Through Premier Connect, a chief medical officer in Iowa with heart failure re-admissions can connect with others to discuss possible causes, said Keith.

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Lichtman's most recent expos is of an o-t-c Bulletin Board company called DNA Medical Technologies, of Hiawatha, Iowa.

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And a succession of ordinary citizens aired their troubles at the podium: a car worker about to lose his job, a flood victim from Iowa, a laid-off textile worker with huge medical bills, and so on.

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Ninety miles east, in Creston, Iowa, storm damage prompted local officials to evacuate the local medical center, although officials said they weren't sure if damage had been caused by a tornado or just high winds.

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Concentrating on medical-service start-ups, he has since made a fortune, but he worries about Iowa having enough entrepreneurial role models.

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Other trial sites along with the University of Maryland Medical Center are Baylor College of Medicine, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Emory University, Saint Louis University, Seattle Group Health Cooperative, the University of Iowa, and Vanderbilt University.

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