Our Patients - Guttenberg Hospital

Gene’s Story

Other than visiting newborn grandchildren who were delivered here, Gene and Betty Kruse had never been to Guttenberg Municipal Hospital & Clinics before.

That changed for the couple from Colesburg on July 1st when Betty was assisting Gene into bed and noticed he was very weak and struggling to breathe.

“We called 911 and the ambulance crew suggested we go to Guttenberg Hospital because it was the closest,” said Betty. “Halfway to Guttenberg, a Paramedic met us in Osterdock to treat Gene’s low blood pressure in the ambulance before arriving to the hospital.”

In the GMHC Emergency Department, Hospitalist George Osai, ARNP, and the team immediately began working on Gene. Not only was his blood pressure low, but test results determined Gene was dehydrated and a CT scan revealed two blood clots in his lungs. He was admitted as an inpatient on the Patient Care Unit and after four days transitioned to a Skilled Care patient on the unit.

“I have been so impressed with the people here, so impressed,” exclaimed Gene’s wife, Betty.

In November 2023, Gene was diagnosed with atypical Parkinson’s disease. Atypical Parkinsonian disorders cause muscle stiffness, tremor, and problems with walking/balance and fine motor coordination. “At home, I was stuck in a recliner permanently, only getting up to go the bathroom or bedroom. My whole right side is difficult to move so I just did the best I could,” said Gene.

During his time in Skilled Care, Gene was seen by physical and occupational therapists who taught him a lot of different ways to move. “They guided Gene to use all of his muscles, so they don’t deteriorate so quickly, allowing him to be more independent. They also taught me better ways to move him to save my back,” stated Betty. “They even came to our house for a home safety evaluation and made recommendations to make it easier for Gene to move around. Speech and respiratory therapists also helped Gene with speech, swallowing and breathing difficulties. Each therapist lifted Gene’s spirits so much, they were all fantastic!”

“I thank the Lord that they brought us to Guttenberg,” said Betty. “It was a great experience for both of us.” Gene replied, “Everyone was top-notch!”

Sheila’s Story

Keeping up with her grandchildren is a priority for Sheila Frink.

The recently retired Director of the Anamosa Ambulance Service moved to North Buena Vista in June 2023 to be closer to her daughter’s family.

“We have three grandchildren, ages 10, 8 and 5, that we love to spend time with. In order to keep up with them and all their activities, I had a total knee replacement in Cedar Rapids on January 17, 2024. I was so grateful that I only had to travel 20 minutes for my follow-up physical therapy at Guttenberg Hospital,” said Sheila.

Immediately after surgery, when they got Sheila up and walking on her new knee, she struggled to lift her ankle of the same leg. Two days later, she began physical therapy and after her initial evaluation with Joel Gourley, DPT, she was diagnosed with foot-drop, most likely caused from overstretching the nerve during her surgery. Joel contacted the surgeon to inform her of Sheila’s condition, creating a new plan of care once proper healing allowed.

“I was very frightened that I would never walk normal again,” reflected Sheila. “I came into physical therapy with not just one problem, but with two. Reassuring me that I would recover, my therapists worked on both areas, mostly concentrating on my knee to start with.”

Sheila’s knee rehab included lots of stretching, straightening and strengthening exercises, with visits three times per week, working down to one visit per week. Because the foot-drop was a huge tripping hazard, the therapists taught Sheila a different way to walk, being mindful to pick up her foot so she would not trip.

While Sheila’s knee therapy was wrapping up, another order was placed for physical therapy to strengthen her ankle. After three total months of physical therapy for both her knee and her ankle, and her diligence to do her exercises at home, Sheila’s ability to lift her ankle returned.

“Once I got strength back in my ankle, every advancement was so great! I still can’t lift my big toe, but I do my exercises daily and know it is improving. It will just take time,” she said.

When asked about her experience at GMHC, Sheila exclaimed, “My therapists were great! They were compassionate but tough! They worked me hard and I appreciated it. Their encouragement helped me keep going when I got discouraged. They celebrated my improvements and made sure that I knew I was making progress.”

She added, “I really like the smaller, home-town feel here at GMHC, where I truly feel like I am treated like family.”

And, speaking of family, Sheila is now back in her athletic flip-flops attending her grandchildren’s numerous summer activities, and keeping up just fine.

Merlin’s Story

“The nurses and therapists have been so good to me and the food is the BEST here!” said Merlin Moser, Skilled Care patient at GMHC.

Merlin is a retired farmer from Colesburg. He and his wife, Judy, have been coming to GMHC for their health care as long as they can remember. After 28 years of wintering in Arizona, a few years ago they decided to buy a home in Guttenberg. “It’s a blessing that our home is now so close to the hospital, not only for Merlin, but for me! I’ve had plenty of health issues myself,” said Judy.

In the spring of 2023, around Easter, Merlin noticed a painful toe on his left foot. At his Annual Wellness Visit, his primary care provider at the time, Dr. Hoffmann, referred Merlin to physical therapist Kimberly Franzen so she could take a closer look. “She got on the phone right away and called my cardiologist, Dr. Ram (Ramabadran),” reflects Merlin. “Kim got me in to see him right away!” Merlin was diagnosed with a serious circulation problem in his left foot from peripheral vascular disease.

A podiatrist determined that Merlin would lose all of his toes, and eventually his foot. The best option was to amputate his leg just below his knee. Following the amputation, in July, Merlin returned to GMHC for Skilled Care for three weeks. “Even on a walker, Merlin got around pretty good,” said Judy, “so we just kept coming back to the gym each day and completed the entire Physical Therapy program!” Merlin got his prosthesis the day before Christmas, and continued with physical therapy, working also with a prosthetist. Although he is going to be 86 years old, Merlin was able to get around well with his new leg.

Merlin’s next admission to GMHC Skilled Care was this past June. He was diagnosed with Endocarditis, a bacterial infection affecting the heart, which requires IV antibiotics several times each day for 8 weeks. Judy walks up daily to spend time with Merlin and play games to pass the time.

“Everyone takes such good care of me here,” said Merlin.

All of my friends say “Judy, you don’t know how lucky you are to have a hospital right here!”

Merlin and Judy couldn’t agree more!

GMHC Marketing and Development Director, Amy Speed, and the ER team that provided care for her

Amy’s Story

In my marketing role at Guttenberg Municipal Hospital & Clinics, I get the privilege of promoting our hospital, our services, our family practice clinics, and our team of caregivers. One of the ways we promote GMHC is by sharing grateful patient stories. I was recently one of those grateful patients!

The last week of February, I was sick at home for several days. With high fever, chills and nausea, I thought I was fighting the stomach flu. And, because my career is not medical, but marketing, I really didn’t know any better!

By day five, feeling worse rather than better, my husband and I made the trip from our home in Cascade to Guttenberg to the GMHC Emergency Department. I was immediately taken into an emergency room where Angie Schmitt, RN, and ED/Hospitalist Bryon Bellinger, ARNP, provided care for me without delay. My IV was started and as Hylari Buensuceso, Medical Lab Scientist, gently drew my blood, I shut my eyes and rested, confident I was in good hands as they worked busily to determine what was ailing me.

After several tests and a CT scan by Samantha Bailey, Radiology Technologist, I was diagnosed with a bilateral kidney infection. Bryon explained the CT scan revealed both of my kidneys were inflamed with infection. When he told me I would be spending the night in the hospital on our Patient Care Unit, I got a little emotional. I didn’t realize just how severely sick I was. He assured me that I would feel much better in the morning after an evening of fluids and additional IV antibiotics. He was right! Thank you, Bryon, for your wisdom, professionalism, and reassurance.

Angie delivered me and my left arm’s new friend, the IV, up to my room to get comfy for the night and shortly after, a nice hot supper arrived. Besides childbirth, this was my first night in the hospital and I was impressed with how clean my room was and how incredibly quiet my stay was. I was well taken care of through the night; my water cup stayed filled and I was helped as needed. I barely remember the 4:30am visit from Altair Labagala, Medical Lab Scientist, to collect more blood.

Around 7am Thursday morning, Angie checked back in on me, giving me one more dose of IV antibiotic, and bringing me a yummy breakfast of a banana, oatmeal and toast, satisfying my recently returned appetite.

By 9am, after a visit with ED/Hospitalist George Osai, ARNP, who confirmed my improved lab results, I was released to go home. Angie walked me through my paperwork, my medication, and made me laugh more than once. Yes, laughter is good medicine! Thank you, Angie, for being my nurse and for the great care you gave me! You made me feel like I was your only patient even though I know I was not.

My husband picked me up and I left GMHC feeling much better, with the sun and a smile on my face! On Friday I received an unexpected, but much appreciated call from health coach Jody Pierce, RN, BSN, from Cornerstone Family Practice. Her warm and friendly demeanor and genuine concern for my health warmed my heart. By Monday, I was well enough to go back to work and looked forward to seeing and thanking my co-workers who took such excellent care of me!

My faith confirms that everything happens for a reason. I know that my patient experience will help me better market the extraordinary gift this hospital is to Guttenberg and its surrounding communities. The experience of walking right into our ED and being cared for immediately…WOW! The behind-the-scenes work in lab and imaging, the clean and comfy room, the hot breakfast, the compassionate care by my kind co-workers, all is greatly appreciated.

There is absolutely no place I would have rather been to receive my care than 45 minutes North at GMHC in Guttenberg!

Thank you, team GMHC, for partnering with me on my health recovery journey. I appreciate you all, the important work you do, and I am honored to work alongside and promote each of you.

Amy Speed

Guttenberg Municipal Hospital & Clinics was recently named one of the top 20 critical access hospitals (CAHs) for Best Practice—Patient Satisfaction in the country.

The top 20 CAHs, including GMHC, scored best among CAHs as determined by the Chartis Center for Rural Health for Patient Satisfaction. The rankings were recently announced by the National Rural Health Association (NRHA). An awards ceremony will be held during NRHA’s Critical Access Hospital Conference in September in Kansas City, MO.

The top 20 CAHs have achieved success in overall performance based on a composite rating from eight indices of strength: inpatient market share, outpatient market share, quality, outcomes, patient perspective, cost, charge and finance. This group was selected from the Chartis Center for Rural Health’s 2022 top 100 CAH list, which was released earlier this year.

The top 20 CAH best practice recipients have achieved success in one of two key areas of performance:

Quality index: A rating of hospital performance based on the percentile rank across rural-relevant process of care measures.

Patient perspective index: A rating of hospital performance based on the percentile rank across all 10 HCAHPS domains.

“GMHC is proud of the efforts of the physicians and staff who have contributed to our hospital achieving this designation,” says Timothy Ahlers, CEO. “We are incredibly proud of our staff. We are blessed to have a team of professionals with high standards who care deeply about each and every patient and our entire community.”

“Our results as a top Best Practice Recipient in Patient Satisfaction means our community can count on us to deliver the services they need now and in the future,” said Ahlers.

About NRHA

NRHA is a nonprofit organization working to improve the health and well-being of rural Americans and provide leadership on rural health issues through advocacy, communications, education and research. NRHA’s membership is made up of diverse individuals and organizations from across the country, all of whom share the common bond of an interest in rural health.

About the Chartis Group

The Chartis Group provides comprehensive advisory services and analytics to the health care industry. With unparalleled depth of expertise in strategic planning, performance excellence, health analytics, informatics and technology, digital and emerging technologies, clinical quality and operations, and strategic communications, Chartis helps leading academic medical centers, integrated delivery networks, children’s hospitals, and health care service organizations achieve transformative results and build a healthier world. For more information, visit www.chartis.com.

Guttenberg Municipal Hospital & Clinics is pleased to announce a collaboration with WELL Health Inc. to implement automated appointment reminders through secure two-way, multilingual messaging in the patient’s preferred communications channel: texting or telephone.

If GMHC has your cell phone or home phone in its system, patients will receive automated appointment reminders seven days, two days and one day before their appointments. Patients have an opportunity to respond or to opt-out of this service.

“It is our hopes that this two-way communication will help improve our patient’s experience throughout their care at GMHC,” said Danelle Krapfl, Lab and Imaging Manager.

This new service will begin on October 5, 2021.

Category: Our Patients