Now 37 years later, at the same hospital, in the same job, and having been named the favorite doctor in the area multiple years in a row, Schreier is hanging up her stethoscope for retirement.

“I’m ready to slow down and smell the roses,” said Schreier. “I don’t get to do a lot of that right now because it’s very fast paced. It carries over when you go home to an extent. I love my partners here, and I’ll miss them, but I’m looking forward to retirement.”

Schreier, who will close out her career this week, first began seeing family practice patients in Fort Dodge nursing homes in 1987 and then transitioned to being in the office seeing patients throughout the day. In many cases, Schreier still sees patients from three decades ago and now also sees their children.

“I have an older practice,” said Schreier. “I’ve always been full range family medicine, but more on the side of adult medicine because that’s where they needed me. I’ve developed relationships with my patients. When you take care of someone for 35 years or more and then sometimes you take care of their kids too, they become just like your family. That’s really cool. That’s what I like about family medicine.”

Schreier gave one year’s notice of her retirement to leadership at UnityPoint Health — Fort Dodge and began the process of transitioning her patients to her provider partners throughout the past year.

“I have some really cool patients,” said Schreier. “I’ve told some of my partners ‘you’re really lucky because I’m handing down some good people to you.’ All of our providers are taking new patients, but I’m going to miss mine. I had someone that was over 100 years old in the office the other day. She gave me a little ornament for my tree that she actually handmade. She told me that she hoped I’d keep it. Of course! It will be on my tree forever. Those meaningful interactions are what I’ll miss.”

In her three decades of practicing in Fort Dodge, Schreier has seen the hospital and clinics transform physically as well as change in leadership. Schreier worked for Tom Tibbitts, Sue Thompson, and now Leah Glasgo in the CEO and president positions.

“Three of the best things the hospital has done since I’ve been here is the cardiac cath lab which has without a doubt saved lives,” said Schreier. “We have so much heart disease in Fort Dodge. And then the diabetes center and the cancer center, have been transformative for medicine in Fort Dodge. They’ve saved lives and made care much easier for people, and I just loved the people at Fort Dodge Medical Center. We were truly like a family. A lot of those people are still just my dearest friends. I have such friendships with the people that I’ve worked with then to the people I work with now. We really do feel like a family because you really do spend more time with the people here than you do your own family sometimes.

Retirement for Schreier, she said, looks like time spent on the family farm as well as with grandchildren and friends.

“I kind of want to start carving,” said Schreier. “I thought that sounded like fun, and I thought if I get lacerations then I’ve got an in to be seen here.”