2022
A special supplement to the Times-Republican • Friday, July 22, 2022
PROGRESS HEALTHCARE Something to build on
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
The brand new $38 million hospital on the south edge of town has been the highlight of a busy year for the UnityPoint Health — Marshalltown organization. An open house was held at the facility on April 23, and it was officially opened to patients on April 27.
T-R PHOTO BY ROBERT MAHARRY
As part of its transition away from the downtown campus and the hospital move, UPH also relocated its family medicine clinic to 303 Nicholas Drive.
UnityPoint opens new Marshalltown facilities, receives local and national recognition By ROBERT MAHARRY
W
hen a comprehensive history of the 21st century in Marshalltown and Marshall County is someday written, 2022 will almost certainly be remembered as the year local healthcare changed forever. UnityPoint led the charge with the transition from a downtown hospital constructed in 1914 to a brand new $38 million facility on the south edge of town along with a new express clinic on South Center Street and the relocation of the family medicine clinic to West Nicholas Drive. As the Times-Republican has previously reported, the hospital project was the culmination of an idea that hatched about five years ago when UPH first agreed to take over the bankrupt facility, then operated by Central Iowa Healthcare. Jenni Friedly, the president of UPH — Marshalltown, has been involved from the get go, and seeing it all come to fruition has been a dream come true. Above all else, Friedly credits her UPH team for staying the course and enduring a trying period before coming out stronger than ever on the other side. “They’ve had so much change if you think about the last five years going from the bankruptcy to a new organization… but staying tied to the community and
showing the community that we want to be here to be their healthcare provider of choice,” Friedly said. “The new building kind of put a bow on that for our team.” As Friedly and other leaders like Hospital Administrator Shari King and UPH — Waterloo President/CEO Pam Delagardelle have repeatedly emphasized, the investments in Marshalltown are also a golden opportunity to win back patients who may have looked elsewhere for their healthcare needs during the transition period. So far, Friedly said, the reviews of the new hospital, which went fully operational on April 27, have been overwhelmingly positive. Since the open house for the new hospital on April 23, UPH — Marshalltown has received two more key recognitions, one local and one national. In April, it was announced that the Wound Care Clinic had received the West Division Center of the Year Award for 2021 from Healogics, the largest provider of advanced wound care services in the nation, the top honor for any center west of the Mississippi River. The team was honored during a ceremony at the new hospital on June 2, and Wound Care leadership expressed pride in being noticed as one of the best centers in the country. “I think it shows our dedication and hard work, and it shows that we care, and frankly that
T-R PHOTO BY ROBERT MAHARRY
The brand new UnityPoint Express Clinic at 1704 S. Center St. opened last October and offers a model that places an emphasis on convenience and a more personal experience.
we’re good enough to accomplish this,” Dr. J. Michael McCune, the medical director, said at the time. Another major accolade rolled in later in June when UPH — Marshalltown received the Community Impact Award at the annual Marshalltown Area Chamber of Commerce banquet, highlighting the investment in the new hospital and the organization’s commitment to keeping critical health care services in the community for the long haul. “I am so proud of our team for what they’ve done with this project (and) the way they’re embracing the community. They’re so passionate, really, about providing healthcare,” Delagardelle said
after receiving the award. “We’re looking forward to all the ways we’re going to continue to support the Marshalltown community with their healthcare needs.” As Friedly sees it, the awards aren’t just a nice recognition for a job well done. They’re also a recruitment tool both for potential employees and patients who might want to utilize UPH’s services. “We should be proud of that, and we do build off of that every chance we can to recognize our team but then also invite the community in, like we did with our open house, to really share that piece of it,” she said. “We’ll continue to do that, and I think we
should highlight that Wound Care recognition… because that’s huge for the community.” Although the hospital has grabbed the lion’s share of the headlines over the last year, UPH, as previously mentioned, also made two other key moves in Marshalltown with the opening of the express clinic on South Center Street and relocating the family medicine clinic, which had previously operated within the downtown hospital campus, to West Nicholas Drive. UNITYPOINT | C5
C2 | Friday, July 22, 2022 | Times-Republican | Marshalltown, Iowa
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Center Associates prepares for south side move
T-R PHOTO BY ROBERT MAHARRY
From left to right, Center Associates MSW Licensed Independent Social Worker Nick Calzada, Business Manager Robin Runge and Executive Director Paul Daniel pose for a photo in front of what will soon be their home at 3809 S. Center St. in Marshalltown. Daniel said the move made sense as CA had outgrown its current space, and they are now much closer to the new hospital on the south edge of town.
By ANDREW UBBEN
A
longtime stalwart of the downtown hospital campus area is following
several of its current and former neighbors and moving to the south side of Marshalltown this summer, and its leaders are excited about the possibilities the new
space will provide. Center Associates, which has provided mental health counseling at 9 N. 4th Ave for nearly three decades, is relocating to the former R.S.
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Stover Company building at 3809 S. Center St at the south medical campus after 10 years of looking into the availability of a larger facility. Two years ago, the organization decided to relocate in light of multiple healthcare facilities making the move to the south medical campus, including the UnityPoint — Marshalltown Hospital, McFarland Clinic and Primary Health Care, which are CA’s referral sources. Being left behind at the current location made the leadership at CA anxious without the hospital nearby, making it much less accessible for mental health emergencies. For instance, they are currently unable to simply walk a suicidal patient over to the hospital, and having to call 911 or having suicidal patients drive to the hospital themselves is a less than ideal scenario for obvious reasons. CA has been housed at its current location since 1995 and shares the facility as joint tenants with SATUCI, the Substance Abuse Treatment Unit of Central Iowa. CA has put their tenantship on the market with SATUCI having first rights to purchase it. CA Executive Director Paul Daniel has worked for the organization in Marshalltown since 1993, and he is eager to make the move and excited for more space to meet the increasing demand for mental health care. CA treats about 6,500 patients and gets approximately 30-35,000 visits in an average year, averaging roughly five visits per patient annually. As the need for mental health care grows worldwide, it can be challenging to find relocation opportunities that will support that need. “We are at a place where the mental health needs are going to get bigger. It’s not going to slow down. So the demand and the needs for us here locally are continuing to rise,” said Daniel. “When you have about 20% of the people that are depressed across the world, and when you look at na-
tional statistics, mental health is not going away. It’s not if you’re going to be depressed or if you’re going to be anxious, it’s ‘What are you going to do when [you get depressed or anxious]?’” Nick Calzada, a licensed independent social worker with CA, also pointed to local and national events in recent years as evidence of increased mental health issues. The tornado in 2018 devastated many people’s lives in the wake of its destruction. The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated mental health issues immensely, causing depression and anxiety from isolation and sometimes resulting in substance abuse and domestic violence. Then the derecho caused even more damage during the pandemic, adding insult to injury here in Marshalltown. Now, the nation is faced with growing inflation, leaving many people nervous about their financial security and fiscal future. As CA works with all of the schools in Marshalltown and surrounding communities on school-based mental health services, they are seeing that not only are adults facing these mental health concerns, but children are greatly affected by the recent and ongoing circumstances as well. When parents are not doing well mentally or emotionally, these issues trickle down to their kids, and this has been evident as many children are having emotional and behavioral troubles at school. Some are even experiencing dysregulation — an impairment of a physiological regulatory mechanism governing metabolism, immune response or organ function — due to the amount of anxiety and depression that these children endure. “The way you think, plus the way you feel, equals the way you behave,” Daniel said. Part of the reasoning behind the relocation is looking at the future and accommodating new plans and additions — one of
those innovative plans that gets Daniel particularly excited is the establishment of a mental health urgent care clinic at the new facility within the next six months. According to Daniel, CA gets about 11 phone calls a day for urgent same-day appointments, and patients often have to be put on a waiting list. Often, by the time the wait is done, so is the emergency, or patients end up in the ER — where they are told to make an appointment. Each ER visit costs between $800 and $900, and to make matters worse, these patients are not being helped in the way they need while taking up space for those with physical emergencies. Such instances can potentially result in mental health patients feeling alienated because their symptoms are not tangible, and ER healthcare professionals do not specialize in mental health care. No other small clinic in Iowa has opened an urgent care division strictly for mental health, and CA is proud to be an innovator in addressing the crisis. Considering the high prices for ER visits and private insurance, some patients who have more urgent mental health care needs are financially struggling. Approximately 60% of mental health clients are on Title 19 insurance — many of them children — and 10% are on Medicare, mostly aged 65 or older. “My heart of hearts mission is to help somebody that’s struggling, not about me making money,” Daniel sincerely assured. The new location will also contain a Genoa Mental Health Pharmacy for patient convenience and privacy. After patients have an appointment, they can immediately walk downstairs and get their medications without having to make additional trips to separate pharmacies. Wait times of up to 20 to 30 minutes for medications at local pharmacies can be avoided as Genoa will have meds packaged and ready ASSOCIATES | C6
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Marshalltown, Iowa | Times-Republican | Friday, July 22, 2022 | C3
Primary Health Care clinics settle into new facility
T-R PHOTOS BY JOE FISHER
Primary Health Care recently moved their medical and dental clinics to the new facility located at 101 Iowa Ave. W. Ste. 102 and the new building provides more space, better amenities and an in-house pharmacy.
SUSANNA MEYER
T
he opening of a new facility has been the highlight of a busy year for Primary Health Care in Marshalltown, and even though the medical clinic and dentist’s office have been moved in since spring, everyone is still settling into their new space at 101 Iowa Ave. W. Ste. 102. The space boasts ample room and an updated interior, and it’s a one-stop-shop for all patients since their dental clinic, pharmacy and medical clinic are all at the same location. RaDonna Bracy, a registered nurse (RN) and the clinical practice manager at PHC, said the new building has been great for serving patients. “So far, it’s fabulous. I feel that we’ve become more fluid in our services, and we’ve done a redesign of our teams so that we could better serve our patients,” Bracy said. “Our goal is to see them in a short amount of time, you know, nobody wants to go and sit for an hour and a half or longer to see a doctor. They want to come in, get their visit done and go, and being here, we’ve been able to do this whole redesign. Our goal is 30 minutes, and we’re working hard at it.” In addition to making quick service a priority, now that they have all of their health care offices in one building, they are able to treat patients that have multiple ailments of different varieties in the same day. At the old PHC facility, because the dental clinic and medical clinic were in separate locations, if a patient had a medical issue that prevented them from completing a dental procedure, they would have to reschedule it until they could visit their health care provider. Now, if a patient comes in with a dental appointment and a medical issue arises, the patient would be able to see a walk-in provider and be treated in the same facility. “You don’t realize it until you’re in it and you’re actually doing it, what a benefit it is to the patients to have us all in one building,” Bracy said. Having all of PHC’s health care providers in one place is just the beginning of the new facility’s benefits though. The new building is much bigger than the medical clinic’s previous location — about three times bigger to be exact. Marissa Conrad, the director of marketing and communications for PHC, said the organization had outgrown the previous building long ago, and the current offices provide far more space, benefiting both patients and staff. The space dilemma was a driving factor in the relocation of the medical facility. “We were really at max capacity at the old medical clinic. It was just very, very tight for
T-R PHOTOS BY JOE FISHER
Two staff members work in one of the labs at the spacious new Primary Health Care facility.
staff to be able to do their work,” Conrad said. Conrad said the Marshalltown PHC facility is “a great source of pride” for the organization as a whole, and both the extra space and being able to provide a range of medical services in one place is an exciting development. The facility is fully updated, with brand new technology like an X-ray machine, and there are large lab spaces and offices, as well as comfortable treatment rooms for patients who are struggling with addiction and have chosen to combat it in the medication assisted treatment program. Staff are also settling into new areas like the combination break/conference room. “Our official break room in the other building didn’t even have a table in it,” Bracy said in March, after the initial move. “It’s been really nice for our staff. You hear them talking about home and laughing and we just didn’t have a whole lot of that before.” Echoing her colleagues, Clinic Office Specialist Betty Schnathorst had nothing but good things to say about the new facility after the initial move. “It is amazing. The size, just the whole atmosphere and the cleanliness, it’s been a long time coming,” Schnathorst said in March. “I don’t feel like when I come in here, it’s low income. That was nice to feel that way.”
The new facility has been a hit with both staff and patients, and Bracy said there have been almost no complaints as they’ve gotten settled in, though some patients don’t really like the long walks through the lengthy hallways. Other than that, the facility has received a clean bill of approval so far. “I had a patient tell me that they felt like, they said ‘This is fancy,’ and I said ‘Thank you,’ and she goes ‘Not Marshalltown fancy, we’re talking Des Moines fancy,’ and she was just very serious about it and it struck me that our patients deserve this. That just really struck me,” Bracy said. The relocation of both the medical and dental clinics hasn’t been a small task for PHC, and even though they have been in the facility for the last several months, there are still things to unpack and organize. But all in all, Bracy, the patients and the rest of the PHC staff can’t get enough of their new space. “I think the best part is being better able to serve the patients. It’s just a clean, welcoming environment, and the patients truly do love it,” Bracy said. “To some extent, it’s still very surreal. It’s such a big change from our old facility to the new facility. I can’t say enough good things about it.”
T-R PHOTOS BY JOE FISHER
Primary Health Care Clinical Practice Manager and Registered Nurse RaDonna Bracy stands in front of the brand-new X-ray machine at the new PHC facility located at 101 Iowa Ave. W. Ste. 102.
C4 | Friday, July 22, 2022 | Times-Republican | Marshalltown, Iowa
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McFarland Clinic prepares for big move
T-R PHOTO BY ROBERT MAHARRY
Although the opening timeline has been slightly delayed from the original plans for the fall of 2022 due to supply chain issues on the construction project, McFarland Clinic still plans to be open at its new location on East Merle Hibbs Boulevard by early 2023, according to executive director Deb Wollam.
ROBERT MAHARRY
I
f there’s been one constant in the post-COVID, postsupply chain issues world, it’s that organizations and companies shouldn’t just prepare for changes of plans, they should expect them. Although the leaders of McFarland Clinic in Marshalltown, which has had a presence in the community since 1994, originally expected to move into their $20 million new facility behind Walmart by this fall when they broke ground last April, they’ve moved that projection back slightly to early 2023. As Facilities Director Ron Frantzen explained, substantial completion of the facility is expected by the end of December, and from there, staff can begin to move their furnishings into the new office space while general contractor Edge Commercial of Grimes wraps up on punch list items. He is optimistic all providers will be moved from their current home at the downtown hospital campus to the new clinic between late January and mid-February. “That’s why it really depends, at this point, what supply chain things might pop up,” Frantzen said. “We’ve been really looking at those very diligently for the last six to nine months already trying to make sure we’ve got the coat hooks on hand, you know? That’s the final thing in an office, (and we’ve got to) make sure that we have those types of things ready to go in so we’re not waiting for them at the end.” It’s little details like those, he added, that can ultimately make or break a project, so he’s been sure to dot every ‘i’ and cross every ‘t’ so far. For many years, McFarland leased its downtown space from UnityPoint, and McFarland Executive Director Deb Wollam said a desire to “own our own property” was a driving force behind the decision to move to the south side of town. After scouting out 11 different potential sites, Wollam said the East Merle Hibbs Boulevard location became the most attractive for a number of reasons — particularly the amount of land in the event of a future expansion. “We’re looking forward to being in a facility that’s newer and more efficient,” she said. “From a space perspective, technically the square footage is smaller. It’s just much more efficient for us… We’re a little spread out in this (current) building, and there’s areas that aren’t as efficient.” MCFARLAND | C6
CONTRIBUTED PHOTOS
Aerial views of the construction at the new McFarland Clinic show the gradual process as the new building nears completion. Edge Commercial of Ames has served as the general contractor on the project.
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Marshalltown, Iowa | Times-Republican | Friday, July 22, 2022 | C5
T-R PHOTO BY ROBERT MAHARRY
Members of the UnityPoint leadership team and board members smile for a photo after receiving the Community Impact Award at the 124th annual Chamber banquet at the Midnight Ballroom on June 22.
Unitypoint CONTINUED | FROM C1
These clinics are important, Friedly explained, because they allow patients to receive care in non-emergency situations and free up the hospital to deal with the most serious cases. It’s more efficient, and it provides a better patient experience. “That’s really all part of the redesign of healthcare is getting patients to the right site at the right time so that we can use our facilities to the best of their abilities,” she said. “We want the ED to be open and ready when you have a traumatic incident or a heart attack or something severe happening, and we want to make sure that patients are getting care when they need to be seen right away because their child has a fever or an earache. That’s the point of having express care, and family medicine is the basis for all of healthcare.” When she looks at the bigger picture and everything that UPH has accomplished in Marshalltown over the past five years, Friedly, who has
been with the UPH — Waterloo organization for 13 years now, credits her boss, Delagardelle, for her vision and passion for providing community-based healthcare. It wasn’t always an easy process, and it sometimes necessitated difficult conversations about what Marshalltown needed and why patients were looking elsewhere. Three national consultants were called in to assess the situation and provide recommendations, and ultimately, some services were discontinued. The new hospital, as has been previously reported, is substantially smaller than its predecessor in terms of beds, but that decision was consciously made to reflect the evolving reality of modern healthcare. “It’s taken every bit of the five years to really go through all of those processes, but I don’t think I could’ve envisioned the outcome being any better than it is right now,” Friedly said. “I say this all the time, (but) it gives us something to build on. We get these services, and people come back and start using these services, which they have.
FILE PHOTO
The Marshalltown Area Chamber of Commerce held a ribbon cutting for the new hospital with local UPH leaders on April 23, and the public was invited to an open house complete with tours of the new facility, which opened to patients on April 27.
In the first two months, we’ve seen that people are doing that.” At the end of the day, Friedly brings it all back to her team — from the doctors, nurses, program directors and first responders to the support staff and maintenance crew, everyone plays a role in moving healthcare forward locally. “Our team members that work and live in Marshalltown love their community, and we couldn’t have done this without
them. They need to be highlighted in all of this,” she said. “It’s unbelievable what they’ve been through and the stories that they have. To build a new hospital in a community, that’s a once in a lifetime thing. Most communities never see that or will never see that. As a leader and a team member, that’s a once in a lifetime thing. I’m positive I’ll never do that again.”
T-R PHOTO BY ROBERT MAHARRY
UnityPoint Health — Waterloo President/CEO Pam Delagardelle, front, accepted the Community Impact award at the Chamber’s 124th annual banquet on June 22, along with Vice President/COO Jenni Friedly, back, who also serves as the president of UPH — Marshalltown.
We can picture you on our new and improved Birthways unit!
WE KNOW BABIES!
Over 1,100 babies have been born on the new unit since it opened in September 2021! • The new unit has 23 private labor/delivery/recovery/postpartum rooms with NICU capabilities, allowing mom and baby to stay together even when a higher level of care is necessary. • Two extended suites to accommodate twins, as well as two state-of-the-art operating rooms are also on the unit. • We are the only hospital in central Iowa to earn the prestigious Baby-Friendly designation from Baby-Friendly, USA. • Moms receive a free follow-up appointment with a lactation consultant. • Our staff includes board-certified obstetricians, pediatricians, pediatric hospitalists, midwives and nurses. • We have received the Blue Distinction® Center+ for Maternity Care designation, which recognizes high-quality, affordable maternity care.
C6 | Friday, July 22, 2022 | Times-Republican | Marshalltown, Iowa
Associates CONTINUED | FROM C2 upon arrival. By being so closely connected to CA, the pharmacy will be able to assist patients with medication regimens by calling ahead of time for upcoming prescription refill reminders, checking to see if patients are taking their meds and staying in close contact with healthcare providers. The need to refill prescriptions on short notice for a patient who has completely run out can also be accommodated along with delivery options if requested. Having more space is the key to making these new plans and additions possible. CA purchased the R.S. Stover building for $1 million and has invested about $500,000 in renovations for the 14,000 square foot facility, much larger
than the current 8,000 to 9,000-square foot clustered workspace, which is being shared by 45 employees who take turns coming into the office or providing telehealth care. Of all the medical facilities that are moving or have moved to the south campus, CA is the only provider that is adding space instead of shedding it. However, while the need for more square feet is crucial, the biggest concern is finding mental health care providers as CA has considered hiring telehealth providers from Des Moines even if just for two days a week. CA is hoping the new location will be ready to open sometime in midAugust despite multiple delays. The local contractor behind the project, Hay Construction, has been experiencing issues throughout the construc-
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tion process from being understaffed and supply chain disruptions. In addition, because many of the building materials are shipped from Canada, the Freedom Convoy protests in Ottawa slowed down the renovation process dramatically. Looking into the future and making plans accordingly is essential to getting a better grip on the mental health crisis. When Daniel started at CA 30 years ago, they went to only one
school to provide services, and today they work with 20 of them.. As the need for mental health care increases, CA is contemplating what other services they can provide besides outpatient counseling in Marshall, Tama and Hardin Counties and creating a bold vision for the next 20 to 30 years.
T-R PHOTO BY ROBERT MAHARRY
Craig Hulin of Hay Construction works inside of the new Center Associates office at 3809 S. Center St. recently. Construction is expected to wrap up shortly, and CA hopes to move in before the end of the summer.
T-R PHOTOS BY ROBERT MAHARRY
Construction has steadily progressed at the new McFarland Clinic on East Merle Hibbs Boulevard behind Walmart over the last year, and the facility is set to open to patients and the public sometime early in 2023.
McFarland CONTINUED | FROM C4
Despite the slight decrease in available space (McFarland will go from about 90,000 to about 70,000 square feet), Frantzen sees it as a reflection of the times and a modern healthcare environment where less can be more. A few other key additions patients can expect at the new facility include an on-site pharmacy in partnership with NuCara and expanded oncology services. Wol-
lam said the building will also be a great source of natural light, and she believes both patients and employees will love the atmosphere. Wollam estimates that by the time the move is finalized, McFarland will have 26 providers based in Marshalltown along with 20 to 25 additional providers from the Ames location who travel here for outreach. After a period of some consternation about the future of healthcare in the community, McFarland, along with other providers like UnityPoint and Primary
Health Care, is dedicated to staying in Marshalltown for the long haul. “Words that come to my mind immediately are just ‘Marshalltown Strong,’ because there is a strong healthcare presence in Marshalltown. For us at McFarland, we hope this investment speaks really loudly to our commitment to being here in Marshalltown,” Wollam said. “I think we have a really strong, solid foothold here, and I think the commitment to the new building and our first ownership of a facil-
ity in Marshalltown speaks really strongly to our commitment here. I think Marshalltown is lucky to have the healthcare that is already here, and I think our commitment to keeping that strong and growing is evident in this project.” Frantzen can’t wait to unveil the finished product to the general public, and he believes the new clinic will serve as a catalyst for growth in the mostly undeveloped area where it will be situated while also providing unique and beautiful surroundings.
Shelley Goecke, McFarland’s director of marketing and public relations, is optimistic the project will serve as a recruitment tool not only for potential nurses and providers who are considering practicing in Marshalltown but also for other local businesses seeking to hire great employees. “If they can see that investment, it’s exciting, and they want to be a part of it. That’s a part of that continued growth that Deb was talking about,” Goecke said.