Michaela Ramm

After reaching an all-time low last week, the number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 increased to 68 in Iowa in the past week, though that number is still far below the January peak.

Anne Harris Carter has been hired as the first-ever health equity manager at Linn County Public Health. The daughter of Dr. Percy and Lileah Harris, Carter will focus on addressing systematic barriers to health equity, such as racism and poverty, that community members face.

U.S. Sens. Chuck Grassley and Bob Casey introduced legislation that proposes a permanent expansion of a Medicare program for rural hospitals in Iowa and across the nation.

930 new COVID-19 cases were reported in Iowa in the past week, almost double the number reported last week. It’s the first overall increase in virus activity statewide since the peak of the omicron variant’s surge in mid-January.

White oak trees, which are native to Iowa, can grow to be 500 or 600 years old if grown in the right conditions.

The City of Iowa City’s Office of Equity and Human Rights is hosting events focused on fair housing in April in honor of the 54th anniversary of the landmark Fair Housing Act of 1968.

On Friday, Iowa ended participation in a federal program that offered households nationwide the maximum benefit available under SNAP — the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Local food pantries are preparing for a spike in demand.

A new study from the University of Iowa’s Post-COVID Clinic has found damage to the small airways in the lungs of long-haul COVID patients experiencing persistent breathing problems. This damage, which cause air to be trapped in the small airways, could be a potentially long-lasting impact from COVID-19 infection, researchers say.

COVID-19 hospitalizations statewide increased slightly this week, but the virus has slowed enough in the past month for area hospitals to reach a milestone in the pandemic. In some cases, that watershed only lasted for a day.

Effective March 28, 2022, both Cedar Rapids hospitals will begin allowing some hospitalized patients more visitors, a break from stricter policies set at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

An in-depth analysis of pandemic response commissioned by Linn County Public Health identified the communication gap between state officials and local public health departments as a hindrance to agencies’ COVID-19 response.

New coronavirus cases and hospitalizations reached new lows this week as state and federal health data showed Iowa continuing to emerge from the latest COVID-19 surge.

The Eastern Iowa Health Center, the Cedar Rapids-based safety net provider, launched a telehealth program offering virtual psychiatric appointments for its patients after officials reported long wait-times among other providers locally.

Officials with the National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library in the Cedar Rapids said the Russian invasion of Ukraine has “startling parallels” with the 1968 Soviet Union occupation of former Czechoslovakia, which stopped the country’s path toward democracy for another 20 years.

Daniel Joiner has been named as the chief diversity officer at UnityPoint Health, a new position created to advance diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives within the health care system.