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LAKE CITY -- Stewart Memorial Hospital and Clinics recognized Megan Grodahl, a physician's assistant, as its August Path to Excellence honoree.
Approaching 11 years with Stewart Memorial, Grodahl has built her career around rural family medicine, meaningful relationships with patients and families, and a commitment to working alongside her colleagues to provide care close to home.
Grodahl's path to Stewart Memorial began with a strong interest in rural medicine.
"I just fell in love with rural Iowa and have a passion for primary care in a small community," said Grodahl. "I very much enjoy caring for families, pediatric all the way through end of life."
As a provider at the Stewart Memorial Lake City Clinic, she has cared for multiple generations of families, often developing relationships that extend far beyond the exam room.
"Most of my patients are like family now," she said. "It's great to see the full circle effect of health care. It reminds you that you do truly make an impact on the day-to-day."
In addition to family medicine, Grodahl has spent several years providing occupational health services.
Grodahl works closely with the rehabilitation therapy team, particularly when patients experience work-related injuries and need rehabilitation to return to their jobs and daily activities. She also collaborates with the laboratory and other departments to help streamline services for local employers and their employees.
"One of the things I really value is the relationship we have with our rehab therapy services team," she said. "We're able to communicate and work together to make sure patients get the care they need and can move forward with their recovery."
Seeing patients progress through recovery and return to the activities that are important to them is one of the most rewarding parts of Grodahl's work. Whether helping someone recover from a workplace injury or seeing an older patient regain mobility after surgery, she values being able to see the long-term impact of the care provided.
"You can see them then reintegrate back into their workplace or society and be successful," she said. "You just don't see that in big communities. You treat that person, and they leave, and then you may not see them again. Here, there's that personal relationship."
After nearly 11 years with Stewart Memorial, Grodahl's commitment to rural medicine continues to be shaped by the relationships she has built with patients, families and colleagues.
"I very much enjoy caring for families," she said. "It's the community aspect that is important for me."