Cherokee, IOWA – Cherokee Regional Medical Center is excited to announce that effective Saturday, October 5, 2024, they will acquire MercyOne Sutherland Family Medicine located at 131 W 2nd Street in Sutherland, Iowa. The medical facility was built by Jim and Colleen Johnson of Sutherland, Iowa in 2019. It opened to patients in September 2020, following some COVID-driven delays. Jim and Colleen emphasized the clinic was built for the community. They are hopeful the community will support it fully, knowing community support is necessary for to be successful.
Cherokee Regional is also pleased to announce that Brooke Fiddelke, ARNP has joined the Cherokee Regional medical staff and will continue seeing patients at the new Sutherland Medical Clinic. Former MercyOne clinic patients are invited to transfer their care to Cherokee Regional’s new Sutherland Medical Clinic. “We are very fortunate to retain one of our providers during the transition,” said Colleen. “That will make the transition a whole lot easier,” she added. Beginning Monday, staff at Sutherland Medical Clinic will be employees of Cherokee Regional Medical Center.
“Moving into Sutherland has been something in our strategic plan for a while,” says Gary Jordan, President/CEO of Cherokee Regional Medical Center. “We have had a great relationship with their EMS/ ambulance service. Cherokee Regional Medical Center began fulfilling the medical director duties for Sutherland Ambulance about two years ago. When the opportunity arose to acquire the clinic, we jumped on it. We are happy that we are able to bring our mission of providing seamless, quality healthcare to the Sutherland community.” Jim Johnson shared that Cherokee Regional expressed interest during the construction of the facility. They were clear that if there was no Mercy in the project, they would be interested in considering a Sutherland Clinic.
The Sutherland Medical Clinic, provided by Cherokee Regional, will be open starting Monday, October 7, 2024. It will join the Cherokee Medical Clinic, Holstein Medical Clinic, Aurelia Medical Clinic, and Marcus Medical Clinic as Cherokee Regional’s fifth rural healthcare clinic. According to Jordan, office hours will vary in the immediate future due to timing of insurance and provider contracts during this period of transition. All of the medical clinics operated by Cherokee Regional Medical Center are named for the community where they are located. According to CRMC administration, that is deliberate. They want their clinics to be about their communities first.
Jim and Colleen said that the staff at Cherokee Regional Medical Center were very easy to work with and were very professional. Jim said, “They really want to make this work. Like everything else, it needs community support. Without it, like everything else, it won’t be here.” Colleen added, “I just think that having the medical clinic, medical services in these small towns is very important, especially for our elderly trying to have a prescription refilled as far as having a doctor okay it or whatever, or blood work or if they have a headache or whatever, that they don’t have to travel or find, if they don’t drive themselves, find someone to take them and its just important to have something right here.”
Cherokee Regional will be hosting a town hall event on Thursday, October 17, for community members wanting more information about the clinic transition process and how to access health care services. This transparent conversation will take place at 6:30 p.m. at the R.L. Johannsen Center in Sutherland. The public is encouraged to attend.
For appointments at the Sutherland Medical Clinic please call 712.446.2567.
About Cherokee Regional Medical Center
A leader in rural healthcare for over 100 years, Cherokee Regional Medical Center (Cherokee Regional) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit health care organization with a mission to provide seamless, quality health care services to its communities. Services include a 25-bed Critical Access Hospital; 24-hour Emergency Medical Services; regional medical clinics in Cherokee, Aurelia, Holstein, Marcus and Sutherland; The Beck, a 32-unit independent senior living complex; Cherokee Regional Home Health; Cherokee Regional Hospice; retail pharmacies in Cherokee and Holstein; Cherokee County Public Health; and the Cherokee Fitness Center. Cherokee Regional is your place for exceptional care. For more information, visit www.cherokeermc.org.