FORT DODGE, IA-- Psychiatric help in rural areas is

getting harder to find as the state continues to see a serious

shortage of mental health professionals.

Experts say recruiting and keeping psychiatrists in the state is

not easy because compensation for them is frequently lower and

working in rural areas can mean long hours and frequent on-call

schedules.

Dr. Douglas Steenblock, a Marshalltown psychiatrist who is

leading a task force on the issue, says Iowa is 47th in the nation

in the number of psychiatrists per capita. No neighboring state is

as low.

The University of Iowa has the state's only psychiatric training

program. The widely respected program attracts top students from

around the country only to see most of them leave the state after

graduation.

The state is trying, however. Starting this year, the state is

offering five $40,000 annual stipends to psychiatrists willing to

work in underserved areas.

Iowa has about 225 practicing psychiatrists, a number which has

remained steady in recent years as demand has soared. Most of them

work in or around the state's six largest cities leaving rural

areas underserved.

Currently, there are about 65 openings for psychiatrists in the

state.