– Submitted photo A new Iowa Specialty Hospital— Webster City Clinic is in the planning stages. Officials with Iowa Specialty Hospital and Clinics announced the anticipated construction Monday. The building will be constructed on Superior Street.

Officials with Iowa Specialty Hospital and Clinics, based in Clarion and Belmond, have announced plans for the construction of a new clinic building to be built in Webster City.

The construction of the new facility, which will be located on Superior Street next to the Department of Human Services Building, will allow the clinic to expand its offerings, according to Steve Simonin, Chief Executive Office of Iowa Specialty Hospital and Clinics.

Currently, the Iowa Specialty Hospital – Webster City Clinic is located at 903 Willson Ave. In November 2019, ISH purchased Advanced Family Medicine, the private medical practice operated by Dr. Donald Woodhouse.

“The existing clinic has become too small for what we have to offer,” said Simonin. “Building was pretty much the only option. This made a lot of sense to us.”

The existing clinic features six exam rooms which are shared by three family practice providers — Dr. John Swisher, Kristen Davison, PA- C, and Kari Patten, PA-C. Tricia Bartlett, PA-C, MPAS, also provides dermatology services at the clinic.

Simonin said several spots had been scouted in the community as possible locations for the new facility, but the Superior Street location offered easy access on a main thoroughfare and backed up on the Boone River Recreational trail.

“This is just a gorgeous area, overlooking the river and also Superior Street is so well traveled and is right off of Highway 20,” he said. “After we found that property, we stopped looking.”

Peggy Roberts, clinic manager, said the new facility will be approximately an 11,000-square-foot, one-story structure with 17 exam rooms and several procedure rooms. The new building will also allow the clinic to provide radiology services.

“That will allow all of the family medicine providers to have several exam rooms, plus dermatology and the specialty physicians that we hope to get in there. They will all have plenty of exam rooms,” said Roberts.

Future plans include bringing staff specialists, such as orthopedics and podiatry for special clinics.

Robert said the expansion could mean the additional staff members would be needed.

“I definitely see potential for some opportunities to add some more good staff members,” she said. “We have such a great staff currently.”

Plans are being finalized and the bid letting process has yet to begin, the officials said, so there’s not a confirmed ground breaking date set. The building completion will likely be within the next year, according to Reagan Swisher, CCO.

“We’re kind of early in the process yet as far as the construction timeline goes. Since this is a public project, it will have to meet all of those public requirements with bids and the rest of the pieces as things get put together. I think we’re hopeful for completion sometime in 2021. Of course some of it will depend upon weather and how quickly some of the other pieces move as well.”

Gina Schnathorst, marketing leader for Iowa Specialty Hospitals, said there have been some rumors circulating about the new clinic facility.

“We’ve heard a lot of rumors that Dr. Woodhouse was coming back to work at the clinic,” Schnathorst said. Woodhouse was hired in February to serve as the medical director of the Iowa Board of Medicine.

“I’ve talked to him several times,” said Roberts. “He’s very happy with what he’s doing so I don’t think there’s a chance of that happening.”

The officials also said that there are currently no plans for the Gabrielson Clinic for Women to move to the new clinic building.

Simonin said Iowa Specialty Hospital and Clinics is excited about the construction of the new clinic and he looks forward to the continued relationship with community.

“We really love Webster City,” Simonin said. “A lot of our employees live here. It’s always been someplace that a lot of us visit for the vet or groceries or McDonalds. This community has some nice things. We’re happy to be a good neighbor.”