Lt. Governor Patty Judge traveled to Black Hawk county to speak about the health of all Iowans, including making sure every child in the state has health care coverage.
The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier covered the event:
Nearly every child in Iowa today has health care coverage.
That statement from Lt. Gov. Patty Judge won applause during a health care forum Monday. The event, hosted by the Black Hawk County Health Department at its headquarters in the Pinecrest Building, drew nearly 30 people.
Judge and Tom Newton, director of the Iowa Department of Public Health, also stopped in Waverly and Charles City as part of a two-day tour through northern Iowa to tout their efforts to improve the health and well-being of Iowans.
For Newton, the visit "was a bit of a homecoming." The University of Northern Iowa graduate spent four years as an intern and environmental health officer with the county health department.
Newton said the past year has been tough for public health in Iowa, though it could have been much worse. Last year stimulus money helped restore some funding for critical public health services, and $4.3 million in restored state appropriations were received this year.
He added that Judge being a former nurse helps."She understands that health doesn't just come from giving people a source of payment or services," he said.