Anamosa hospital using RAGBRAI as recruitment opportunity

Enticing doctors to practice in rural Iowa can be a tough sell, so recruiters are using two unconventional tools to fill positions in Anamosa: RAGBRAI and pie.

“Knowing there are thousands of eyes coming into the community, we thought, let's be proactive,” said Kelli Salow, provider recruiter for Iowa Health Physicians & Clinics, which includes Jones Regional Medical Center in Anamosa.

Usual tactics, such as online postings, haven't worked so far to recruit an emergency room doctor, two hospitalists and two family practice physicians, so Salow said an idea was hatched in a brainstorming session to advertise during RAGBRAI.

The town of 5,526, east of Cedar Rapids, could triple in size when more than 10,000 RAGBRAI riders make an overnight stop on Friday.

Salow, who has been on the weeklong bike ride across Iowa in the past, knows there are doctors who make the trip, including her sister-in-law, who practices medicine in rural Iowa.

Banners in Anamosa and Shellsburg will direct doctors to the hospital's website, where they can find information on the open positions.

Physicians can scan two-dimensional bar-codes, known as Quick Response, or QR codes, with a smartphone to access the site.

Spokeswoman Sheila Tjaden said doctors are invited to tour Anamosa's 22-bed hospital, built in 2009, and eat ice cream with homemade rhubarb, triple berry or apple crumb pie.

Tjaden said the positions opened as part of the hospital's recent growth. The hospitalist posts are new to Jones Regional.

Salow said while Iowa can't offer mountains or oceans, Anamosa and nearby Monticello have quality-of-life amenities, such as education and health care, which could encourage doctors to move here.

“This is the perfect place to practice medicine,” she said.

Dr. Jenny Butler said she didn't grow up in Jones County, but has felt welcomed since working as an emergency department doctor at Jones Regional Medical Center.

“I like being part of the community,” she wrote in an email. “I enjoy seeing people out and about after they have been to the hospital. It is nice to have them approach me in town and thank me for the good care I gave them or their family member.”