Eastern Iowa Health Center to celebrate new growth with Cedar Rapids block party

CEDAR RAPIDS — Eastern Iowa Health Center is celebrating National Health Center Week with its second annual Community Block Party — and given its growth in the last year, it has a lot to celebrate.

On Friday, families can meet staff at the accessible health care campus, connect with its board of directors and elected officials, find a variety of services at the resource fair and tour new facilities.

Along with offering a free meal, the celebration will have family-friendly activities and tours of the center’s new pediatric clinic, which opens today to serve an increasing need.

With eight new exam rooms for children and young adults, the new clinic also will free up bandwidth for the center’s existing family medicine clinic.

“I’m always thrilled to see how this organization continues to expand,” said Holly Ziegenmeyer, operations manager of the center’s family medicine and pediatrics. “We will be able to focus on young adults in the teenage to college years — that transition of care phase.”

The new clinic opens on the heels of significant growth for the federally qualified health center. Last year, the center had about 42,000 patient encounters; this year, it’s on track to exceed 71,000.

Last June, the center brought a clinic online for dental care and women’s health. The dental clinic already has a waiting list.

Soon, the nonprofit hopes to bring pharmaceutical services to the campus on the cusp of the Wellington Heights neighborhood and the Med Quarter district. By expanding service lines, the organization hopes to reduce wait times for appointments and increase capacity for walk-in patients.

“We’re just scratching the surface of growth this campus is going to have,” Ziegenmeyer said.

The organization has pull in addressing barriers to health care. About 65 percent of its patients across Benton, Iowa, Johnson, Jones and Linn counties are served by Medicaid, and 96 percent live at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty level.

But with a holistic outlook, the center also bridges individual needs outside the clinics through social service partnerships. More than 2,400 of its patients struggle with housing insecurity or homelessness, and many encounter food insecurity.

The annual Community Block Party was started to bring awareness to the organization’s mission and services. It also allows for direct communication between the community and leadership as its future shapes up.

“We determine what our organizational needs are based on what’s needed in our community,” Ziegenmeyer said. “That’s what allows us to grow and shift. We’ve built that trust within our community partners and patients to give us that insight.”

Things for fun

Attendees at Friday’s celebration can enjoy a free picnic dinner, a tour of facilities like the new pediatric clinic, and activities including:

Comments: Features reporter Elijah Decious can be reached at (319) 398-8340 or elijah.decious@thegazette.com.