-Messenger photo by Chad Thompson
Pediatric and newborn nursery care will be delivered at UnityPoint Health - Trinity Regional Medical Center in the fall thanks to a partnership formed with Blank Children’s Hospital. The partnership was announced Thursday.

UnityPoint Health and Blank Children’s Hospital announced a new partnership Thursday that will result in expanded pediatric care being delivered in Fort Dodge.

“Blank Children’s Hospital is joining UnityPoint Health — Fort Dodge to provide pediatric care in your own area,” said Dr. Steve Stephenson, president and COO of Blank Children’s Hospital.

To provide that care, the two hospitals plan to hire five full-time pediatric nurse practitioners to join the Blank Children’s Hospital pediatric hospitalist team.

That team will provide inpatient pediatric and newborn nursery care in both Des Moines and Fort Dodge.

“This is exciting news for UnityPoint Health and our communities,” said Leah Glasgo, president and CEO of UnityPoint Health — Fort Dodge.

Stephenson said the partnership had been in the works for about the last six months.

“This partnership will expand access and inpatient pediatric care to meet the unique health care needs of children in Fort Dodge and our surrounding communities,” said Jenni Szalat, registered nurse at UnityPoint Health — Fort Dodge.

The partnership was created to help keep up with the increasing demands in central Iowa, while expanding access and inpatient pediatric care to the Fort Dodge region, according to UnityPoint leadership.

“We are extremely excited to welcome pediatric-trained nurse practitioners who are dedicated to meeting the unique health care needs of children and their families, to our Fort Dodge team,” said Jenn Crimmins, ambulatory vice president, UnityPoint Health – Fort Dodge. “This partnership also enhances our already existing connection with specialists at Blank Children’s for neurology, endocrinology and pulmonology who provide outreach care in our pediatric clinic.”

Currently pediatric physicians practice in the clinic, round in the nursery and inpatient pediatric units and attend deliveries and caesarean sections.

With the addition of the Blank Children’s trained nurse practitioners, hospital coverage will be taken care of by the pediatric hospitalists.

The Blank Children’s hospitalists will work closely with the child’s primary care provider and specialists during hospitalization.

Recruitment of providers will begin immediately, said Ryan Stepan, director of clinic operations in Fort Dodge.

The expanded services are anticipated to go live in the fall of 2020.