Stephen Richards

1st Term: 1/1/2015 - 6/30/2018
Spirit Lake, IA

Degree(s):
PharmD, 1971, Drake University

Background:
Steve graduated from Drake College of Pharmacy in 1971. Immediately upon graduation Steve married Janice Miller who also graduated from the college of pharmacy. They have been married since and raised two children, Chris(an elementary principal) and Alison(a lawyer), who have provided Steve and Jan with three grandchildren. Steve went directly on to Des Moines University and graduated with his DO degree in 1974, He had a scholarship from the USAF for medical school, so he completed an internship with the air force at Scott AFB and then served two years of active duty as a flight surgeon for the 349thSRS(U-2 squadron) from 1975-77.  They returned to Des Moines and completed a family practice residency at Broadlawns Medical Center in 1979. Steve and Jan moved to Algona, Iowa and started a family practice with another Broadlawns graduate. This rural practice that included all aspects of medicine eventually grew from the two starters to a group of six family physicians, one general surgeon, one ob-gyn, one phd psychologist, and three pa’s. Steve retired from clinical practice in 2011 after 32 years of very full filling family medicine. In 1986, Steve joined the Iowa Air National Guard with the 185^th fighter wing in Sioux City, Iowa. He finished his Air Guard career in 2004 spending his last three years as the State Air Surgeon at Camp Dodge at the rank of Colonel. Steve has been very active in organized medicine with both the Iowa Academy of Family Physicians and the Iowa Medical Society. He served as president of the Academy in 2001 and the medical society in 2005. He currently serves on the Advocacy Commission of the American Academy of Family Physicians.  In 2004 he became the medical director for Pharmacist Mutual Ins. Co where he provides medical input for pharmacy liability cases. In 2013 he became the Chief Medical Officer for CooportunityHealth which is a cooperative based health insurer created out of the Accountable Care Act that now insurers 100,000 patients in Iowa and Nebraska.  He has been Board Certified and Re-Certified by the American Board of Family Medicine since 1979.

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