been a shift of where women deliver, some of that is based on the rural hospital closures,” said Dr. Greiner.

UIHC as a whole is aiming to help fill OB care gaps in those parts of the state via tele-health, and education outreach.

“We can do just one-on-one education when they call us to ask a question, say, ‘I’ve got a patient with this concern, what should I do? Who does she need to see?’ You know, what sort of care does she need,” said Dr. Greiner.

And perhaps one of the most important aspects: a mobile OB simulation unit funded by a HEARST Grant through the Iowa Department of Health and Humans Services.

“They can go out to these small rural hospitals and rural emergency rooms to do emergency obstetric simulations to help those providers in those communities,” said Dr. Greiner.

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