Miller-Meeks and E&C Chairman Guthrie Tour Washington County Hospital, Highlight Rural Health Transformation Progress

WASHINGTON, IOWA — Congresswoman Mariannette Miller-Meeks, M.D. welcomed House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Brett Guthrie to Iowa for a tour and roundtable at Washington County Hospital, highlighting the real and immediate impact of Iowa's Rural Health Transformation Program on rural communities across the state.

Washington County Hospital has already put its RHTP funds to work, including the purchase of a brand new CT scanner that is improving diagnostic capabilities and patient outcomes for the community. The visit underscored how Iowa is leading the nation in deploying RHTP funding to transform rural health care.

During the roundtable, Congresswoman Miller-Meeks and Chairman Guthrie discussed Iowa's innovative cancer hub and spoke model, strategies for recruiting and retaining physicians and nurses in rural communities, and the critical importance of long-term sustainable funding for rural hospitals.

"Iowa is showing the rest of the country what it looks like to put these funds to work quickly and effectively," said Dr. Miller-Meeks. "Washington County Hospital is a perfect example. New equipment, new capabilities, and a community that now has better access to the care they deserve. This is exactly what the Rural Health Transformation Program was designed to do, and we are just getting started."

Iowa was the first state in the nation to fully allocate its Year 1 funds from the $50 billion Rural Health Transformation Program. With four years remaining, Iowa stands to receive over $1 billion in total to continue transforming rural health care for generations to come.

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