Progress Health & Wellness

Major surgical center project underway at Trinity Regional Medical Center

By BILL SHEA

bshea@messengernews.net

At UnityPoint Health — Trinity Regional Medical Cen-

ter, a massive project is underway to transform the way that patients who need surgery are cared for.

The launch of the $39.8 million surgical center construction and renovation project was the major highlight of 2025 at the Fort Dodge hospital. The work will continue through this year, with completion expected in March 2027.

Leah Glasgo, market president of UnityPoint Health — Fort Dodge, described the project as a “bold step forward for health care in our community.”

“We’re investing in what matters most — patient outcomes and safety,” she said during a June 19 groundbreaking ceremony for the project.

The project will consolidate all inpatient and outpatient surgery services in a new area just west of the main entrance of the hospital. It involves a new addition on the front of the build-

ing and renovations within the existing building.

When complete, the center will feature five operating rooms, two endoscopy suites, 24 pre- and post-operative rooms and the central sterilization facility.

Now, the hospital’s inpatient and outpatient surgery areas are in two different places in the building. The current inpatient surgery area opened in 1979 and remains essentially unchanged.

Casey and Deb Johnson, of Fort Dodge, are leading a campaign to raise about $3 million to help pay for the project.

While launching the building project, Unity Point Health — Trinity Regional Medical Center also made a much less visible investment in improved surgical care during 2025. The hospital acquired a da Vinci Xi Surgical System, which is a robot fully controlled by surgeons that enables them to do very precise work.

Glasgo said use of the robot pro-

vides better patient outcomes and faster recovery times. She said it has been used in 100 cases so far.

She added that since today’s surgeons are trained on devices like da Vinci Xi, having one is essential for recruiting and retaining surgeons.

The hospital also installed a new MRI machine, which Glasgo described as “really essential for any diagnostic imaging.” It was put into use Oct. 1.

During 2025, the hospital marked a couple of milestones.

The new Trinity Heart Center marked one year of seeing patients after quickly being created to replace the local presence of Iowa Heart Center.

The hospital also conducted its second summer internship program in which youths spent a couple weeks at the hospital learning about all of the different careers there.

“It turned out to be a really fun event with kids who are exploring health care as a career,” Glasgo said.

See TRMC, Page 3D

“We’re investing in what matters most — patient outcomes and safety.”

— Leah Glasgo Market president UnityPoint Health — Fort Dodge

-Submitted images

STOP THE BLEED

More than 800 lifesaving kits distributed by Webster County Health Department

By KELLI BLOOMQUIST

More than 800 Stop The Bleed kits have been distributed throughout north central and northwest Iowa by the Webster County Health Department with many teachers, administrators, and even teens being trained to treat wounds in emergency situations as part of a national life-saving program.

Stop The Bleed, a national curriculum from the American College of Surgeons, teaches people to stop or slow bleeding, and has been offered at no cost to schools and organizations through the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

“The course teaches a few different things, including how to apply pressure and to pack a wound, how to use a tourniquet and what you could use as a tourniquet, and most importantly how to stay safe and act quickly in an emergency situation,” said Matt Nahnsen, Public Health Emergency Preparedness (PHEP), EMS and Hospital Preparedness Program (HPP) grant coordinator for the Webster County Health Department.

He teaches the course in Iowa HHS Service Area 7, which includes Buena Vista, Calhoun, Clay, Emmet, Hamilton, Humboldt, Palo Alto, Pocahontas, Sac, and Webster counties.

Southeast Valley School District in Gowrie has a majority of its staff in all four district buildings trained in Stop The Bleed. It also has kits in all classrooms and other strategic locations throughout each building.

More than 100 staff members at Fort Dodge Community School District have been trained in the program with school nurses and athletic trainers also participating in a train-the-trainer program so the curriculum can be implemented into health classes to train students.

More than 200 staff in the Manson Northwest Webster and Humboldt school districts have also been trained in the program.

Nahnsen will even be teaching the course to the Webster County 4-H Council in February.

“We’re teaching people how to save lives,” said Nahnsen. “Stop The Bleed teaches how to stop bleeding, whether that be from a fall, an auto accident, a shop or farm accident, or any other incident that could cause blood loss. This program will save lives.”

Since July 2024, Nahnsen and Service Area 7 have placed more than 1,000 Stop The Bleed kits in more than 20 school districts. All kits include

-File photos

STOP THE BLEED, a national program that teaches people how to stop or slow bleeding in emergency situations is offered at Manson Northwest Webster School District.

TOP PHOTO: Staff from the Fort Dodge Community School District as well as St. Edmond Catholic School received training to correctly use a tourniquet and pack wounds.

packing gauze, gloves, trauma shears, a C-A-T tourniquet, permanent marker, and emergency bandages.

The kits and training are available at no cost through the Iowa HHS Public Health Emergency Preparedness and EMS System Development grant.

In addition to the Webster County Health Department providing the Stop The Bleed training, Humboldt and Calhoun County health departments have

done training in their areas as well.

“Stop The Bleed teaches life-saving control techniques,” said Nahnsen. “The skills and lessons that it teaches are very important. Let’s say you come up to a car accident and someone’s bleeding, you’ll be able to help get their bleeding under control before EMS gets there. You’re saving a life. Anytime you can save a life is important, and that’s what this program teaches.”

“We're

teaching people how to save lives. Stop The Bleed teaches how to stop bleeding, whether that be from a fall, an auto accident, a shop or farm accident, or any other incident that could cause blood loss. This program will save lives.”

— Matt Nahnsen, Webster County Health Department

A third edition of the internship program will be held this summer.

In 2025, a new Patient and Family Advisory Council was established. Glasgo said it is intended to “elevate the voices of those receiving care.”

“I’m really excited to see the value they’ll deliver to us,” she said.

While all the new technology is important, Glasgo said the staff is the real key to the success of the hospital.

“The reason we are successful is we have amazing employees here,” she said.

She said Fort Dodge is recognized in the UnityPoint Health system for having one of the highest levels of employee engagement.

The completion of the surgery center project will be a major focus throughout this year. Glasgo said the work is on track for the scheduled March 2027 completion date.

The hospital has applied for a healthy Hometown Grant with the goal of obtaining a PET/CT imaging device this year. Glasgo said it is similar to a CT machine and is used to diagnose cancer.

In general, the hospital will be striving to grow its surgery and specialty services throughout 2026, according to Glasgo.

ALL NEW IN 2026

FD Fire Department sees leadership changes, adds personnel

By BILL SHEA

bshea@messengernews.net

In the Fort Dodge Fire Department, there were a lot of new changes in 2025. New leadership. New personnel. New vehicles.

As the department moves into 2026, it anticipates the delivery of a major new unit called a tower ladder. And it awaits its share of the revenue from the new tax to support emergency medical services. That revenue will eventually enable the department to add nine more firefighter/paramedics and build a second firehouse on the city’s west side.

In March 2025, Matt Price became the fire chief, replacing Steve Hergenreter who retired after 36 years of service.

Price came to Fort Dodge in October 2022 to serve as assistant fire chief. He had been a captain and emergency medical service supervisor for the Johnston-Grimes Metropolitan Fire Department. He began his fire service career as a volunteer firefighter in Dallas Center

In addition to getting a new chief, the department added three firefighter/paramedics — one for each shift. Price said adding them made it possible to reduce expensive employee overtime.

“We traded overtime for people,” he said. “That got us more people every day.”

The department now has 42 of what Price calls “line staff” (captains, lieutenants and firefighter/paramedics), five paramedics who are not firefighters and four administrative staffers (chief, fire marshal, EMS supervisor and administrative assistant).

Some heavily used vehicles were replaced with newer ones in 2025. They included two new ambulances on Ram chassis and a Chevrolet Tahoe used by the captain or lieutenant who is in command of the on-duty shift.

The three new rigs look remarkably different from the department’s other vehicles because they feature a red and black paint scheme and a new style of lettering.

“We wanted to have our own identity and our own stuff that was unique to us,” Price said.

The lettering style and a new Fire Department patch were designed by Iowa Central Community College student Kelvin Baez, with help from Jacob Zweibohner, the coordinator of the college’s graphic design program.

An even bigger unit with that

red and black paint job could be backing into the firehouse as soon as March.

The new truck is called a tower ladder. It has a boom that extends 100 feet into the air with a large basket or bucket at the end of it. Firefighters will stand in the bucket to put out fires and make rescues.

“It will give us a lot more capability,” Price said.

It will replace an aerial ladder truck now in use. That ladder truck, delivered in 2006, will be kept as a reserve unit.

New self-contained breathing apparatus are also to be delivered this spring. The self-contained breathing apparatus are the air tanks and face pieces that allow firefighters to breathe while working in smoke or poisonous gases.

A $325,000 federal Assistance to Firefighters Grant paid for the new breathing apparatus, according to Price.

-Submitted photo

ABOVE: Colton Holmes, center, was accompanied to school by the members of the Fort Dodge Fire Department who responded to a fire and were assisted by his previous work to clear snow away from a hydrant. They are, from left, Paramedic Andrea Brandt, EMT Katelyn Rodenborn, Firefighter/EMT Taryn Sutton, Firefighter/EMT Zach Rossmanith, Firefighter JJ Durflinger, Firefighter/Paramedic Mychal Edler, Firefighter/Paramedic Kyle Porter, Lt. Jon Schrek, Firefighter Gionni Hamilton, Firefighter/Paramedic Aaron Campbell, Lt. Devon Schuster and Firefighter/Paramedic Stephan Cook.

-Messenger file photo by Bill Shea LEFT: Fort Dodge Fire Chief Matt Price, left, presents the Award of Valor to Firefighter/Paramedic Kyle Porter in April. Porter was honored for holding together two ladders to help a woman escape from a third floor window during a Nov. 17, 2024, fire at 1107 Central Ave.

FORT DODGE FIRE CHIEF MATT PRICE moves a hoseline during an April 16, 2025, blaze at 1524 Fourth Ave. N. When firefighters arrived at the scene, a detached garage, the backyard, a tire in the yard, part of a tree and the back half of the house were in flames. No one was injured. The fire started outside the house, but the exact cause was not determined.

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NEW CLINIC

By BILL SHEA bshea@messengernews.net

Patients of the Van Diest Family Health Clinic in Fort Dodge are now seeing their care team in a new spacious facility.

The clinic at 2419 Second Ave. N. replaces the one on the city’s west side.

The new facility was celebrated in October with a ribbon-cutting ceremony conducted by the Greater Fort Dodge Growth Alliance Ambassadors. Lisa Ridge, the chief executive officer of Van Diest Medical Center in Webster City, said the new site offers “convenient parking for patients, a spacious waiting room and comfortable exam rooms.” She said it also has a radiology room and laboratory.

But Ridge said what really makes the facility special is “the compassionate and committed care” provided by the staff.

vations. Henkel Construction, of Mason City, was the general contractor.

There are 16 people on the health clinic’s staff.

Ridge thanked Monica Rentz, the clinic manager, for her dedication and meticulous attention to detail as the creation of the new clinic progressed.

“The care and dedication she brought to every aspect of the project did not go unnoticed,” she said.

The building is owned by Clyde and Diane Knupp, of Fort Dodge.

Envision Architecture, of Des Moines, designed the necessary reno-

The health care providers there are Dr. John Birkett, Dr. Alan Nguyen, Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioner Tricia Widlund and Physician’s Assistant Joe Harris. Dr. Adam Swisher began seeing patients there this month.

There has been a Van Diest Family Health Clinic in Fort Dodge since 2020. That is when Van Diest acquired the clinic at 123 Ave. O West from Mercy One. The Mercy One clinic opened in January 2017, with Birkett and Nguyen as the physicians.

The new building is larger than the previous one. Each provider now has multiple exam rooms. The previous clinic did not have a radiology room.

The new building opened on June 30.

By KELLI BLOOMQUIST

For more than five decades, Community and Family Resources has served as a lifeline for individuals and families throughout Fort Dodge and north central Iowa, meeting people not just at their lowest moments, but throughout every stage, offering a wide range of services that address mental health, substance abuse, recovery housing and community education.

In 2023 and 2024, drug overdose rates in Iowa exceeded 450 annually, but by mid-year 2025, officials were reporting more than a 7 percent drop in overdose deaths in Iowa, due in part to education and access to help.

“People should know what to look for as far as signs of an overdose, the things that impact families such as loss of a loved one, the fight to help a person suffering from addiction, and the support needed for those in recovery and the resources of where help can be found,” said Denise Ryder, who has been part of outreach events with CFR.

Each year, CFR provides community education and outreach focused around International Overdose Awareness Day, a day dedicated to remembering those lost to overdose and educating the public about prevention and treatment resources. CFR’s efforts for this day focus on sharing stories of those who have experienced the loss of a family member or friend to overdose, as well as providing information on substance use disorders and showcasing the availability of lifesaving tools like Naloxone.

“If you think this doesn’t affect you or isn’t going to affect your all-American family, your ‘good kid,’ you’re dead wrong,” said Ryder. “This opioid epidemic doesn’t discriminate in any way. It doesn’t matter if you’re

“This opioid epidemic doesn’t discriminate in any way. It doesn’t matter if you’re from an affluent family or a poor family — it just doesn’t discriminate.”

— Denise Ryder, CFR outreach event participant

from an affluent family or a poor family — it just doesn’t discriminate.”

In addition to overdose education awareness, CFR also works closely with families and community partners to strengthen community health with counseling, educational programs, and community outreach.

In 2025, CFR welcomed Rhiannon Rippke-Koch, a licensed mental health counselor, as a mental health therapist, and in 2024, psychiatric provider, Dr. Angela McGregor.

CFR also continues to bridge the gap between treatment and independent living, having expanded its housing options.

In 2024, it opened Serenity House on South 17th Street in Fort Dodge. Just one year prior, it opened the community’s first women’s recovery house, offering structured housing for women transitioning out of treatment.

“Recovery housing is an important aspect of the continuum of care for individuals with substance use disorders, offering ongoing treatment, comprehensive resources, and peer support,” said Michelle De La Riva, the executive director of CFR. “A recovery house is not simply transitional housing, but an extension of the therapeutic community.”

Serenity House provides long-term recovery housing for up to eight women at a time, in addition to the nine who reside at the recovery house.

“We are certainly blessed to have a community that cares about us,” said De La Riva. “We’ve found that people who go through residential and then the halfway house-type programs like this recovery house, the likelihood of them staying sober is much higher.”

— Michelle De La Riva

director,

TOUCH OF A BUTTON

Webster County Sheriff’s Office new mobile app helps fight crime

By KELLI BLOOMQUIST

From crime alerts to county updates, the Webster County Sheriff’s Office’s new mobile app put timely information directly into residents’ hands in 2025.

The app, which was launched in early 2025, includes accident notifications, the opportunity to submit a tip, permit to carry applications, sex offender mapping, civil processes and procedures, meet the deputies links, and more.

According to Webster County Chief Deputy Derek Christie, the app has more than 4,400 downloads with an average of 85,000 clicks per week.

“The app has enhanced public transparency and improved information sharing within the community,” said Webster County Sheriff Luke Fleener.

Deputies were busy throughout 2025. According to Fleener, they responded to 24,101 calls for service including 362 motor vehicle accidents, 3,463 traffic stops, 2,413 civil paper attempts, 10,181 rural town checks, 225 school resource officer stops, and 756 case numbers. Those cases included 252 reportable accidents, six theft reports, 30 sexual assaults or sex offender violations, 29 criminal investigation cases, 23 fraud reports, 22 criminal mischief cases, 25 burglary reports, 34 assault reports, and 19 harassment reports.

“2025 brought its share of challenges and opportunities,” said Fleener. “From responding to severe weather and ensuring roadway safety during our harsh conditions, to addressing everyday calls for service, our deputies, dispatchers, correctional officers and clerical staff remained committed to our mission of keeping the public safe. Each response, routine or critical, was guided by our goal to protect life, uphold the law, and serve with integrity, professionalism and

-Submitted image

compassion.”

County dispatch supervisors also responded to nearly 66,000 calls for service between the Sheriff’s Office, Fort Dodge Police Department, Fort Dodge Fire Department and the animal warden.

According to Fleener, 2,096 of those calls were for emergency medical dispatch prompts and 70 calls required emergency medical dispatch when CPR was involved.

“Our dispatch supervisors worked diligently to improve medical responses by enacting emergency medical dispatching, which enables callers or bystanders to provide life-saving measures at the instruction of trained dispatchers until EMS units arrive,” said Fleener.

The Webster County Sheriff’s Office also added K9, Iza, to the department. Iza was purchased and trained thanks to local business and communi-

ty fundraising.

“Our commitment to addressing local challenges related to narcotics use and distribution is second to none,” said Fleener.

In 2025, the Webster County Jail saw an increase of 63 inmates with 1,571 inmates booked. Jail incidents decreased by 144 with only 185 reported and 33 inmate disciplinary actions reported. Overall, the county jail staff logged 52,098 miles, an increase of 12,912, to transport inmates.

“Internally, the Sheriff’s Office has remained focused on training, accountability, and staff wellness,” said Fleener. “Ongoing education in areas such as de-escalation, emergency response, and evolving public safety needs ensures our staff is prepared to meet current challenges while maintaining respect and dignity of all our residents.”

“The app has enhanced public transparency and improved information sharing within the community.”

— Luke Fleener Webster County sheriff

Monthly App Clicks – Average 85,000 per week Current App Downloads – 4,400 (Android/IOS)

SIGNING BONUSES

Fort Dodge to offer incentives to new police officers

By BILL SHEA

bshea@messengernews.net

Fort Dodge will offer signing bonuses to new police officers this year in a move city leaders hope will ease recruiting challenges.

The City Council approved the bonus plan unanimously without discussion on Dec. 22.

The signing bonus, which will range from $2,500 to $10,000, will be available from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 2026.

In a report to the council, city Human Resources Director Jamie Anderson wrote, “The program authorizes sign-on bonuses for newly hired full-time sworn officers, including both certified

and non-certified candidates, as well as referral bonuses for city employees who assist in successful recruitment efforts.”

Officers who are already certified by the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy would be eligible for the biggest bonuses. Anderson wrote that it costs the city about $10,000 to send a new officer through the academy.

The bonus would be paid in installments.

An officer who received a bonus would have to serve Fort Dodge for at least five years, or they would have to pay back part of the bonus.

In her report, Anderson summed up the police officer

hiring challenge the city faces. She said in 2015, a single civil service exam produced 13 eligible candidates. Recently, she wrote, civil service exams only produce a small number of candidates. A police civil service list approved by the council in December has three names on it.

For the Fort Dodge Police Department, 2025 saw the return of the mobile speed camera units and several promotions.

Fort Dodge has used a mobile camera system for speed enforcement since September 2011. Use of speed cameras has been controversial within the state legislature, however. In 2024, a measure was passed

D rink to your Health in 2026

and signed into law by Gov. Kim Reynolds that put the brakes on such systems. That law suspended the use of them and required communities to submit a list of proposed locations where they would be set up.

The Fort Dodge Police Department submitted its proposal to the state and was the first agency in Iowa to get all of its proposed speed camera locations approved.

The speed camera units returned to Fort Dodge streets in February 2025.

The department experienced a number of promotions over the last year.

Capt. Steve Hanson left to

become police chief in Webster City. To replace him, Matt Lundberg was promoted from lieutenant to captain. Then Nathan Wolfe was promoted from sergeant to lieutenant, and Keegun Marsh was promoted from detective to sergeant.

Later in the year, Andrew Lane was promoted from patrol officer to sergeant.

Lt. Matt Wilson retired earlier this month after 29 years of service.

His departure led to two more promotions. Matt Webb was promoted from sergeant to lieutenant, and Allie Thompson was promoted from detective to sergeant.

20 YEARS OF CARE

Community Health Center of Fort Dodge marks anniversary

By BILL SHEA bshea@messengernews.net

The Community Health Center of Fort Dodge is marking 20 years of caring for patients this year.

This center grew from free clinics held in local churches. In April 2006, today’s Community Health Center began operating as a federally qualified health center. That designation means it accepts most forms of insurance and offers a sliding fee scale based on a patient’s ability to pay.

The center started at 126 N. 10th St. in a building that has been expanded and renovated a couple of times. It remains in use today.

A clinic in Dayton opened in 2014. Sites in Mason City (2018), Eagle Grove (2023), Clarion (2024) and Spencer (2025) followed.

Medical, dental and behavioral health care are offered at all of the sites except the one in Dayton, which only offers medical care. Additionally, optometry is now being offered in Fort Dodge and Mason City

The center employs 143 people across all six of its locations.

Renae Kruckenberg, chief executive officer of the Health Center, said it sees about 18,000 patients a year at its six sites.

“We’re here for everyone,” she said. “We are for all people.”

Colleen Miller, the center’s chief operating officer, added, “We have great providers and great staff.”

Expanded services, hours

Obstetrics is the newest service being offered at the Fort Dodge location. Kruckenberg said Dr. Robert O’Connor, an obstetrician/gynecologist, began seeing patients last month.

Optometry is one of the newer services the Health Center provides. Optometry has been offered at the Fort Dodge site for a year. Thanks to a grant from the Delta Dental of Iowa Foundation, optometry services became available in Mason City in December.

The Fort Dodge and Mason City locations have the machines and equipment found in an optometrist’s office. A technician uses those machines to conduct eye exams. Then the patient will meet via telehealth with an optometrist to discuss the results of the exam. Patients who need glasses will have to go to another local provider or order them online.

“We always try to grow to meet the needs of the community.”

— Renae Kruckenberg Chief executive officer, Community Health Center of Fort Dodge

Wednesday and Thursday. Kruckenberg said the expanded hours will make it possible for people to see their care providers before or after they go to work or school.

“We always try to grow to meet the needs of the community,” she said.

Looking ahead

The Fort Dodge location has a pharmacy, managed by Pharmacist Hannah Miller, a graduate of Southeast Valley High School in Gowrie.

Inside the vehicle are two dental chairs and all the related equipment. It is to be staffed by a dentist and two dental assistants.

Last year, the Health Center received a motor home style vehicle to take its dental services on the road. A $350,000 grant from the Delta Dental of Iowa Foundation helped pay for the $500,000 vehicle.

Kruckenberg said it is equipped to provide “full restorative services for teeth.”

The vehicle was delivered in April 2025, and was initially used to serve hundreds of patients at the center’s Spencer location.

Future plans call for using the mobile dental clinic at schools, nursing homes and pop-up clinics in rural areas.

During 2025, the hours during which some services are provided at the Fort Dodge site were extended. The hours for medical care at that site are now 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday.

The hours for behavioral health care are now 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday,

Kruckenberg said one of the goals for 2026 is to expand pharmacy services to all of the other locations. She said the plan calls for filling the prescriptions in Fort Dodge and delivering the medicine to the other locations, where the patients will pick the prescriptions up.

MAJOR EXPANSION

SAC CITY — Loring Hospital in Sac City got a lot larger last year.

A 42,000-square-foot addition was constructed over the course of about a year and a half. The new space houses rehabilitation, pulmonary and cardiac rehabilitation, the specialty clinic, diabetes and nutrition services, and the UnityPoint Health Primary Care Clinic.

Ground was broken in March 2024. The project’s completion was celebrated with a ribbon-cutting ceremony in September 2025.

The project was approved by the hospital’s board in March 2023.

“There have been many changes in health care, particularly rural health care, over the past several years,” Matt Johnson, the hospital’s chief executive officer, told The Messenger when plans for the expansion were announced. “Keeping up with those changes, and meeting the needs of patients in our current facility, has become increasingly challenging. As part of this exciting venture, certain spaces have been identified as key areas for growth and enhancement. The new addition and renovations to the current structure will allow our remarkable team to better serve our patients both now and well into the future.”

The expansion is a $40.7 million investment.

The bulk of that money, $37.1 million, came from a United States Department of Agriculture Rural Development loan.

The Loring Health Care Foundation contributed $750,000.

Loring Hospital is named after Frank W. Loring, who left most of his estate for the building and endowing of a hospital in Sac City. Loring aimed to have a hospital which would be fully approved by the Amer-

-Submitted photos

ABOVE: The completion of a new 42,000-square-foot addition at Loring Hospital was ccelebrated with a ribbon-cutting ceremony in September 2025. The project was a $40.7 million investment.

LEFT: Hospital officials stand inside the new addition at Loring Hospital in Sac City.

site was purchased and included a large frame house, which opened under the name of Loring Hospital in 1942, primarily as a maternity house.

HONORING LONG-TIME LEADERS

LAKE CITY — Stewart Memorial Hospital & Clinics held a mural dedication ceremony in November to honor the remarkable legacy of two long-time physicians, Dr. Warren McCrary and Dr. Glenn Rost, whose decades of service shaped the hospital’s history and strengthened its bond with the community.

Hospital leadership, including members of the Board of Directors, auxiliary, and senior leadership team, joined with the McCrary family to celebrate the unveiling of the mural and to reflect on the extraordinary impact of the two physicians.

“They were more than physicians,” said Linn Block, chief executive officer of Stewart Memorial Hospital & Clinics.

“They were healers, mentors and neighbors who built trust and compassion into the very foundation of our hospital. Their influence continues to live within these walls, in the care we provide, and in the lives of the people they touched.”

To honor their service, a mural by local artist Noel Blair was created as a lasting tribute. The mural represents not only the medical skill of McCrary and Rost, but also the humanity and compassion that defined their work.

“We are especially honored to have members of the McCrary

family with us today,” Block said during the dedication. “Dr. McCrary’s vision, kindness, and steadfast commitment to caring for others continue to guide us. His legacy remains woven into our story, our mission, and our hearts.”

As Stewart Memorial Hospital & Clinics continues to grow under one unified name, the or-

ganization remains deeply rooted in the principles and example set by these two physicians.

“Even as we evolve, we do so on the foundation built by Drs. McCrary and Rost,” Block added. “Their example reminds us what true service looks like and why we do this work to make a difference, one person, one family, and one communi-

ty at a time.” The mural now stands as a permanent reminder of the lasting light and legacy of two remarkable physicians whose spirit will continue to inspire generations of caregivers and patients alike.

Earlier in 2025, the hospital announced that its Stewart Memorial Wound Care Clinic re-

ceived dual recognition, earning both the Clinical Distinction Award and the Excellence in Patient Satisfaction Award from RestorixHealth.

These awards acknowledge wound centers that meet or exceed national quality benchmarks over a set period of time. The Clinical Distinction Award recognizes wound care centers that have demonstrated exceptional success by surpassing clinical benchmarks, while the Excellence in Patient Satisfaction Award honors centers that deliver superior performance in overall patient satisfaction.

“The Stewart Memorial Wound Care Clinic is pleased to be recognized for our dedication not only to healing, but also to patient satisfaction,” said Dr. Josh Smith, medical director of the clinic. “We are proud to be a recipient of an award that recognizes the work of our staff as both a health care team and patient champions.”

The Stewart Memorial Wound Care Clinic is committed to optimizing outcomes and preventing lower limb loss in patients with non-healing wounds. By integrating traditional and advanced therapies, the clinic accelerates the healing process and provides the best possible care for patients dealing with chronic wounds.

VOTERS APPROVE EMS TAX

Move establishes essential service in Webster County

By BILL SHEA bshea@messengernews.net

In March 2025, the voters of Webster County decided that emergency medical service should be an essential service, supported by its own property tax.

Nearly a year later, the processes and agreements are being put in place to channel the revenue from that tax to the county’s ambulance services and the volunteer fire departments that provide care before an ambulance arrives.

While emergency care would appear to be essential, under Iowa law it is not considered essential in the way that police and fire protection are. Police and fire departments have long been supported by taxes, but EMS providers have not. But Iowa law does provide a way for voters to make EMS a tax-supported essential service.

In early 2025, a plan was unveiled to make EMS essential in Webster County.

That plan called for a property tax of 75 cents per $1,000 of taxable value to pay for it.

That tax is estimated to generate $1.6 million a year.

The plan called for dividing the bulk of the money, about $1.4 million, between the three ambulance providers in service in Webster County at the beginning of 2025 — the Fort Dodge Fire Department, Dayton Rescue Squad and Southwest Webster Emergency Medical Service in Gowrie.

The Fort Dodge Fire Department, which provides ambulance service to the city and all of northern Webster County, would receive 76 percent of the money. Fort Dodge has the only paramedic level ambulance service, so it also assists the Gowrie and Dayton units with the most critically ill

or injured patients.

Gowrie would receive about 14 percent and Dayton would receive about 10 percent.

The fire departments in Badger, Barnum, Callender, Clare, Harcourt, Otho and Vincent would each receive $10,000 for their work as emergency medical first responders.

The proposal also included an emergency medical service coordinator position. The coordinator is to help the leaders of the various departments, advising them on training, medical supplies, equipment and compliance with rules and regulations.

The voters approved the new property tax for EMS on March 4, 2025, by an 83 per-

cent margin.

The process of implementing it, however, became complicated by the Otho Fire Department beginning an ambulance service in February 2025, right before the vote.

Multiple, sometimes stormy, meetings of the Webster County Emergency Medical Service Advisory Council were held through 2025 as that body tried to reach a decision on funding Otho as an ambulance service or as an emergency medical first responder agency.

In October 2025, the council decided to move forward with the original concept, providing money to Otho as a first response agency rather than an ambulance service.

That decision enabled the council to finalize the agreements that would allow all of the communities to access their share of the money from the new tax.

Those agreements were forwarded to the Webster County Board of Supervisors for its approval this month. The agreements were finally approved after a long board meeting at which the supervisors considered changing them.

Now 10 months after the voters approved the new tax, the agreements await signatures from local officials. Only after those final approvals are obtained will money begin flowing to the EMS providers.

PIEPER, at left, along with fellow EMT Steph Swanson check over supplies and equipment in one of the ambulances. The Dayton Rescue Squad is one of the units that will benefit from a countywide levy of 75 cents per $1,000 of taxable value the voters approved to support emergency medical care as an essential service.