The Roots of IACPR
By Patricia Lounsbury, Member, Founding Committee
At a workshop held in May, 1988 at Iowa Methodist Medical Center in Des Moines, Kathy Kunath articulated the need for a network of cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation programs in Iowa. She assembled a group of activists who later became the founders of IACPR. At the first meeting in October at the Airport Hilton in Des Moines, the "Founding Committee" was born, consisting of these ten Iowa pioneers:
- Kathy Kunath (Iowa Methodist Medical Center, Des Moines)
- Evelyn Schnoor (Iowa Methodist Medical Center, Des Moines)
- Cynthia Barinsky (Iowa Lutheran)
- Mary Monk Tevis (Marion Health Center, Sioux City)
- Sheri Kephart (St. Luke's, Davenport)
- Bonnie DeGrande (St. Luke's, Davenport)
- Betty Kreiner (Howard County Hospital, Cresco)
- Carolyn Hicks (Spencer Municipal Hospital, Spencer)
- Tom Clancy (Mercy Hospital, Iowa City)
- Patti Lounsbury (Story County Hospital, Nevada)
This group named the organization and drafted its first organizational chart, purpose and mission.
By December 1988 the group had written the IACPR Constitution and in May 1989 the first membership meeting was held at Iowa Lutheran Hospital in Des Moines. Three months later, the IACPR Newsletter made its debut, sponsored by Eaton Telemetry and edited by Patti Lounsbury.
Mary Monk Tevis was elected the first president of IACPR and was a major impetus for our national affiliation. In October 1989, IACPR was designated as a state society affiliate of the American Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation (AACVPR). Susan Frye, the first IACPR attorney, guided the organization through articles of incorporation and by April of 1990, we were incorporated as a nonprofit organization.
Distinguished Member of the Year Award Recipients
Marcia Picock, 2000
Candy Steele, 2002
Patti Lounsbury, 2003
Nici Davis, 2007
Janie Knipper, 2008
Nancy Steingreaber, 2009
Marolyn Nuzum, 2010
Laura Mackaman, 2011
Diane McGrew, 2012
Leah Lenz, 2013
Susan Flack, 2014
Peg King, 2015
Becky Paxton, 2016
Leah Lenz, 2017
Claire Shannon, 2018
