health center

SIOUX CENTER – Bert Van Batavia loves riding open country roads or trails on his bicycle. The 72-year-old man who farms between Hull and Boyden logs 50-60 miles in a typical week during the bicycling season. Bert Van Batavia, 72, who farms between Hull and Boyden, plans to ride again in Promise Community Health Center's Wellness on Wheels Bicycle Ride on Saturday, June 4. He has ridden almost every year of the six-year event. He said you can see – and smell – so much more from a bicycle. He loves seeing the straight rows of corn, even the crooked ones. He enjoys the view of farm buildings and the scenery of rivers and rolling hills. He doesn’t even mind the wafting smell of a hog barn or cattleyard every once in awhile – this is Iowa, after all. And it’s a perfect time for him to reflect. “My thoughts are all to myself. I can almost even decide whom to vote for in the next election,” Van Batavia said with a chuckle. “That’s what I like.” He also rides bicycle for the cardiovascular...

SIOUX CENTER – Serving on the Promise Community Health Center Board of Directors wasn’t even on Lynn Rietema’s radar when she was approached by executive director Nancy Dykstra earlier this year about considering the role. In fact, when she saw that call come in from Promise, she thought it was a outreach staff member calling to ask if she could provide a patient a ride to the health center – as she often has done as a volunteer. But she decided to accept the invitation to serve in a new capacity as a board member. Lynn Rietema has begun serving on Promise Community Health Center's Board of Directors. She has a passion for helping people and reaching out to newcomers in the community. “To be quite truthful, sometimes I don’t have words to explain why I’m on this path,” Rietema said. “I’ve been walking through doors that have opened for me in the last few years on pure faith – basically following my heart, which sounds crazy and not very logical, but it is what it is. I think with ...

SIOUX CENTER – Promise Community Health Center of Sioux Center will get a new dental chair and associated equipment, thanks to a Sioux County Community Foundation grant. The foundation awarded the health center a $10,000 grant during an awards ceremony today (Monday, May 16) in Orange City. Dr. Kenneth Tjeerdsma, dentist and dental director for Promise Community Health Center in Sioux Center, will receive a new dental chair to serve patients due to a $10,000 grant from the Sioux County Community Foundation. The grant will go toward the cost of purchasing a dental chair system for one of Promise’s three oral health exam rooms. The grant will fund about 55 percent of the cost. Promise will provide the remaining matching funds. “We are so thankful for the Sioux County Community Foundation’s support,” said Derrick Vander Waal, public relations and development coordinator for Promise. “Promise’s dental program fills a crucial need in the community. It serves the most vulnerable populations ...

SIOUX CENTER – Nurses positively impact the lives of patients every day with care and compassion. That's why the National Nurses Week theme for 2016 is so fitting: "Culture of Safety – It Starts With You." National Nurses Week is celebrated May 6-12 every year, ending with Florence Nightingale's birthday. Personnel related to the profession at Promise Community Health Center in Sioux Center include registered nurses, advanced registered nurse practitioners, certified nurse midwives and medical assistants. Promise Community Health Center's nurses, nurse midwives, nurse practitioners and medical assistants include  (front, from left) Ruth Hernandez, Sandra Rodriguez, Beth Strub; (middle) Pam Hulstein, Kristen Schuler, Kari Ney, Nancy Dykstra, Alex Van Beek, Karen Sanchez; (back) Erica Robertson, Vicki Schrock, Tana Kass, Emily Tuschen and Kim Davelaar. Not pictured are Belinda Lassen and Daisy Gasca. Here are reflections from a few of them about what makes their...

SIOUX CENTER – Students couldn’t read the board at school. Diabetics were having eye problems that continued to deteriorate. People had glaucoma, macular degeneration or other eye conditions. Dr. Dan Clousing checks the eyes of 5-year-old Dulce Dominguez during a vision appointment at Promise Community Health Center in Sioux Center while optometry assistant/interpreter Karen Sanchez helps out in the background. And much more. Most people can go to their local eye clinic for their vision care needs. But, for some people in the community, their eye care needs were being neglected because of financial cost, language or some other barrier. The medical professionals at Promise Community Health Center in Sioux Center recognized that. The providers at Beaver Eye Care in Sioux Center realized that, too. So they decided to partner with each other to address that need. Dr. Dan Clousing, an optometrist for Beaver Eye Care, began seeing patients weekly at Promise in April. Promise’s vision care ...