The Wellmark Foundation has partnered with the University of Iowa College of Nursing’s Simulation in Motion-Iowa (SIM-IA) program to help strengthen health care delivery in rural Iowa communities. The program is a mobile clinical education initiative that delivers immersive, on-site simulation training to equip first responders and other health care professionals with the skills to improve patient outcomes. The program intends to help address health care challenges in rural Iowa, including more than half of Iowa’s counties lacking obstetric services, and many emergency responders not having access to hands-on clinical education, a news release said.
The $5.3 million investment by the Wellmark Foundation will expand the reach and frequency of the training provided by the program to provide 86 rural and urban-mixed Iowa counties with training at no cost at least twice per year, with one session focused on maternal health. “Wellmark believes that where you live should not determine the quality of care you receive. Knowing SIM-IA addresses many health care needs across rural Iowa, we are excited to partner with the University of Iowa College of Nursing to broaden their ongoing program,” Laura Jackson, executive vice president of health improvement at Wellmark and chair of the Wellmark Foundation, said in a prepared statement. “Our investment is intended to remove the barriers of cost and access to critical, hands-on training for our dedicated rural first responders and health care providers.”