Iowa health department chief addresses aging issues in Johnson County

Telemedicine and other technology will be vital under health care reform, but getting back to the basics will also have its place, said the state's health chief.

Dr. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, director of the Iowa Department of Public Health, cited exercise, eating more fruits and vegetables and quitting or reducing smoking among the efforts Iowans can take now to curb health care costs.

“Have fun and dance,” she said to more than 50 people during a forum Monday, April 11, sponsored by the Heritage Agency on Aging Johnson County Task Force. “Look for the joy in life to be healthful in aging.”

Miller-Meeks took questions for nearly an hour at the Johnson County Health and Human Services Building in Iowa City, moderated by Doug Beardsley, director of Johnson County Public Health.

Panelists Suellen Novotny, executive director of the Visiting Nurse Association of Johnson County; Jeff Charis-Carlson, opinion editor of the Iowa City Press-Citizen; and Mary Willie, aging specialist of Johnson County Livable Community – a co-sponsor of the forum – asked their own questions and those posed by the audience.

Miller-Meeks said she intentionally takes the stairs at the state capitol as part of her own exercise routine.

She cited a partnership in Cerro Gordo County as a way to offer 24-hour access to a health center where residents can do simple exercises like stretching.

“It doesn't have to fancy,” she said. “It doesn't have to be expensive.”

Mental health parity and oversight of long-term care facilities don't fall under the health department's purview, but are also important in aging, she noted.

Willie, who is also project coordinator for Sure Steps, a comprehensive fall prevention program for Johnson County, asked what is being done to address prescription drug abuse, given that over-medication is a cause of many elderly falls.

Miller-Meeks said the most rampant increase in drug abuse is occurring with prescription drugs.

The state health department doesn't have a specific program to address the over-medication of seniors, she said, but noted hip fractures are among the high cost drivers of Medicare.

Miller-Meeks answered a question from Novotny about funding for home health programs by saying she wants to keep the public health structure intact.

“My goal is that direct services remain,” she said, citing local boards of health, home care aide and visiting nurses.