Family Medicine of West Liberty is still Family Medicine of West Liberty, but as of Jan. 31, 2024, it now operates under the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics
“Our main goal is to maintain the level of care that the community has already grown accustomed to,” says Taylor Vessel, Communications Specialist for University of Iowa Health Care.
“There are no major changes that patients will see at all, except for some signage,” he adds. “Initially it’s going to be the same.”
Back in August 2023, Mercy Hospital of Iowa City filed for bankruptcy and announced plans for acquisition by the University of Iowa of its main campus and rural clinics.
At the end of January around 1,000 former Mercy providers and workers joined the University of Iowa Health Care as ownership of Mercy Iowa City officially transitioned to UI Health Care.
This included Mercy Family Medicine of West Liberty, though now the name Mercy will be dropped from the clinic in the near future.
While no major changes have been announced for the local clinic, this will be a brand-new adventure for one of Iowa’s largest health care providers.
“I think the thing to keep in mind with all of this is that this is new to all of us, and really, honestly, is new to the University of Iowa as well,” says Dr. David Sheff.
“The University of Iowa does not have a long track record running community medicine,” he adds. “This is their biggest buy in to doing community medicine that they’ve ever done.”
Dr. Sheff has worked at the West Liberty clinic for eight years in the field of family medicine. Before that he was a researcher in pharmacology at the University of Iowa.
He describes the local clinic as an old-fashioned, Norman Rockwellesc, family medicine clinic that takes care of patients from the cradle to the grave.
Each of West Liberty’s three doctors (providers) handle around 7,000 visits per year, meaning the clinic has around 21,000 visits per year. The average community member visits 3.4 times a year.
So, what does the change from Mercy to UI Healthcare mean for the community?
“There are a few changes, one thing is we’re going to become Joint Commission Certified (JCC), that means going up to JCC standards on everything,” says Dr. Sheff.
The accreditation verifies that a health care provider meets the most “rigorous quality and safety standards of care for their patients and communities,” according to the Joint Commission.
In the past West Liberty was rural health certified (RHC), a different type of certification typically held by rural clinics. That being said, patients will see a few other changes.
For one, the clinic hopes it will be able to offer vaccines for children on Medicaid. Currently those children have to go to Muscatine or Iowa City for a vaccine.
“We do kids physicals all the time, but then when we get to the shots, if Mom or Dad is on Medicaid, we have to send them over to Muscatine County Health,” says Dr. Sheff.
Family Medicine of West Liberty will also transition from Sunrise to Epic this June. Epic is the software that enables medical health care record keeping and sharing.
This is a change that workers at the clinic are “very much looking forward to,” according to Dr. Sheff.
For those that use MyChart with the University of Iowa Hospitals, it’s powered by Epic software. This ease of access to medical information could prove beneficial for the clinic and its patients.
Family Medicine of West Liberty was first established around the mid-1970s by Dr. Steven Palmer with his father Howard.
Unfortunately, Dr. Palmer passed away at the young age of 68 in 2011, but not before serving West Liberty for nearly 20 years at the clinic.
“He grew up in this town and he always seemed to enjoy the people of this town, plus his father was here,” says Clare Palmer, Dr. Palmer’s wife.
Family Medicine was sold to Mercy around 20 years ago, thus taking on the moniker Mercy Family Medicine of West Liberty.
Now that Mercy is gone, the University of Iowa is now in town.
“This marks a new and exciting chapter for health care in our state,” says Denise Jamieson, MD, MPH, UI vice president for medical affairs and the Tyrone D. Artz Dean of the Carver College of Medicine.
“This is an opportunity for UI Health Care to move toward a more integrated model of care, helping Iowans get the right care, at the right place, at the right time. Together we are stronger, and we will use our shared strengths to better serve Iowans,” she says.
The transition of Mercy Iowa City’s 194-bed main hospital campus and community clinics to UI Health Care follows many months of planning by leaders from both institutions.
“We have been working hard to make this transition as smooth as possible for staff, patients, providers, and community members,” says Bradley Haws, CEO of UI Hospitals & Clinics and associate vice president of UI Health Care.
“Over the coming weeks, we will focus on welcoming our new colleagues, maintaining access, and providing continuity of care for patients,” he says.
“We remain committed to preserving Mercy Iowa City’s spirit of hospitality and we are actively listening to patients and community members to chart our path forward,” he added.
UI Health Care states that most patients will not see any immediate changes, and they should continue to schedule and go to appointments as usual.
Also, all employees in good standing were offered employment with UI Health Care.
Family Medicine of West Liberty is the only medical clinic in West Liberty, it currently offers a variety of services to its community members.
For instance, they can handle emergencies on a walk-in basis for most accidents, including those that involve cuts and falls, the sort of thing one would find at an urgent care facility.
This means they also combat acute illness such as the cough, colds, flu, Covid, and pneumonia. The do physicals and deal with chronic illnesses such as diabetes and high blood pressure.
Family Medicine of West Liberty also sends a provider over to the Simpson Memorial Home to provide services to its residents.
The Iowa Board of Regents met in August 2023, where they agreed to purchase Mercy and all of its assets for more than $20 million.
“Mercy-Iowa City believes this plan is the best path forward to preserve our hospital operations,” said Tom Clancy, then chairman of the board and CEO of Mercy-Iowa City.
“As we implement this plan, our dedicated Mercy-Iowa City staff remain steadfast in their commitment to provide compassionate care to our community, just as we have since 1873,” he said.
Tax records showed that Mercy finished the 2022 fiscal year $16.8 million in the red, taking in $177 million while spending almost $194 million.
But now, the University of Iowa is in charge. Hopefully, that means good things for the future of the West Liberty clinic.
Vessel encourages community members to visit www.uihc.org to see what Iowa can offer them.