Before he turned 5, Jaxton Engstrom of Waterloo began sitting too close to the TV, tripping over objects, and struggling in preschool. At first, doctors thought Jaxton might have a retinal disorder. But further testing at University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital revealed something far more serious: Batten disease, a rare and terminal neurological disorder.

University of Iowa Health Care and Mission Cancer + Blood joined forces in Dec. 2024, with the shared vision of providing more Iowans with access to high-quality cancer care and clinical trials, closer to home. Now, less than a year later, the organizations have launched a joint clinical trial program, marking a major milestone toward bringing this vision to life...

After spending a month at UI Health Care recovering from a serious car accident, Caitlin Efstathiou, ADN, RN, was determined to become a nurse herself. She says one nurse in particular, Mary Anne Wolfe, RN, BSN, stood out, and the two recently reconnected.

Two young parents rush to a child’s bedside as medical alarms chime around them. Medical professionals — trained to respond without missing a beat — stand stoically in the doorway.

Liam was just two days old when it was discovered he was having hundreds of seizures each day. Diagnosed with a rare seizure disorder, traditional treatments didn’t work. His care team enrolled him in an experimental cannabidiol trial, dramatically reducing his seizures and advancing medical research. Today, Liam now communicates through facial expressions and continues to thrive under expert…

Many children grow up full of anticipation and excitement, bursting with the thrill of attending another family vacation, making plans to hang out with friends, and dreaming about the future. For the Soroka family from Norwalk, Iowa, those expectations flipped when a life-changing diagnosis marked the beginning of a new journey filled with challenges and milestones.

A new University of Iowa Health Care location in Urbandale brings several of the system’s existing Des Moines-based specialty services together under one roof, providing patients living in central and western Iowa with more convenient access to care, close to home.

Gwendolyn Clouse’s parents weren’t sure if she would survive past her first birthday. When she was just a baby, Gwendolyn was diagnosed with a rare disease, peroxisomal biogenesis disorder-Zellweger spectrum disorder (PBD – ZSD), which affects the body’s metabolism. PBD-ZSD is a multi-symptom condition that affects all major organs of the body and is considered fatal. Despite the prognosis,…

Ken Mulholland, a lifelong athlete, didn’t know he had central sleep apnea until his family noticed he was gasping in his sleep. Unwilling to use a CPAP machine, he turned to UI Health Care and found a life-changing solution in the Remede® System.

University of Iowa Health Care has reached an important milestone in its long-term efforts to improve emergency care access for patients of all ages: a new pediatric emergency space is now open within the emergency department at university campus at 200 Hawkins Drive in Iowa City.