Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds used her condition-of-the-state address to direct the state's Department of Health and Human Services to seek more than $150 million in federal funds to train around 460 physicians in the state.
The funding would be part of a health and human services program to be launched in partnership with Iowa City-based University of Iowa and Des Moines, Iowa-based Broadlawns Medical Center. The federal funds would be used to create around 115 new residency slots annually at 14 teaching hospitals, training around 460 physicians over a three-to-four-year residency rotation, according to a Jan. 14 news release.
"That's a game changer for rural communities and our entire state," Ms. Reynolds said in the release.
Ms. Reynolds also dedicated $3 million in healthcare credentialing grants for employers to educate and train nurses, chief nursing assistants and licensed practical nurses. The goal of the funding is to provide employers with more flexibility and aid in filling in-demand healthcare careers.