The UnityPoint The Deer Creek Medical Center, 401 1st Ave., Toledo, will be closed and offered for sale following the July 8 merger with the UnityPoint Clinic in Toledo. Chronicle photos/John Speer

Toledo medical clinics operated by UnityPoint Health- Marshalltown and UnityPoint-Grinnell Regional Medical Center will combine services from one location starting on July 8. They will operate from the 1307 South Broadway clinic location of UnityPoint Health Family Medicine an announcement from UnityPoint-GRMC and UnityPoint Health, Marshalltown says.

The 401 S. 1st Avenue UnityPoint-Deer Creek location will close and be sold.

They will be operated as UnityPoint Health Family Medicine Tama/Toledo.

“Marshalltown and Grinnell will remain as separate hospital operations,” Leah Van Rees UP-GRMC Marketing Communications Specialist told The Chronicle. “In this instance, we had “competing” UnityPoint Health clinics in the same service area, We mutually agreed that Marshalltown was the best UnityPoint Health facility to own / operate the clinic in the Tama County region.

All employees at both locations are being retained in the merger. Van Rees said the three physicians, Polly Hineman, DO, Sherry Parks, PA-C, and Melissa Pearson, ARNP will continue to serve patients.

The UnityPoint Health Family Medicine Clinic at 1307 S. Broadway will continue to operate upon the merger with the Deer Creek Health Center on July 8.

“The Deer Creek building will be listed for sale,” Van Rees said. ” While the Deer Creek facility is newer, it would have required a much larger IT infrastructure investment” she said in answer to what decided which clinic building would be used.

A spokesperson for both the Grinnell and Marshalltown hospitals praised the joining of forces.

“We are pleased to announce this merger,” said Kyle Wilcox, vice president of finance and operations at UnityPoint Health – Grinnell Regional Medical Center in a press release issued on June 13. “Merging the clinics will enable UnityPoint Health to bring high-quality, compassionate care to our communities from one convenient location.”

“The merger of our clinics will allow us to better serve our patients,” says Shari King, vice president of operations at UnityPoint Health Marshalltown. “Our physicians and clinical staff are skilled in providing exceptional primary care and will continue to do so as a larger clinic team. Existing patients will still get the same great care-nothing is changing except welcoming the Deer Creek Family Care team and patients to our shared location.”

According to the news release three full-time physicians provide primary care medicine to patient at the merged location. Physical therapy services are also offered.