According to the Small Business Administration, 97 percent of Iowa's employers are small businesses.  These businesses are the backbone of our economy and are essential to growing our economy and creating jobs.

I'm back home in Iowa working every weekend and one of my favorite things to do is visit small businesses.  I am constantly impressed with the innovation and dedication of employers and employees alike.  You can see photos of some of the businesses I have visited here.

To honor small businesses this week, I joined a bipartisan group to introduce a Resolution supporting "National Small Business Week."  This week is all about supporting local businesses and recognizing the contributions small businesses make to our communities and our economy.  I hope all Iowans will join me in making this week a celebration of Iowa's small businesses.

As a founding member of the bipartisan Small Business Caucus, I have made championing small businesses a top priority.  This includes supporting numerous initiatives to help small businesses including joining the other side of the aisle in supporting a 20 percent small business tax cut and increased tax deductions for capital expenses.  It is critical that small business in Iowa continue to grow and prosper and I will continue to fight to ensure they have the tools they need to succeed. 

Sincerely,

Dave Loebsack
Iowa's Second District

Unlike many of the most important events in one's life - graduation, marriage, having a child - almost no one anticipates a cancer diagnosis.

This year, nearly 239,000 U.S. men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer and more than 232,000 women will learn they have breast cancer, according the American Cancer Society. Over their lifetimes, nearly half of all men can expect a cancer diagnosis, and more than a third of women.*

"Thankfully, we now have many tools for detecting cancers early and treating them successfully. But learning you have cancer remains one of life's most frightening and stressful experiences," says cancer psychotherapist Dr. Niki Barr, author of "Emotional Wellness, The Other Half of Treating Cancer," (canceremotionalwellbeing.com).

"Developing ways to help patients address their emotional well-being throughout their medical journey, still lag behind medical advances, but physicians and psychologists recognize that healing improves when both the physical and emotional needs of patients are served."

In her years of clinical practice working exclusively with cancer patients and their loved ones, Barr developed an Emotional Wellness Toolbox that patients stock with what Barr has found to be the most effective tools.

Here are some of her tools for managing anxiety - a normal and emotionally healthy response to a cancer diagnosis, but one that can spiral out of control.

• Catch your anxious thoughts. Stop anxious thoughts - thoughts about fear, unease and worry -- before they lead to anxiety. Start by writing your thoughts down on individual note cards and identifying the first one that's leading to you feeling anxious.  Then the next one. When you've identified all of your anxious thoughts, go back to the first one and, on the card, write a new thought that will not make you feel anxious. It should be a thought that is confident and empowering. Continue down the list and do the same for each anxious thought.

• Erase 'what if' thinking. What if the cancer has spread? What if the treatment doesn't work? One 'what if' leads to another and often spirals into anxiety. Be aware when you start asking 'what if' and instead ask yourself, "Is this thought helping me or hurting me?" and "Is this thought moving me forward or backward?"

• Ground yourself. Interrupt a chain of anxious thoughts by focusing on details around you. Look at the color of the walls in the room you're in; take in the pictures on the walls, the books on the shelves and the titles on their spines; look at the person you're talking to, the color of their eyes, the clothes she's wearing. Being very focused on external details can derail anxious thoughts.

• Use distraction. Choose a favorite place and visit it. Absorb everything about it - the colors, smells, any people involved, the sounds, tastes, how it feels. Build it up very clearly in your mind, going over and over it, so it can become a distraction tool. When you're waiting for a medical test or procedure, undergoing a procedure, or any other time you need to "be" somewhere else, call up your distraction and visit.

Other tools for your box include meditation CDs that use guided imagery; favorite music CDs; and a journal to record your thoughts and feelings.

"Being able to manage your anxiety enables you to move forward through cancer whether patient, caregiver or family member," Barr says.  "Don't tell yourself you can't handle whatever you're going through. Yes, you can ... five minutes at a time."

*The data does not include non-melanoma skin cancers, the most common diagnosis.

About Niki Barr, Ph.D. (@NikiBarrPhD)

Niki Barr, Ph.D. founded a pioneering psychotherapy practice dedicated to working with cancer patients in all stages of the disease, along with their family members, caregivers and friends. In her book, she describes an "emotional wellness toolbox" patients can put together with effective and simple strategies, ready to use at any time, for helping them move forward through cancer. Dr. Barr is a dynamic and popular speaker, sharing her insights with cancer patients and clinicians across the nation.

With 30 years of correctional health care experience, Dr. Baxter is well-equipped to lead inmate health services in today's evolving health care climate

Nashville, TN. - CCA, America's leader in partnership corrections, announces the appointment of Dr. John Baxter to Vice President, Health Services, effective June 8, 2013.  Dr. Baxter currently serves as Director, Mental Health Services for CCA.  He will replace the retiring Herb Spiwak.

"It is an honor and great privilege to lead CCA's dedicated team of health care professionals.  CCA offers the unique opportunity to serve society and our partners as we provide effective care to persons in need," said Dr. Baxter.  "The work we accomplish together improves health, eases suffering, and saves lives daily.  I'm humbled and deeply grateful for the opportunity to engage with others in this effort."

Dr. Baxter brings more than 30 years of experience working in correctional health care.  Prior to his joining CCA in 2008, he worked for 24 years for the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) in a variety of roles, including as the agency's Psychology Services Administrator.

In his new position as Vice President of Health Services, Dr. Baxter is tasked with the responsibility of overseeing inmate medical, mental health, and dental care services, pharmaceutical management, and off-site specialty care and hospitalization services for over 52,000 inmates.

"CCA brings together the best people in the industry, who are very creative in meeting the challenges we face," comments Dr. Baxter.  "The support of our coworkers in security, programs, unit management and other operations makes a huge difference in the quality of care we are able to provide."

In addition to the unique role security plays in providing quality inmate health care, Dr. Baxter understands that the evolving landscape of health care will weigh heavily in the decision-making processes of his new role.

"The landscape of health care is changing, and that brings challenges as well as great opportunities to build relationships with staff and others that support our critical processes," said Dr. Baxter.  "Our staff do an exceptional job currently, by every policy and accreditation standard, and I look forward to building on that solid foundation."

Dr. Baxter has a doctoral degree in human development counseling from Vanderbilt University and a master's degree from Harding Graduate School of Religion.  He is a member of the American Correctional Association, where he serves as an elected mental health representative to the Delegate Assembly, as a member of the Healthcare Committee, and Chairs ACA's Mental Health Committee.  He is also a member of the American Psychological Association.

About CCA
CCA is the nation's largest provider of partnership corrections to federal, state and local government, operating more than 60 facilities, including more than 40 company-owned facilities, with more than 90,000 beds, in 20 states and the District of Columbia. In addition to providing the residential services for inmates, CCA facilities offer rehabilitation and educational programs, including education, vocation, religious services, life skills and employment training and substance abuse treatment.

See how CCA is making a difference at: http://ccastart.com/intro/.