RNP Sytsma will take ownership of Colfax Medical Associates

Colfax Medical Associates has once again avoided closure after the clinic’s nurse practitioner Lisa Sytsma announced Friday she would be purchasing the business from Dr. Greg Ingle or Prairie City.

The handover will be official Aug. 28. Ingle announced July 26 he is selling his medical practice to Pella Regional Health Center. This includes his clinic in Prairie City.

One of the hospital system’s interests in Ingle’s clinics are referrals and the revenue they generate. Sytsma said she wants her practice to remain independent and during the process of the sale, Pella Regional decided it was not interested in purchasing Colfax Medical Associates, which Ingle has owned since Skiff Medical Center disbanded its rural NewCare clinics four years ago.

Ingle addressed the Colfax sale in letter sent to his patients last week.

his patients last week.

“With (Lisa Systma’s) assumption of ownership, it is our belief that the clinic will achieve the ability to develop and grow in its service to the Colfax community,” Ingle wrote. “Having come from this area and worked in the clinic for some time, Lisa is familiar with what it takes to provide medical care in rural Iowa. ... Colfax should feel blessed to have Lisa Sytsma as part of their community.”

The Prairie City physician said he does not intend to retire at this time, and he and Dr. Heidi Wintermote will continue to practice with the same hours at the Prairie City location but operated by Pella Regional.

In an interview Friday, Sytsma also spoke highly of the Prairie City doctor who she’s worked with for nearly a year.

“I’m worried that people are thinking we’re not getting along,” she said in light of the restructuring. “That’s not the case. He’s been very supportive.”

Sytsma is a Prairie City native who currently lives in Bondurant. The registered nurse practitioner joined Ingle’s practice in fall 2016, after the Colfax clinic’s former RNP left the practice. She was informed Friday the clinic was approved for a small business loan by the board at First State Bank of Colfax, which was the final obstacle in the purchase.

“The people here pulled at my heart strings,” she said. “I couldn’t walk away.”

Once word began to spread about Ingle selling his Prairie City clinic to Pella Regional, Sytsma said there were concerns the Colfax clinic would once again shut its doors. Phone calls prompted Ingle to send the letter to his patients.

Sytsma began discussing the sale of Colfax Medical Associates with Ingle about two months ago. Since leading the family practice clinic, Sytsma said about 30 patients have returned, which she believes bodes well for the clinic’s chances of success. She contracted a private consulting firm to explore a purchase, paid for through an anonymous $500 donation from one of her patients.

Sytsma said the clinic will remain family practice and offer the same medical services, but she plans to add joint injections, platelet rich plasma infusions and more cosmetic procedures such as BOTOX and chemical peals to help reduce some of the Colfax clinic’s debt.

Contact Mike Mendenhall at mmendenhall@jaspercountytribune.com