Orthopedic Specialists, 2700 First Ave S., has partnered with Iowa Specialty Hospital since 2006 to provide orthopedics, sports medicine, therapy and occupational health services to the Fort Dodge area. On Jan. 6, the clinic officially re-branded as Iowa Specialty Hospital — Fort Dodge Clinic, expanding its services to include family medicine to serve patients of all ages.

“Our patients are requesting after they’ve been a part of our system that they have family practice too, and without traveling, the only way to do that was to bring in a provider with family practice,” said Cindy Hunter, chief quality officer for ISH.

The newly revamped clinic has 12 providers. It will also have a lab, X-ray and MRI services in-house. For the next few weeks, the building is undergoing minor renovations to “rearrange” to add the lab and add more exam rooms, said Joetta Promes, clinic leader.

And it’s not just the providers at the clinic that patients can see — patients will have access to the entire ISH spectrum of services.

“We have a whole network of specialists, too,” Promes said. “I don’t know if a lot of people realize that, but we have gastroenterologists, we have pediatricians we have bariatrics, we have ear, nose and throat.”

Adding another family medicine clinic gives Fort Dodge and area residents more options when choosing a health care provider, said Steve Simonin, Iowa Specialty Hospital president and CEO.

“I think it’s really important to give people choices,” he said. “We’ve seen this in other communities too … if people don’t like the options, they’ll just leave the community, and that’s bad. If you can provide it in the community, let’s keep it in the community.”

With the online EPIC medical records system, ISH patients will be able to seamlessly transfer their medical data among the various ISH clinics, specialists and hospitals.

Simonin said in the years since Iowa Specialty Hospital was established, it has earned a positive reputation throughout north central Iowa.

“I think there’s a level of trust now after 14 years, and people know that we provide great quality in service and they’ll seek that out and they’ll drive out to it,” he said.

The clinic’s 12 providers are a mix of new and familiar faces.

Michelle Pearson, an ARNP, is a native of Callender and worked at a family planning clinic in Webster County and at a family medical practice in Jefferson for the past few years. Prior to becoming an ARNP, Pearson worked as a registered nurse for 18 years, three of which were at the former Trinity Regional Medical Center.

“I see all ages,” Pearson said of her patients at the ISH — Fort Dodge Clinic.

The Fort Dodge clinic aims to provide excellent medical care that is easily accessible, she said.

“We are going to have same-day appointments every day,” she said. “I think that’s a highlight because a lot of places book up and they don’t have room for same-day patients.”

Pearson explained that the clinic will have four to six appointment slots reserved each day for those patients who need to be seen right away.

Fort Dodge isn’t the only new clinic Iowa Specialty Hospital has opened or expanded recently. In November 2019, ISH opened its Webster City clinic, absorbing the former Advanced Family Medicine clinic at 903 Willson Ave.

Advanced Family Medicine was a private medical practice run by Dr. Donald Woodhouse since 2010. Last fall, Woodhouse became the chief medical officer for UnitedHealthcare in Nebraska, selling his practice to Iowa Specialty Hospital.

Much of the staff, including receptionist Shanda Hilppre, medical assistant Reagan Dawsin and physician assistants Kristen Davison and Kari Patten remained with the clinic.

“There’s a good group here and we’re excited to be part of the community,” Hunter said about the Webster City clinic.