Postville Clinic staff share views on the great need for a new Postville Medical Clinic; Fundraising continues

A little over two months ago, the need for a new Postville Medical Clinic was shared at a Postville City Council Meeting with that announcement being met with a round of applause from everyone there. At that meeting, Michael Coyle, hospital CEO, stated the there are many reasons for this new clinic, with the main point being the lack of space for the growing number of patients at the clinic each day plus room for new providers that are beginning to see patients.

Current Clinic staff also shared there is urgency for more space to meet growing patient needs. Selina Perez, Medical Assistant stated, “I wanted to come work here when I had the opportunity since I live in Postville because I just really wanted to be here to care for the people in my town. Our patients are excited to see you and they are always thanking you for caring for them. I have made some great friendships,” explains Selena Perez, Medical Assistant. “We are just so busy and we really need more room. It’s not good when we can’t get people in and they are waiting for our rooms to open up.

That makes our patients wait too long. We are very tight and with more room we could care for so many more people than we can now.”

The current Postville Medical Clinic is located at 124 W. Greene Street. The new location is right next door, to the west, in the former Upper Explorerland Building. The new clinic will have an additional three exam rooms for a total of five, plus a new procedure room and lab area. In addition, handicap accessible bathrooms will be available which are greatly missed in the current site. There will also be a new behavioral health clinic area for private consultations in a more comfortable, confidential atmosphere.

“I grew up in Postville and having a clinic close to home is especially important. Now that I am a certified medical translator and can interpret for our patients, we can connect with them so much more than an online translator or over the phone. But we definitely need more space for this clinic,” explains Sandy Lopez, Medical Assistant and Medical Translator. “We keep bringing in new patients every week and often our three rooms are full so they have to wait. Appointments can take longer than they should so with more rooms, it would give us more opportunity to see more patients. We also can’t really take walk-ins because our rooms are full, but with more space we could.   I hope that we can get funding.”

The hospital has funding for $480,000 of this total $779,000 project. Over a month ago, a direct mailing was sent to all homes in the Veterans Memorial Hospital and Clinics service area with information about this fundraiser.  Over $75,000 has been raised by the Foundation with a goal of a total of $200,000. 

Additional donations and grants are still needed for the remaining balance of the new Postville Medical Clinic project. Gifts can be made out to:  Veterans Memorial Health Care Foundation and mailed to 40 First St. SE, Waukon, IA  52172. 

For more information, call Beth Shafer, Growth and Development Coordinator at Veterans Memorial Hospital at 563-568-3411.