Twenty-five years ago, Des Moines University – then the University of Osteopathic Medicine and Health Sciences – moved its Olsen Clinic from 2150 Grand Ave. to a new 10-story clinic on campus. Since then, its clinicians have provided hundreds of thousands of patient visits and an even greater number of hours of instruction for DMU’s clinical students.
This summer, the DMU Clinic gained a new dimension in addition to its services including family medicine, foot and ankle, osteopathic manual medicine and physical therapy: Through a partnership with Iowa Health System, it’s now home to La Clinica de la Esperanza, which provides primary care on a sliding fee scale to central Iowa’s Latino population. La Clinica will generate more patient visits as well as training opportunities for DMU students.
DMU President Angela Walker Franklin, Ph.D., cuts the ribbon to open La Clinica, now on campus, with (from left) clinic staff Karen Reinecke, counselor; Angelica Carnahan, patient service representative; Esperanza Pintor Martinez, clinic administrator; Rosalia De Avila, billing specialist; Cheryl Weatherington, R.N.; Jackie Strang, care manager; Steve Stephenson, M.D., Iowa Methodist Medical Center chief operating officer and executive vice president; and Eric Crowell, Iowa Health-Des Moines president and chief executive operator.
