Following Iowa Heart’s official notice to us in April that they would no longer be able to provide 24/7 cardiology coverage for Trinity Regional Medical Center, we completed a full evaluation of current cardiology services and cardiology access for our patients. We believe for the highest quality, most coordinated care, outpatient and inpatient services cannot be separated. Therefore, we made the decision to hire cardiologists and interventional cardiologists that can care for patients in both the outpatient and inpatient setting to ensure a comprehensive heart care program.

We believe it is important for every individual — no matter what time they come to our emergency room — to receive the best care possible and as quickly as possible. We know that time is vital when it comes to a heart attack and getting the right care at the right time is essential. I’m proud to share that UnityPoint Health Cardiology will continue to provide 24/7 interventional cardiology on-call services, with no lapse in coverage.

Why is this important? In 2023, we had 63 patients come to the Emergency Room between the hours of 5 p.m. and 7 a.m. That’s 63 lives that our team cared for when moments mattered. Without 24/7 interventional cardiology on-call services, those patients wouldn’t have been able to be cared for in Fort Dodge and would have been transferred – losing precious minutes.

Along with providing interventional cardiology services, this week we announced the opening of a new outpatient cardiology center: UnityPoint Health — Trinity Heart Center. Located on the hospital campus, Trinity Heart Center will provide new patient consults, device checks, hospital consults, outpatient cardiac testing and much more. In addition, our Trinity Cardiac and Pulmonary Rehabilitation, Trinity Cardiovascular Lab (TCVL) and Trinity Cardiac Catheterization Lab teams will continue to provide the same comprehensive cardiology services, including TEE, cardioversion, heart catheterization, pacemakers, stress testing, echo and vascular services.

We are proud of our tradition of providing great heart care in our community. We continue to provide award-winning comprehensive cardiology services to our communities and have received recognition from several national organizations:

American Heart Association — NSTEMI

American Heart Association — STEMI Receiving

NCDR American College of Cardiology — Chest Pain — MI Registry Platinum Performance Achievement Award

US News — High Performing Achievement for Heart Attacks

IAC (Intersocietal Accreditation Commission) — Silver Milestone Recognition for our Long-Term Commitment to the Performance and Interpretation of Quality Echocardiograms Since 1999

As part of the UnityPoint Health network, we will work closely with UnityPoint Health — Waterloo and UnityPoint Health — Cedar Rapids to provide electrophysiology (EP) and open-heart surgery to patients. These services and procedures will be completed in Waterloo and Cedar Rapids.

If you have questions, would like to learn more about our services or schedule an appointment, call Trinity Heart Center at 515-206-7270. We are currently scheduling appointments for when we open on Oct. 28.

Bringing UnityPoint Health Cardiology Services to Fort Dodge wouldn’t be possible without our dedicated leaders and team members who care so much about our patients and community. I am excited for the future as we expand this critical service line and bring UnityPoint Health Cardiology to Fort Dodge and our surrounding communities. We look forward to celebrating our grand opening of Trinity Heart Center with you in October!

Leah Glasgo is the president of UnityPoint Health — Fort Dodge.