MercyOne Elkader Medical Center named as Iowa Level IV Trauma Care Facility of the year

Elkader, Iowa; September 15, 2022 – MercyOne Elkader Medical Center was announced as the Iowa Level IV Trauma Care Facility of the Year. This honor is awarded to a Level IV Trauma facility based on for their policies, performance improvement practices, educational activities, and overall involvement with trauma initiatives around the state.

The announcement was made on September 9, 2022, at the State of Iowa Trauma & Preparedness Conference, where the Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) highlighted that although the MercyOne Elkader is small, it exemplifies the meaning of maintaining a successful trauma program. The Level IV Trauma program has had more than two decades of perfect and near-perfect state verification reports.

IDPH commended the Trauma Program Manager, Natalie Shea, who has demonstrated extraordinary leadership since the inception of Iowa’s trauma system back in 1999 and Trauma Medical Director, Dr. Jeffery Messerly, who has brought valuable experience to the facility and has continued the efforts of sustaining the strong program that his predecessor, Dr. Clark Williams established.

Also recognized for their contribution to the trauma center were the local EMS services, Emergency Department providers, ancillary departments and administrative team who contribute to the overall success of the program, which has progressively become more and more robust over the years.

CEO of the MercyOne Elkader Medical Center, Brooke Kensinger, thanked the colleagues at MercyOne Elkader for their hard work.

"When the team found out that they had won this award, they were so proud, thrilled and honored because they have put in a tremendous amount of effort into our trauma program. I want to thank Natalie who has been with us for over 42 years and has led the trauma program since its inception. I also want to thank Dr. Jeff Messerly and Dr. Clark Williams as well as our EMS Manager, Chris Dahlstrom, for their leadership and commitment over the past five years. Together, we have transformed the way that we provide care to patients in the emergency room and EMS settings,” she said.

President of the Eastern Iowa Region, Kay Takes commended the MercyOne Elkader organization for this well-deserved honor:

"The entire MercyOne Elkader team have done outstanding work to advance their trauma care and transport to the highest level. This is one of many recent awards MercyOne Elkader has received, a testimony to the team’s commitment to providing excellent care and service to the people of Elkader and Clayton County."