Encyclopedia Dubuque
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Affiliated with the Local History Network of the State Historical Society of Iowa, and the Iowa Museum Association.
MEDICAL ASSOCIATES CLINIC PC (THE)
MEDICAL ASSOCIATES CLINIC PC (THE). Medical Associates is Iowa's largest and oldest fully accredited multi-specialty clinic. Medical Associates was founded in 1924 as the Dubuque Medical and Surgical Clinic by Drs. John B. HELES, Clarence LYNN, and Wayne A. JOHNSTON. (1) The site of the first clinic was a house at 1200 Main. This building was renovated and expanded to eventually house twenty-eight physicians.
By 1974 a new clinic with 66,000 square feet of space was built at 1000 Langworthy next to St. Joseph's Unit of Mercy Health Center. (2) The size of the staff was nearly doubled. This building was expanded in 1978 by 22,000 square feet.
In 1978 Medical Associates Foundation was established to encourage health research, wellness, and health education activities.
The Pediatrics Department expanded by two departments in 1983. Adolescent Medicine worked with the problems of children aged 12 to 19. Physicians in this department divided their time between counseling and general health care. The new Well-Child Clinic was staffed by nurse practitioners who provided check-ups and immunizations to healthy children up to age 3. They also offered parents instruction in nutrition, social habits dental care and safety. A third expansion and modernization came in the Obstetrics, Gynecology and Infertility Department with more comfortable and private conferences and advanced pre-natal care. (3)
The 1980s witnessed the area's first HEALTH MAINTENANCE ORGANIZATION (HMO) opened by the clinic in 1982. This was the first step in establishing health plans which came to serve hundreds of regional businesses and their employees. By 2023 Medial Associates Health Care plans was one or only two in the nation to earn a five-star rating from the National Committee for Quality Assurance. (4) The year 1983 saw Medical Associates Acute-Care, offering the area's first walk-in urgent care center, opened and the first regional office opened in Bellevue, and the Midwest's first low-dosage radiation mammography equipment, used in the detection of breast cancer, was purchased by the clinic. (5) In 1989 Medical Associates employed 75 physicians and over 525 nurses and health care professionals. Through 1984 the clinic annually added from five to seven doctors and one new medical specialty. Satellite offices were opened throughout the tri-state region.
In December 1993, Medical Associates announced it had an option to purchase 100 acres of land east of the NORTHWEST ARTERIAL. The medical practice planned to build a 120,000 square-foot four-level facility. The musculoskeletal facility at Asbury Square would grow to 40,000 square feet. Plans for a 88,000 square-foot expansion proposed at the Langworthy location would be abandoned. (6)
The 1993 Dubuque City Directory listed 1940 Elm, 1000 Langworthy, and Sports Medicine (Medical Associates at 2255 John F. Kennedy Road.
In early January 1997 Finley, Medical Associates, and the Tri-States Physicians Association submitted an application to the Iowa Department of Public Health to bring a permanent hospital-based magnetic resonance imaging center (MRI) to Dubuque. The application suggested that the center would be the fourth busiest in Iowa and would lower the cost of each MRI by 23%. Finley and MERCY MEDICAL CENTER were at the time using a mobile MRI on a part-time basis as a contracted service. The proposed Finley MRI was to be housed in an attached hospital addition and could provide MRI services 24-hours daily. The cost of purchasing the equipment, construction, and installation was estimated at $2.3 million. (7) In 1999 Medical Associates doctors performed the clinic's first LASIK, laser vision correction, surgery. (8)
The West Campus of Medical Associates at 1500 Associates Drive was formally opened on May 17, 1997. (9)
Medical Associates announced "Same Day Appointment Scheduling" in 2005 in the Departments of Pediatrics, Internal Medicine, Family Practice, Ophthalmology, and Orthopedics. (10)
In July, 2004 John Deere Company, based in Moline, Illinois announced it would end its 22-year health care program with Medical Associates. The company had created its own insurance plans--"Premier" and "Premier" Senior Care. Under the new arrangements, Medical Associates Clinic and Mercy Medical Center-Dubuque were replaced by FINLEY HOSPITAL (THE) and over 150 other providers in The Tri-State Independent Physicians Association of Dubuque. In October, 2004 Medical Associates announced plans to cut its work force as much as 8% and close offices and East Dubuque and Hanover. Deere had comprised between ten and fifteen percent of Medical Associates patients. (11) In 2007 Medical Associates announced that because of changes announced to their 2008 health benefits, John Deere salaries retirees who were Medicare eligible would be able to choose a Medical Associates Medicare plan that allowed them to see physicians at Medical Associates Clinic. (12)
In April 2011 Medical Associates introduced Patient Station, an online patient portal and personal health record. Using the program, a patient could link to all of their Medical Associates' physician and provider offices, request appointments and prescription refills, and communicate securely and directly with the physician and office staff through secure messaging. (13)
The "we believe" roadway displays and newspaper advertisements became common sights. Such advertisements not only advertised the different medical departments but encouraged people to be more proactive about their health.
One of the keys to the success of Medical Associates has been its close working relationship with Mercy Medical Center. The physical closeness of the two separate organizations on Langworthy Street copied the working relationship as when the two jointly presented classes on such topics as "Childhood and Adult Asthma," "Joint Pain: Do You Have Arthritic Knee Pain?," and "Joint Pain: Knee Injuries and Repair" all presented at Mercy Hospital by physicians from Medical Associates. (14)
In 2014 with one of the first oncology practices in the United States, Medical Associates was one of only five practices in Iowa to be recognized by the Quality Oncology Practice Initiative Certification Program. (15) The same year, Medical Associates advertised it offered the only cardiothoracic surgeons in the area. (16)
MERCYONE MEDICAL CENTER and Medical Associates performed the first Robotic-Assisted knee surgery in 2016.
In 2017 Medical Associates served an estimated 385 businesses. The City of Dubuque had been a client for over thirty years and the DUBUQUE COMMUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT for nearly as long. Small group plans were designed for businesses from two to fifty employees and large group for those over fifty employees. (17)
On June 2nd a new magnetic resonance imaging unit weighing 17,000 pounds was hoisted by crane and lowered through a temporary opening in the roof of the clinic at 1500 Associates Drive.. The General Electric SIGNA Artist, the new MRA machine, is the only one of its kind in the area and replaced one that had been used for fourteen years. In addition to improved imaging, the new machine would be quieter and allow for shorter scan times. The new technology featured flexible coils and acted like a blanket that could be wrapped around the portion of a body to be examined. (18)
In 2020 Medical Associates Health Plans were awarded the highest marks in both the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) annual star quality ratings and the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) Health Plan Ratings. For ten consecutive years (2012-2021) Medical Associates Medicare health plans have been rated 4.5 stars or higher. For 2021, CMS rated 400 health plans (with Part C). Medical Associates was one of only two 5-star plans in the state of Iowa. Only 9 other medical plans in the nation received five stars. (19)
In February, 2023, doctors at the Dubuque-based health care provider performed their 250th successful transcatheter aortic value replacement procedure known as TAVR. The procedure had been offered in Dubuque since 2019 as a more simple, less invasive alternative to open heart surgery. As people age, the opening of the aortic valve can narrow causing a condition known as aortic value stenosis identified by chest pain and trouble breathing. Stroke, heart attack, and death could occur if the condition worsened. (20) The Clinic introduced the latest Mohs surgery, the most effective and precise method for removing basal-cell and squamous-cell carcinoma, the same year.
Medical Associates added an anesthesia department in 2024 to offer anesthesia dare, pain management, and critical care before, during and after surgeries and invasive procedures. At the time while headquartered in Dubuque, Medial Associates had seven clinic locations in the Tri-States.
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Source:
1. "Celebrating 100 Years Serving the Tri-State & Surrounding Communities," April 2024, p. 2
2. Ibid. p. 4
3. "Medical Associates Adds, Expands Departments," Telegraph Herald, January 23, 1983, p. 16
4. "Celebrating 100 Years..." p. 4
5. Ibid. p. 6
6. Bergstrom, Kathy. "Clinic Seeks West-Side Site," Telegraph Herald, December 30, 1993, p. 1
7. Gwiasda, Susan B. "Prognosis: Finley's MRI Busy, Fee Lower," Telegraph Herald, January 22, 1997, p. 1. Online: https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=aEyKTaVlRPYC&dat=19970122&printsec=frontpage&hl=en
8. "Celebrating 100 Years...", p. 7
9. Insert. Telegraph Herald, May 14, 1997. https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=aEyKTaVlRPYC&dat=19970514&printsec=frontpage&hl=en
10. Advertisement, Telegraph Herald, January 2, 2005, p. 3
11. Kittle, M. D. "Finley: Hospital Ready for Deere Beneficiaries," Telegraph Herald, December 5, 2004, p. 15A
12. Advertisement, Telegraph Herald, November 4, 2007, p. 11
13. Medical Associates Clinic: Embracing the Brave New World of Healthcare Information Exchange," Julien's Journal, May 2013, p 49
14. "Community Education & Events, Sponsored by Mercy," Telegraph Herald, March 8, 2013, p. 8
15. Advertisement, Telegraph Herald, February 7, 2016, p 80
16. Advertisement, Telegraph Herald, January 22, 2016, p. 54
17. Salwolke, Scott, "35 Years of Healthy Efforts," bizTimes.biz, Dubuque, Iowa March, 2017
18. Montgomery, Jeff, "New MRI Unit a Massive Upgrade in Technology," Telegraph Herald, June 3, 2020, p. 5A
19. Robust, A Medical Associates Medicare Member Newsletter, Winter 2021, p 1
20. Nieland, Grace, "Medical Associates Team Reaches Heart Milestone," Telegraph Herald, February 17, 2023, p. 1A
