Isaac Lane Ipsan is a 12-year-old boy with a generous heart.A boy who thinks of others more than himself.

Deanna adds, “Initially, we see patients for medical needs.But, we’ve found a number of these patients could benefit fromcounseling to help them work through what is plaguing them.We can usually tell if someone is anxious or stressed, or ifsomeone is experiencing situational depression due to familyor other issues beyond their control. Sometimes they feeloverwhelmed or powerless.”

Because of the closecorrelation between physical andmental illness, psychiatrist AlanWhitters, MD, provides face-to-facepsychiatric consultations for patientsreferred to him by Mercy HealthPartners. Dr. Whitters is the Directorof Behavioral Services at MercyMedical Center. Dr. Whittersconducts an initial evaluation. Then,he and Deanna help match thepatient with appropriate medicaland community resources for follow-up care.

“They told me depression iscommon with what I’m going through,” says Jeff. “Dr. Whittersunderstood right away when I told him I would cry over thesilliest stuff – like over things I can’t do with my grandchildrenbecause I can’t breathe and don’t have energy.”

Dr. Whitters prescribed a new medication and suggestedlifestyle changes, like outdoor walks, that have helped Jeff feel

better. Jeff was referred for ongoing outpatient treatment atthe Abbe Center for Community Mental Health.

“A number of patients seen in Dr. Archer’s clinic have anunderlying and/or primary mental health condition, whichcontributes to frequent visits to the ED and potential admissionsto the hospital,” says Dr. Whitters.

For example, he explains, people with depression may nottake care of themselves properly, sotheir nutritional, emotional and/orphysical needs are not met. Theymay turn to alcohol or drugs asshort-term solutions. This neglect orsubstance abuse can negativelyaffect their physical health.

Dr. Whitters says, “Anythingthat affects the body affects thebrain. When a person feels better,his or her immune system improvesand rates of disease are lowered.Studies show better treatment ofpsychiatric disorders improvesphysical state and decreases

medical utilization.”Mercy Health Partners is by referral and is appointment-

only. The clinic is one of the many ways Mercy is proactivelylooking for ways to ensure patients with chronic needs receivethe care they need from the appropriate sources.

Deanna GlassConsistent Care Social WorkerMercy Health Partners

“The clinic isabout long-termsolutions, notthe quick fix.”

Deanna GlassConsistent CareSocial Worker

Mercy Health Partners

To learn more about Mercy Health Partners,call (319) 221-8627.14 S U MM E R 2 0 1 4 www.mercycare.org THE MERCYtouch 15

JEFF GIANNETTO, 50, WAS THE FIRST PATIENT TO MEET WITH BRAD ARCHER, MD, AT THE MERCY HEALTH PARTNERS CLINIC. JEFF AND DR. ARCHER

WERE FEATURED IN AN APRIL 27 GAZETTE ARTICLE ABOUT CORRIDOR HOSPITALS THAT ARE FOCUSING ON BETTER ACCESS, LOWER COSTS AND

IMPROVED QUALITY FOR PATIENTS.

Reprinted with pe

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A boy who celebrates his birthday by givinggifts to others. A boy who is just the right rolemodel for the next generation of givers.

Like a lot of youths his age, Isaac oftenspends his free time on his phone or playingvideo games. But, unlike most people his age,Isaac also is focused on volunteering as muchas he can, explaining, “I just want to makeothers’ lives as goodas they can be.”

The RegisMiddle Schoolstudent contributedalmost triple thenumber of commu-nity service hoursrequired by his schoolthis year and receivedthe 2013 Outstand-ing Youth Volunteerof the Year Awardthrough United Way(he was nominated by one of his favorite non-profits, Young Parents Network [YPN]).Beginning at age 5, the Ipsans became veryinvolved with YPN. Isaac has served meals,helped at their annual Christmas parties, actedas one of the emcees at Broadway Maybies(YPN’s annual fundraising talent show), andhas helped with the agency’s We Care Shop(located in Mercy’s Sister Mary Lawrence

Community Center). Isaac also asks his friendsto donate a toy to the YPN Christmas partyinstead of bringing him a birthday gift (hisbirthday is Dec. 3).

Isaac says, “I started giving back at ayoung age. It just makes your heart feel reallygood. I don’t even remember when I firststarted – and I have a good memory!”

He inheritedthe “giving gene”from his parents,Rachel and MarkIpsan. That in-herited trait blos-somed the day hewas born – literally.When Rachel waspregnant with Isaac12 years ago, sheand Mark knewthey wanted theirbaby born at Mercy

Medical Center – just like they both were. So,when Rachel went into labor, Mark broughther to Mercy. A speedy delivery followed, butIsaac had swallowed amniotic fluid fromwithin the womb and was not breathing. Hewas whisked away to Mercy’s NeonatalIntensive Care Unit and was there nearly twoweeks due to low blood sugar, low bodytemperatures and jaundice.

“I just wantto make others’lives as goodas they can be.”

Isaac Ipsan

The NICU physician had a hunch Isaac’ssymptoms were related to his thyroid andreferred the Ipsans to an endocrinologist atUniversity of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics.Within two weeks of Isaac’s birth, he wasdiagnosed with hypopituitarism, a conditionaffecting his pituitary gland and thyroid. Hisbody wasn’t receiving the signals it neededto grow. Because it was recognized sopromptly, Isaac was able to receivetreatments sooner than most children with thecondition.

Out of gratefulness for the high-qualitycare Isaac received at Mercy’s NICU, Racheland Mark started a tradition of giving backeven before Isaac was aware of it. Rachelexplains, “We had his first birthday party andinvited both sides of the family (that’s a lot ofpeople!). We asked them to donate moneyinstead of giving a birthday present. We dothat every year now. Then, Isaac and I visitthe Angel Tree at Mercy and pick names ofkids. We use the money to buy and donatetoys.” The Angel Tree is an annual programsupported through the Mercy Auxiliary.

“Wanting to give back started very earlyfor me,” says Rachel. “I’m one of eight kidsand my parents instilled that very importantvalue. Because of Mercy and Isaac’s earlydiagnosis, we felt incredibly blessed and filledwith gratitude, and wanted to figure out away to show our appreciation.”

Mark notes that other members of theirfamilies now often do the same thing for theirchildren’s birthdays. He says, “Our hope isthat this continues through the generations.It will be great to see more and more kids payit forward.”

Together, Mark and Rachel have raiseda son who understands the joy of giving. Itreally is better to give than receive – justask Isaac.

16 S U MM E R 2 0 1 4 www.mercycare.org THE MERCYtouch 17

GRATEFUL FOR THE SPECIAL CARE ISAAC (NOW 12) RECEIVED AS A NEWBORN IN MERCY’S NICU,

RACHEL AND MARK ENCOURAGE HIM TO PARTICIPATE IN OPPORTUNITIES TO GIVE THROUGH MERCY,

IN ADDITION TO OTHER AREA ORGANIZATIONS.

To learn more about giving to Mercy, visitwww.mercycare.org /ways-to-give.