T-R PHOTO BY ROBERT MAHARRY —Iowa River Hospice Medical Director Dr. Timothy Swinton, left, and Executive Director Emily Carson, right, pose for a photo after Wednesday morning’s Caffeinated Conversations event held at the hospice house. IRH is celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2023.

When nurses Edie Avery, Paula Rutherford and Beth Weitzel first hatched the idea for Iowa River Hospice in the early 1980s, they wanted to build something from the ground up, and they wanted it to last.

“It’s not just a corporate hospice… It built itself. Iowa River Hospice really came from the community and from our community leaders,” current Executive Director Emily Carson said. “They started it, but it took a mountain of people and leaders to make it happen. It’s just evolved through the years, and when we see this is a community hospice, it was started by the community.”

IRH is celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2023, an important milestone for the organization and a testament to its continued commitment to Marshalltown and the surrounding communities. As Carson noted, all of the employees live within the 40-mile radius that comprises the service area, and Volunteer Coordinator Pam Wells is always looking for more ways to get involved locally.

“It’s our way of giving back, you know, our involvement in the community. All of our staff volunteer, and it’s our way of giving back to the community that supports us,” Wells said.

When it started, it was housed on Church Street with outpatient care only, but as demand for the services grew, leadership began to sense a need for a dedicated hospice house, which is now located at 502 Plaza Heights Rd. with a total of six beds. A large financial contribution from the estate of Mid Lander — along with a $2.1 million fundraising campaign — made it possible, and it officially opened on July 13, 2009.

Dr. Timothy Swinton, who has served as IRH’s medical director since 2000, said the organization’s mission is to care for people “in their own environment” with the Plaza Heights building as a supplement, which he calls “hospice at its best.” Within a few months of his arrival in Marshalltown in 1997, Swinton was meeting with the man who held the title before him, Dr. Milt VanGundy, and he knew he believed in what IRH was doing.

According to Swinton, attitudes toward hospice care have evolved over the years, and he, Carson and Wells all noted that while the field isn’t for everyone, it does provide a great sense of fulfillment and purpose for those who choose to work in it.

“It’s a pretty amazing way to look at it. In healthcare, we work a lot with traditions, so those things change. And now, it’s just a natural thought to providers,” he said.

As IRH Registered Nurse Conny Schutte explained, COVID-19 had a profound impact on hospice care because it lessened the amount of contact between staff, volunteers and the patients they go out of their way to provide comfort to, and they had to pull back social work and chaplain visits at the height of the pandemic as a safety precaution.

“I don’t think it changed our approach, and I know that’s hard for some people to understand, but even though we felt like we were somewhat handcuffed and it was kind of emotional for our staff, I know every single staff (member) that could go in did go in,” Schutte said. “I think we did an absolutely amazing job in a time where, really, nobody knew what the next day was going to bring. We came together as a team. We implemented our policies and procedures. We talked to public health officials… so that we could provide care in a safe manner for not only the patients but their families and our staff.”

Coming out of pandemic mode, Schutte added, has consisted of “baby steps,” but the availability of the vaccine and a general loosening of restrictions have helped IRH get back to something resembling normal.

“Now there’s that balance of wanting to live a ‘normal’ life but also still being safe and protecting our patients, our families and our staff,” she said.

As IRH looks forward to its next 40 years, Carson is hopeful that long after she’s retired, the organization’s core values will remain intact, and Swinton, who noted that hospice care is much more about life than death, is confident it will remain in good hands.

“What this is is just an organic outflow of what we’ve always wanted to do and what is natural. What we’ve done is kind of tap into an ancient wisdom,” Swinton said. “It’s not that we are so profound, it’s just that we appreciate the wisdom of the ages, and this is what works with our species. All of our hearts are DNA tuned into ‘We need a hug.’ You go through life, get your fenders dented up a lot, but at least, regardless of what your trip is like, you can be valued with dignity at the end.”

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Contact Robert Maharry at 641-753-6611 ext. 255 or rmaharry@timesrepublican.com.