Congressman Tom Latham

March is the month we celebrate one of the truly great American charities: The Red Cross.

This organization has been at the forefront of saving–and repairing–the lives of our nation’s military personnel, their families, and those of us who have been affected by natural disasters for one-hundred-and-twenty-seven years. ` Here in Iowa, there are ten Red Cross chapters to be found throughout the state.

The Red Cross was started in 1881 by the great American patriot, Clara Barton. Through her compassion and leadership, the Red Cross has continued to serve Americans and the international community through two world wars, Korea, Vietnam and both Gulf wars. The organization has also provided relief for some of the most notable natural disasters in recent memory: Hurricane Katrina, the 2004 tsunami, the California Wildfires and the deadly tornadoes that recently swept through Tennessee, Arkansas, Alabama, Mississippi and Kentucky.

Last year 3,274 of our friends and neighbors in Iowa donated their time to help as disaster responders, educators and mentors. Many people from all parts of the state have been dispatched around the country to assist with flood and hurricane relief… and locally the Iowa Red Cross continues to provide life-saving training like CPR, first-aid, and certified baby-sitter training so parents can rest assured that if anything goes wrong at home, responsible babysitters will know what to do.

But that’s not all. The Red Cross is the number one organization helping Iowans to prepare for what Mother Nature can dish out. Being "Red Cross Ready" is a growing trend among Iowans, and it entails three important steps: Getting a kit, making a plan, and being informed. Your emergency kit should contain–in the least–three days worth of nonperishable food, water (1 gallon, per person, per day) and supplies. Make sure you can get to it easily in case of emergency. For your plan, make sure that everyone in your family knows what to do and where to go if a disaster occurs. And don’t forget to stay informed… learn how to get information during an emergency, keep up with the weather and learn how to perform first-aid. Detailed information about being "Red Cross Ready" can be found on the Red Cross website at www.redcross.org.

The Red Cross also plays an important communications role for family members who are serving in the military overseas. When Iowa’s soldiers are deployed to places where communication is limited, the Red Cross does everything it can to pass important information from home to the frontlines. In 2007, 1,547 messages were communicated between active military personnel and their families back home in Iowa.

As your congressman, I’m proud to be playing a part in calling attention to the Red Cross.

Please join me in observing March as Red Cross Month. To volunteer, give blood or find out more information about the American Red Cross, visit www.redcross.org or call 1-800 RED CROSS (733-2767). And, as always, you can visit my website for information on how to get involved at latham.house.gov.

It is not news that America has entered a nursing shortage. Last year over 118,000 nursing jobs were left unfilled. Employers want to hire, but the pool of qualified nurses just isn’t big enough to fill all those jobs. What might be surprising is that nursing schools, the very programs delivering these qualified nurses to Iowa’s hospitals, turned away more than 40,000 applicants last year alone. Why? Because they’re full. The nursing shortage isn’t the problem, it’s the symptom.

The Iowa Department of Public Health noted that we have a nursing shortage of over eight percent. That number is expected to jump to 27 percent in just over a decade. Are we supposed to accept 27 percent less of a nurse? I don’t think so.

America’s nursing schools are working as hard as they can to certify registered nurses, nursing assistants, licensed practical nurses and licensed vocational nurses. So hard, in fact, they don’t have any more room. They can’t cram anymore nursing students into their programs even though they want to. There is no more space. There are no more qualified teachers. In our nation’s nursing crisis, this is the root of the problem. This is what needs to be addressed.

So, 40,000 qualified job seekers get turned away while those 118,000 open jobs go unfilled. Patients who need help can’t get it. Our current nurses are overworked, under-paid, and, at an average age of over 45 years old, are planning on retiring when the millions of retired baby-boomers begin to use health services at a higher rate.

In light of all the health care talk coming out of Washington these days (socialized medicine, malpractice lawsuits, health insurance), it is easy to lose sight of the fact that the greatest support structure of America’s health care system is damaged and about to head into a tailspin if we don’t act now.

That is why I am setting up nursing roundtables throughout the state. I’ll be meeting with nursing professionals, visiting nursing schools and hospitals, the VA medical center and working on an information talk show about this serious crisis. I will take this information back to Washington and make sure that Iowa’s nurses, and Iowa patients, are represented in congress.