PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER MercyOne Traer Family Medicine located at 200 Walnut Street in downtown Traer pictured on Monday, Nov. 24, 2025. MercyOne’s last day in the clinic building is slated for Tuesday, Dec. 9. The building, built in 1976, is currently owned by the non-profit corporation North Tama Medical Association Inc.

TRAER — Financial reasons lie at the heart of the latest MercyOne clinic closure, but that’s not stopping the owners of the clinic’s building in downtown Traer from working to recruit a new provider.

Prior to MercyOne’s outreach to patients regarding the closure of MercyOne Traer Family Medicine – made by emailed letter on Nov. 10 – Traer Mayor Pete Holden was contacted by MercyOne leadership.

“They did reach out,” Holden told the newspaper in a phone interview on Friday, Nov. 28. But he said when he asked MercyOne if there was anything the city could do to keep the clinic in operation, he was subsequently told the final decision had been made and it was “financial.”

“They said, ‘If you pay our $200,000 a year shortfall, then we’ll stay.’ I can’t believe they’re that bad of businessmen that they’re losing that much.”

On Friday, Nov. 21, Todd Mizener, public relations for MercyOne, confirmed to the newspaper in an email the Traer clinic would be closing, writing, “On December 10, we will transition care from MercyOne Traer Family Medicine to MercyOne Reinbeck Family Medicine. This provides patients in Reinbeck, Traer and surrounding communities with a fuller, stronger care team with more sustainable operations for the future.”

The clinic building is located at 200 Walnut St. on the west side of downtown, directly across Second Street from Hometown Foods. According to online real estate records, the building, built in 1976, is owned by North Tama Medical Association Inc which operates (DBA) under the name Mercy One. Information available through the Iowa Secretary of State’s online business repository indicates North Tama Medical Associates is a non-profit corporation formed in the fall of 1975.

While Holden declined to name the individuals behind the corporation, he said he had been in communication with the group.

“They’ve been faced with this before — having to switch providers around,” Holden explained. “The group is working quite hard at trying to find another provider to come in.”

As of press time, the clinic’s last day is set for Tuesday, Dec. 9. The newspaper reached out to several patients of the clinic for comment regarding the closure, including Jana Monat of Clutier who works as North Tama’s elementary school counselor. She and her husband Scott are the parents of four children.

“We do use the clinic and I am disappointed to hear that they are closing,” Monat said via a test-based exchange with the newspaper on Wednesday, Nov. 26. “I haven’t really thought about it more beyond that…I probably should…I think it’s sad for our town, because I’m sure that many people depend on it.”

Holden echoed Monat’s comments on Friday in his conversation with the newspaper, stating it was in the best interests of both the local people and area businesses, including NuCara Pharmacy, for a new provider to be recruited. He also remarked on the fact that the decision-making behind such closures — including the MercyOne clinic closure in Dysart earlier this year and in Gladbrook in the fall of 2023 — are being made by out-of-state entities, referencing MercyOne’s ownership by Trinity Health based in Livonia, Mich.

“I’m definitely unhappy about the situation,” Holden said. “I think it is a very bad business decision. I don’t think the powers that be in some state — not even around here — know us. They say the figures don’t look good, so they’re going to close it down. [But] they don’t consider [the local people] at all.”