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Decorah, IA

Winneshiek County residents have access to the best in medical care from the beginning to the end stages of life and for every health issue in between. And it’s all available right here.

Winneshiek Medical Center and Decorah Clinic Physicians
Winneshiek Medical Center is dedicated to providing quality and compassionate primary care, inpatient and outpatient services, diverse local medical specialties, and multi-disciplinary health programs. It traces its history back to the early 1900s, when Reverend Paul Koren, a minister at Washington Prairie Church, was intent upon establishing a hospital in Decorah. Koren raised $25,000 in donations, and the resulting Decorah Hospital opened its doors in 1914. Today it is recognized as one of Solucient Top 100 Hospitals.

That facility has evolved through several name changes, and today it serves the community by providing a wide range of care options for patients. Hospital departments include expanded surgical services, same-day services, rehabilitation and sports medicine, home health and hospice, and many others. Additionally, orthopedics; urology; and ear, nose, and throat care are now available locally to patients. Internal medicine specialists work in partnership with the hospital’s new Special Care Unit.

As a result of continued growth in outpatient care, Winneshiek Medical Center’s $13.2 million outpatient services -addition and expansion will be completed in the early summer of 2007. The project is creating an all-new emergency department, expansion to the same-day surgery area, a remodeling and expansion of the laboratory and radiology departments, and a common registration area for the medical center and clinic. Designed to accommodate the increased need for these resources, this state-of-the-art addition and expansion will advance the delivery of quality care and expanded health care services to the area.

Decorah Clinic Physicians, part of Mayo Health System, was formed in 2005 following the merger of Winneshiek Medical Center and Decorah Clinic. The clinic includes 15 physicians and two specialty providers: seven family-practice physicians; a general surgeon; an orthopedic surgeon; an ear, nose, and throat specialist; a urologist; an internal medicine physician; a psychologist; an audiologist; and a radiologist.

In addition to providing patient care and physician services, Decorah Clinic physicians provide medical leadership to Winneshiek Medical Center. Mayo Clinic and Mayo Health System also offer management services to the medical center as part of this relationship. The partnership between Decorah Clinic Physicians and Winneshiek Medical Center helps strengthen health care in Decorah by providing coordinated care for patients while maintaining local ownership and governance of medical center operations. It also allows for the continued expansion of services and technology so patients can receive the care they need locally.

Decorah Clinic Physicians provide primary care outreach to Mabel Clinic in Mabel, Minnesota, and Luther College Health Service in Decorah, Iowa, as well as specialty outreach in Cresco, New Hampton, Oelwein, and Waukon, Iowa.

For more information, call 563-382-2911.


Gundersen Lutheran - Decorah Clinic
Gundersen Lutheran provides comprehensive care to residents throughout the Decorah region. The new Gundersen Lutheran - Decorah Clinic, located on Highway 9, offers relaxing waiting areas, spacious patient care areas, and access to a wide array of medical services in one convenient location. The facility includes Gundersen Lutheran’s Decorah medical, podiatry, and eye clinics, in addition to visiting specialists from LaCrosse, Wisconsin. A highly qualified hometown medical team is dedicated to providing comprehensive medical care to our patients.
Medical services include prenatal and obstetrical care, well-baby and well-child care, treatment of illnesses and injuries, management of chronic medical conditions, and general surgery services. In addition, the facility offers urgent care; an expanded laboratory; radiology, mammography, ultrasound, mobile MRI, and mobile bone-density testing; laser skin treatments and hair and vein removal; cardiac stress testing; and behavioral health services.

As part of Gundersen Lutheran’s commitment to provide “quality care, close to home,” many Gundersen Lutheran specialists travel to Decorah to provide services on site. These include audiology, cardiology, dermatology, neurology, oncology, and obstetrics and gynecology.

Comprehensive medical eye services are also offered at Gundersen Lutheran’s Decorah location, including routine eye exams; contact lenses and glasses selection, fittings, and service; medical eye care and disease management; laser vision correction consultation; and emergency eye care. In addition, Gundersen Lutheran ophthalmologists see patients on an outreach basis in Decorah. They provide specialty and surgical eye care, including local cataract surgery.

The Podiatry Clinic offers services, such as treatment for foot and ankle injuries and deformities. In addition, diabetic foot care, wound care, and treatment of heel pain are also provided.

The Al and Pauline Weis Health Resource Center, a satellite of the Gundersen Lutheran - LaCrosse Health Resource Center, is stocked with health resource materials and computers providing access to both the Web and Gundersen Lutheran’s extensive health information library. This wonderful resource for the whole community was made possible through a generous donation from the Weis family.