Floyd County Medical Center Clinic completes merger

By James Grob, jgrob@charlescitypress.com

Starting today, the Floyd County Medical Center Clinic will have one front door instead of two.

The clinic, at 1501 South Main St. in Charles City — right next to the Floyd County Medical Center — is completing renovations about a year after the merging of the Charles City Family Health Center and Floyd County Area Family Practice Center.

“Patient care and satisfaction is our main priority, as it has always been, and we will continue to focus on that in the future,” said Vickie Demro, office manager at the clinic.

The combined clinic is affiliated with the Floyd County Medical Center. The Floyd County Area Family Practice Center had already been affiliated with the hospital, while the Charles City Family Health Center had been a privately owned clinic until the merger in November of 2017.

The two clinics had shared a building, and even after they combined last year there were still two entrances and separate reception areas.

Beginning Wednesday, the Floyd County Medical Center Clinic will have one door and one reception area.

The clinic will be celebrating the remodel with a ribbon-cutting ceremony next Wednesday, Oct. 10, but patients and visitors to the clinic can see the renovations now.

The old pharmacy area has been renovated into a larger insurance office, which will house seven employees, and there have been renovations to the hallway that connects the waiting rooms.

“There are also banners by the south entrance and main entrance, which will be visible to the public (Wednesday),” said Demro.

In the past, there have always been two desks in the middle at the main entrance for patients to check in, and one desk off to the side for patients to check out. An additional desk was used if needed. Now, patients will be able to check in and check out at all four desks.

This should make visits quicker and easier for the patients, and more efficient for the staff, Demro said.

“That’s the goal. The process has gotten easier for everyone,” she said.

Demro said there are other renovations taking place behind the scenes, which she hopes will be completed soon. Other improvements are being made as well, such as a merging of medical records.

“As we get that all done, hopefully things will continue to get more efficient,” she said.

By sharing services, the clinic hopes to increase access to local health care options and be in a better position to recruit additional providers in the future.

The clinic specializes in family practice and obstetrics and provides routine exams, urgent care, minor procedures and chronic medical care.

Health care providers previously a part of Charles City Family Health Center are Paul H. Royer, M.D.; David D. Schweizer, M.D.; David V. Schrodt, M.D.; Steven W. Blum, PA-C, FNP; and Jodi L. Heyer, PA-C. Providers previously a part of Floyd County Area Family Practice are Janet Tull, M.D.; Joanne Starr, ARNP; and Joseph Molnar, D.O.

“The feedback that I’ve gotten from all our providers has been positive,” said Demro.

At the time of the initial merging, it was reported that the hospital had increased its employee numbers from about 200 to about 220.

Demro said that since the merging, there has been no change in the number of office employees, although one office staff member was added when the Nashua clinic closed and some part-time nurses have also been added.