The University of Iowa is requesting over $10 million to help bolster rural healthcare disparities in the state of Iowa for fiscal 2026.
UI President Barbara Wilson spoke to the Iowa Board of Regents, which governs Iowa’s three public universities, on Thursday about how they will divert those funds into strengthening the state’s healthcare resources.
The new request would nearly double the funding for rural health care received in fiscal 2024, which was $5.4 million. Wilson said that for next year, they plan to focus on three key areas surrounding rural healthcare: maternal health, mental health, and primary care.
Wilson said investing $6.5 million out of the $10 million into primary care services will improve their programs and resources. This includes transitioning 20 more registered nurses to be advanced registered nurse practitioners each year and doubling the community pharmacist training program from five to 10 students.
The funding will also go toward graduating five more audiologists each year and providing annual scholarships for 200 in-state UI undergraduates focusing on health care.
According to the presentation, $2 million would go into maternal health to instruct 150 providers and nurses annually in maternal health emergencies. It would also help train 25 hospitals and 100 nurses to support transfers for complex pregnancies.
Lastly, $1.5 million would go into mental health services. Wilson said this will enable the university to graduate 15 more clinical mental health counselors, graduate seven more school psychologists, and renew a Physician Assistant Fellowship.
Ultimately, Wilson said these improvements will strengthen outcomes for Iowa’s rural population, expand healthcare delivery, and strengthen the healthcare workforce in the state.
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She told the regents they have established several goals from the $5.4 million from last year, and they enrolled 103 additional students in the Master of Social Work program, which is eight more than the university promised to the regents.
Additionally, the university increased the enrollment of the Psych and ARNP program to 21 students, which is six more than promised. The money also went toward continuing mental health services for more than 80 percent of K -12 school districts in Iowa.
Wilson credited several department heads for their work in achieving these goals and said that this work will continue with future investments.
“They’re laser-focused on rural health, so these ideas are part of their commitment for us to be a much more aggressive partner in making sure we keep healthcare local and, when needed, we’re good partners in helping train the next round of healthcare providers,” Wilson said.
Regent Jim Lindenmayer commended the university for their work in supporting rural health care across the state.
“I’ve just watched that deteriorate my whole life, and I think experts have been predicting this was going to be a problem. And I think it’s about ready to explode if it’s not addressed somehow,” Lindenmayer said. “I hope you find answers.”
Wilson said rural healthcare disparities are an unfortunate reality across many areas of the country, but Iowa is ideally positioned to help address those needs.
“If anywhere we can accomplish this, it’s in a state like Iowa, and many of the people who are joining us on the faculty are energized by the opportunities for partnership here,” Wilson said.