Audubon County Memorial Hospital and Clinics (ACMH) recently welcomed members of Congressman Randy Feenstra’s staff, including Abby Vander Werf, District Director and Beau Solberg, Legislative Assistant. The staff members represented both Congressman Feenstra’s Iowa district office and his Washington, D.C., office.
U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra (R-Hull) represents Iowa’s 4th Congressional District.
During the visit, Vander Werf and Solberg met with ACMH’s Callen Weispfennig, CEO, Melanie Larsen, COO, and Penny Lingle, Clinic Director.
The visit focused primarily on ACMH’s Rural Health Clinics and the important role they play in providing accessible healthcare to residents throughout Audubon County. Weispfennig and Lingle provided a brief tour of Audubon Family Health Clinic, discussed the services offered at both ACMH Rural Health Clinics (Audubon Family Health Clinic and Exira Medical Clinic) and shared the opportunities and challenges facing rural healthcare.
“We were excited to open our doors, share our facilities, and introduce Congressman Feenstra’s team to the work our staff does every day to care for rural Iowans,” said Lingle. “More importantly, the visit gave us an opportunity to have a meaningful conversation about the challenges and opportunities facing rural healthcare from 340B and rural health transformation to strengthening rural health clinic services, EMS, and patient transportation. Having policymakers understand what these issues look like on the ground is incredibly valuable.”
Visits like this provide an important opportunity to showcase what rural healthcare looks like every day, what is working, where challenges remain, and what communities need to maintain strong local healthcare for the future.
ACMH is proud to have welcomed Vander Werf and Solberg and appreciates the opportunity to continue building relationships with local representatives and policymakers while advocating for the healthcare needs of rural Iowa communities.
