FOREST CITY, Iowa - For those who are patients of Mercy Family Clinic's Forest City clinic, there will have to be some adjusting.
The facility will be closed this week due to water damage. The decision was made to close the clinic Sunday night after finding the damage, knowing that they wouldn't be operating on Monday. The following day, the closure was extended through the whole week.
Patients will be redirected to clinics in close proximity, including Lake Mills, Buffalo Center and Northwood.
Kathy McEnelly is the clinic manager for all three Winnebago County clinics, and says the decision was made after much consideration.
"We made the decision that we were just going to go ahead and plan not to be there all week. That is easier instead of trying to reschedule 50 to 75 patients a day, and so we thought that would be the smart thing to do, is to go ahead and plan to be in other sites for the week."
Patients can still contact the Forest City clinic, which will be answered at another site, and will let you know where your provider is on what day and get you in in either of the three clinics. McEnelly notes that Mercy has a plan to serve all patients through this time.
"It's not like by going to Northwood, they aren't going to know you or have access to your information. We have full access across our system. Our provider will have what they need to take care of you there. We're working with the providers that already work at those clinics of course, so we're kind of doubling up. So that they can take care of their regular patients and we can take care of ours."
In addition, staffers at the Forest City clinic have been reassigned to the other clinics.
McEnelly adds that the damage was cleaned up quickly, but everything including medical equipment and supplies at the clinic are being assessed to ensure safety for patients and staff.
