Iowa

More seniors and people with disabilities are choosing to stay in their homes, and home health aides are vital to providing them basic assistance. The profession is projected to be one of the fastest growing nationally in the next decade, but it’s getting harder to recruit and retain these workers.

While cancer death rates in the U.S. have declined in recent years, racial disparities persist. Midwestern states — including Iowa, Illinois, Missouri and Indiana — have some of the highest rates of cancer mortality for Black residents in the country. Public health advocates have worked for years to close the racial gap, but some worry the pandemic will delay progress.

The coronavirus swept through the nation’s meat processing facilities in 2020. Nearly two years into the pandemic, many are still searching for answers — and calling for change.

Immigrants make up an estimated 40 percent of the U.S. meat processing workforce. Last year’s wave of COVID outbreaks at meatpacking plants exposed many vulnerabilities among the industry’s diverse workforce.

Nationwide, COVID-19 disproportionately affected communities of color — in part because the U.S. relies on immigrant workers in food and agriculture.

The number of individuals hospitalized with COVID-19 remains high across the country — and the Midwest. With the delta variant dominating cases, patients now are younger, sicker and often require more intensive care, hospitals like Methodist in Des Moines are facing pressure.

In recent weeks, demand for the COVID-19 vaccine in Iowa has declined sharply, but the number of Iowans who have had at least one shot hasn't even reached 70 percent. That's raising concern among public health officials.

The pandemic has affected the mental health of Iowa's children, and some are still concerned that two years after the creation of the children's mental health system, services are still falling short.

The Midwest is home to tens of thousands of immigrants — including refugees from countries like Myanmar, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Iraq. And it’s been a challenge to provide information about COVID-19 and vaccines to those who don’t speak English.

For the past year, Dr. Lauren Graham has been the COVID-19 coordinator at the Grinnell Regional Medical Center in Grinnell, Iowa. She spoke to Side…