Report ranks Iowa health system’s response to COVID 22nd among the states

DES MOINES — A new report has ranked Iowa’s health care system 17th in the nation overall — down from 4th in early 2020.

The Commonwealth Fund’s State Health System Performance scorecard added seven data points specifically related to COVID-19 and Iowa’s health system ranks 22nd among the states in pandemic-related measures. It shows between August of 2020 and March of 2022, Iowa’s I-C-Us were at more than 80% capacity.

David Radley is the lead researcher on the report.   “Anytime you’re near or above that sort of 80% threshold, it really is putting a lot of stress on the delivery system,” he says, “and we certainly saw that play out in Iowa.”

Radley says one thing that stuck out to him was the number of days it took to vaccinate 70% of Iowans age 12 and up.  “The fastest states got that 70%, you know, vaccine – fully vaccinated in around 200 days in Iowa it took 431 days,” he says, “so, you know, that’s sort of double the fastest pace.”

The report rates health systems in Hawaii and Massachusetts at the top for response to COVID. Mississippi, Oklahoma and West Virginia were at the bottom of the rankings.