The fundamental purpose of the Family Medicine Rural Track Program in Pella is to educate physicians to practice in rural communities. The program is a cooperative venture between The University of Iowa Health Care and Pella Regional Health Center. The Pella Rural Track Residency admits graduated medical students and provides them with the opportunity to learn the skills, knowledge, and values necessary to be an excellent family physician practicing in a rural community.

Dr. Craig Wittenberg serves as on the on-site director of the rural program. Dr. Wittenberg and colleagues of the Pella Medical Clinic as well as staff physicians at the Pella Regional Health Center precept the rural track residents. The Pella Medical Clinic consists of family physicians, internal medicine physicians, gynecologist, and general surgeon. The clinic is supported through Pella Regional Health Center with state of the art services including an excellent medical imaging department, laboratory services, and specialty clinic with visiting physicians from medicine and surgical subspecialties.

Pella residents undertake a modified version of the Iowa City program's first-year curriculum. The Pella curriculum focuses on providing Pella residents with a firm grounding in the essential clinical skills of the major disciplines of clinical medicine. The Pella residents take advanced rotations in the first year to minimize the need to return to Iowa City during the second and third years of training. Once in Pella, residents participate in a curriculum designed to train physicians in the particular skills necessary for successful rural practice. This is accomplished by a mixture of block rotations, longitudinal experiences, and an intensive and focused clinical practice in the Pella Family Practice Clinic. The clinical practice is based in the offices of Pella Family Practice, a thriving family practice with offices on the campus of Pella Regional Health Center. Most of the specialist physicians in Pella have their offices at the same location, thus providing an excellent concentration of clinical and educational resources.

First Year Rotations (Iowa City)

• Introduction to Family Medicine – 1 month
• Family Medicine Inpatient – 2 months
• Behavioral Medicine – 1 month
• Cardiology– 1 month
• Intensive Care – 1 month
• Pediatric Outpatient Clinic – 1 month
• Pediatric NICU – 1 month
• Pediatric Developmental & Behavioral Clinics – 1 month
• Pediatric Inpatient – 1 month
• Ophthalmology – 2 weeks
• Surgery – 1 month
• Rheumatology – 2 weeks

Second Year Rotations (Pella)

• Pella Medical Clinic – 1 month
• Emergency Medicine – 1 month
• Family Medicine & Surgical Specialties – 2 months
• Family Medicine & Internal Medicine Specialties – 1 month
• General Internal Medicine Inpatient – 2 months
• Gynecology – 1 month
• Obstetrics – 3 months
• Orthopedics – 1 month

Third Year Rotations (Pella)

• Pella Medical Clinic – 1 month
• Family Medicine & Internal Medicine Specialties – 1 month
• General Internal Medicine – 1 month
• General Surgery – 2 months
• Gynecology – 1 month
• Orthopedics & Sports Medicine – 1 month
• Radiology – 1 month
• Electives – 4 months

Pella Regional Health Center

As a regional hospital for South Central Iowa, Pella Regional Health Center provides area residents comprehensive health care with state-of-the-art technology. The 153-bed facility (25 acute care and 128 long tern care), fully accredited by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, offers the following patient services: cardiac rehabilitation, CAT scans, echocardiograms, electrocardiograms, electroencephalograms, emergency room services, home health, hospice, laboratory, long-term care, nursing services, mammograms, obstetrics, occupational therapy, pharmacy, physical therapy, respiratory therapy, medical imaging (MRI and nuclear medicine), speech pathology, surgery (ENT, general, opthalmologic, orthopedic and urologic), and ultrasounds. Medical staff specialists in family practice, general surgery, internal medicine, pathology, radiology and urology. The medical office building, opened in 1996, provides space for family practice physicians, surgeons, internists and a urologist. More than 30 specialists also provide part-time services at the Pella Regional Health Center.

The Pella Medical Clinic is connected to the hospital, just a quick step away from medical imaging, laboratory, and rehabilitation services. The PRHC Medical Office building is home not only to the Pella Medical Clinic, but also to Specialty Clinics including general surgery, orthopedics, pathology, radiology and urology. Visiting physicians come to the Pella Regional Health Center regularly to provide medical services in allergy, cardiology, dermatology, endocrinology, nephrology, neurology, neurosurgery, obstetrics and gynecology, oncology, ophthalmology, otolaryngology, oral surgery, pediatrics, podiatry, psychiatry and vascular surgery Founded in the 1840s by Dutch immigrants, Pella is a community of 10,000 located 90 minutes west of Iowa City and 30 minutes southeast of Des Moines (Iowa's state capitol). Pella citizens proudly claim they have the best of both worlds, and with good reason. Pella has all the charm and hospitality of a small community but exudes all the drive and ambition of a metropolitan area. For further information about the Pella community, please visit:

www.pellahealth.org/ (Clicking here will bring up a new browser window. Please close window to return to the University of Iowa Family Medicine Residency program.)