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Leaders Pledge Efforts to Boost Nurse Pay

May 7-IOWA CITY - Iowa’s Democratic statehouse leaders said a recent legislative step to boost the lagging pay of Iowa nurses is just a first step during a Nurses Day stopover at University Hospitals.

A provision in the state’s Health and Human Services Appropriations Bill passed in the final day of the last legislative session earmarks this year’s 1 percent Medicaid provider reimbursement increase to boost nurses’ wages. The increase could mean $5.1 million for Iowa’s registered nurses, or several hundred dollars per nurse.

State Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal, D-Council Bluffs, called it a “modest effort” that “in some small way” shows appreciation for the work of nurses.

Iowa House Speaker Pat Murphy, D-Dubuque, said nurses in Iowa need not only better pay, but more control over their patient care decisions in order to prevent them from leaving the state or the profession. He said lagging pay has become a front-burner issue for the Iowa General Assembly, much as the issue of teacher pay took center stage two years ago.

Gronstal and Murphy were joined by State Sen. Bob Dvorsky, D-Coralville, chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, at a small Nurses Day event sponsored by the Service Employees International Union. They spoke in front of the main entrance of the hospital, which employs about 2,500 nurses represented by the SEIU.

The leaders said the passage of the appropriation was in response to Gov. Chet Culver’s call to address a looming nurse shortage in Iowa caused partly by lagging pay.

Registered nurses in Iowa rank last among the states in pay, while licensed practical nurses rank 40th in pay, and certified nursing assistants rank 18th.

The SEIU was a leading force in pushing for the help for hospitals in boosting nurses’ pay.

One of the challenges facing Iowa hospital administrators is the level of Medicare reimbursement for Iowa, which is among the lowest in the nation.

University Hospitals don’t represent the shortage as well as some Iowa hospitals.

“We do better because we’re a union hospital,” said Cathy Glasson, SEIU Iowa president. “We are the highest paid in the state, and we are a destination hospital for nurses in Iowa because of it.”

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