When a 4-year-old girl had a life-threatening anaphylactic (allergic) reaction in a clinic lobby at University of Iowa Health Care Stead Family Children’s Hospital, several members of the clinic staff leapt into action, helping to stabilize the girl and providing treatment as quickly as possible. “Within seconds, a team of what seemed like 20 medical professionals rushed from various departments…

Jenny Stegen got exactly what she needed at the University of Iowa to return home to northeast Iowa and give back to her community — an education in a top-notch physician assistant training program. When Jenny Stegen was searching for physician assistant programs, she didn’t want to go too far from her family in northeast Iowa. She found that one of the closest was also one of the nation’s best…

Few sports have exploded nationally like pickleball, a unique blend of tennis, badminton, and Ping-Pong that attracted nearly 14 million players in 2023—a 52% jump from just the year before, according to USA Pickleball. Despite its appeal, pickleball can take a toll on joints, says Tyler Slayman, MD, a family medicine and sports medicine specialist with University of Iowa Health Care. “Many forms…

This month University of Iowa Health Care launches a Medical Toxicology Clinic, providing outpatient care for Iowans exposed to toxic substances with the aim to understand the root cause of symptoms quicker and more directly. With Daniel McCabe, MD, director of the Division of Medical Toxicology, at the helm, this will be the first and only clinic of its kind in Iowa and many of the surrounding…

By donating 200 dolls wearing back braces, a young Colorado girl is hoping that scoliosis patients in Iowa will know they’re not alone. When Sydney Black got her first Chelsea doll (Barbie’s sister) and saw she was wearing a back brace, she felt better about being “different”. Sydney was diagnosed with scoliosis at age 4 and has been wearing a back brace for up to 20 hours a day since she was 6. …

Fireworks and the Fourth of July go hand in hand. Sparklers, firecrackers, and large community fireworks displays are typically the highlight of the day. But along with the fun and excitement comes the possibility for burns, injuries, and emergencies, especially when children are around. More than 3,000 children under the age of 15 are sent to the emergency department each year in the United…

It started in 2015 with an occasional eye twitch. “It was that sort of twitch people get when they’re stressed or drink too much coffee,” John Mark Feilmeyer says. But the twitch then spread from his eye to the entire right side of his face, and it became almost constant. After seven years of trying various home remedies, getting Botox injections, and seeing a local neurologist, the Des Moines,…

The energy of her workplace matters to Ashley Ventura. Two years into her career as a surgical technologist, she says the energy at University of Iowa Health Care is “unmatched.” Ventura, who is originally from California, says she has found a supportive culture working on the team involved in urology, gynecology, and transplant services. “I just love it here,” she says with her unmistakable…

Robotic surgery might sound like something from a science fiction movie, but using robots to assist with operations has been around for decades. Robotic surgery uses tools, such as saws, burs, or cutting blocks, that are attached to a robotic arm and controlled by the surgeon and the robot. The surgeon makes small additional cuts to insert pins into the bone. Attached to these pins are arrays…

People lying back in comfy chairs with their feet propped up and a Netflix show streaming on their phones. It sounds like a scene from a spa. There’s just one major difference though. They all have blood flowing out of their arms at the UI Health Care’s DeGowin Blood Center. It’s an experience that Sean McIntyre has become intimately familiar with as he’s given 254 blood product donations to UI…