campinh news

SIOUX CENTER � Stephanie Aguilar�s interest in health care was kindled by the biology aspect of how the body works and breaks down. But her interest spread during college from a focus on the medical aspect to an understanding of how social problems can be the root cause of many illnesses. Stephanie Aguilar has assumed her position as a family planning coordinator and outreach specialist for Promise Community Health Center in Sioux Center. She enjoys exploring the social aspects of health care to better care for patients who come into the health center. �It was much more interesting understanding where a person comes from � from their family and their culture � and studying the factors that lead to poverty, which is the No. 1 cause of health problems everywhere,� she said. �I just felt that I gained a lot more by understanding where this person comes from and then being able to treat them as a whole and not just focus on their illness. Stepping out and seeing the whole picture of why th...

SIOUX CENTER � Not all crime victims will give Family Crisis Centers a call or walk up to its doors to receive the help that they need. So the Sioux Center-based agency is taking its victim advocate services to where people from vulnerable populations may already feel comfortable going for care. Family Crisis Centers and Promise Community Health Center personnel discuss logistical details about their new partnership. FCC will place a victim advocate at Promise, starting Aug. 1, in an effort to expand its reach to vulnerable people in northwest Iowa. Pictured are (from left) FCC executive director Shari Kastein, Promise executive director  Nancy Dykstra, Promise chief financial officer Amy Kleinhesselink, FCC project director Alison Hofmeyer and FCC victim advocate Kelsey.  Family Crisis Centers and Promise Community Health Center of Sioux Center have forged a partnership to place a full-time victim advocate in the health center � which has succe...

SIOUX CENTER � Tysa Lloyd was steered into her life�s work as a dental assistant through a career placement quiz taken during high school. Lloyd, who has five years of experience working as a dental assistant, started in that role at Promise Community Health Center in Sioux Center last week. Tysa Lloyd assumed her role as a dental assistant at Promise Community Health Center last week. She discovered her interest in the vocation after taking a career placement quiz in high school. �I never thought about doing that, but that popping up on the quiz really interested me in looking more into it, and I found it to be a good match,� she said. �It helps people, and that�s something that I always wanted to do.� Lloyd grew up in Sheldon and graduated from Sheldon High School in 2009. She took general classes for a year at Western Iowa Tech Community College in Sioux City before earning her dental assistant certification while working 2011-13 at Siouxland Dental Health in Sioux City. She then s...

SIOUX CENTER � Alejandra Due�as always found the receptionists at Promise Community Health Center in Sioux Center to be �really nice and willing to help� when she came in as a patient. Therefore, she�s glad to now have the opportunity to fill that role. Alejandra  Due�as looks forward to helping people in her new role as a receptionist at Promise Community Health Center in Sioux Center. Alejandra began serving as a new receptionist at Promise last week. �I�ve always been the type of person that likes to help out when I can, so I think this position will be a great opportunity to do that,� she said. Alejandra was born in Chico, CA, but lived most of her life in Hull. She graduated from Boyden-Hull High School in 2012. Before starting at Promise, she worked previously at Natural Food Holdings in Sioux Center and Dakota Treats in Hawarden. She is excited to be part of a �great organization.� �I think Promise is a great organization because they provide a lot of resources and opportu...

Rebecca Hooyer, dental hygienist for Promise Community Health Center, cautions people who work outside about the danger of skin cancer on the lip. She recommends the use SPF chapstick. by Rebecca Hooyer, dental hygienist Summer is a busy time for our farmers and anyone who works outside. How many, though, are using Sun Protection Factor (SPF) chapstick? I can think of very few men. However, using SPF chapstick can help prevent a dangerous, rarely talked about problem: skin cancer. To be more specific, skin cancer on the lip. The bottom lip is exposed to more sun than the top lip and can be a site for either basal cell carcinomas or squamous cell carcinomas. It is more likely to appear in fair-skinned men over 50 years old who spend a lot of time outdoors. It is quite treatable if caught early. One should look for sores in or around the mouth, especially on the bottom lip, that do not heal within a couple weeks. The earlier it is caught, the better. There is a greater risk for people wh...

SIOUX CENTER � Bert Van Batavia loves riding open country roads or trails on his bicycle. The 72-year-old man who farms between Hull and Boyden logs 50-60 miles in a typical week during the bicycling season. Bert Van Batavia, 72, who farms between Hull and Boyden, plans to ride again in Promise Community Health Center's Wellness on Wheels Bicycle Ride on Saturday, June 4. He has ridden almost every year of the six-year event. He said you can see � and smell � so much more from a bicycle. He loves seeing the straight rows of corn, even the crooked ones. He enjoys the view of farm buildings and the scenery of rivers and rolling hills. He doesn�t even mind the wafting smell of a hog barn or cattleyard every once in awhile � this is Iowa, after all. And it�s a perfect time for him to reflect. �My thoughts are all to myself. I can almost even decide whom to vote for in the next election,� Van Batavia said with a chuckle. �That�s what I like.� He also rides bicycle for the cardiovascular...

SIOUX CENTER � Serving on the Promise Community Health Center Board of Directors wasn�t even on Lynn Rietema�s radar when she was approached by executive director Nancy Dykstra earlier this year about considering the role. In fact, when she saw that call come in from Promise, she thought it was a outreach staff member calling to ask if she could provide a patient a ride to the health center � as she often has done as a volunteer. But she decided to accept the invitation to serve in a new capacity as a board member. Lynn Rietema has begun serving on Promise Community Health Center's Board of Directors. She has a passion for helping people and reaching out to newcomers in the community. �To be quite truthful, sometimes I don�t have words to explain why I�m on this path,� Rietema said. �I�ve been walking through doors that have opened for me in the last few years on pure faith � basically following my heart, which sounds crazy and not very logical, but it is what it is. I think with ...