Dr. Reyes Joins Emergency Department

Grinnell Regional Medical Center welcomes Pascuala C. Reyes, DO, to the emergency department. She will begin serving in rotation for the night shift beginning in March. Reyes joins John T. Bambara, MD, DC, emergency department medical director; Patrick J. Cogley, MD; Clayton A. Francis, MD; and Stephen M. Ellestad, DO, providing 24-hour physician coverage for area residents.

Reyes brings 20 years of experience to the GRMC emergency staff, including bilingual communication for the growing diverse population. She has been in the DeWitt and Clinton, Iowa, area serving in level 3 and 4 emergency departments and clinics since 2000.  Prior to that, she was in private family practices in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. She also served four years in a family practice clinic in Shenandoah during her tenure with Nebraska Medical Center Clarkson Hospital, based in Omaha.

Reyes earned her medical degree from the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, Philadelphia, Penn. A portion of her residency was completed at a high risk obstetric program at University of California Los Angeles Medical Center. She also served at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Shadyside Hospital for her residency. Advancing her training, Reyes completed a Heritage Foundation Health Policy Fellowship in Athens, Ohio.

“We’re extremely pleased to welcome Dr. Reyes and the breadth of her experience to GRMC,” says Todd C. Linden, GRMC president and CEO. “She has a warm and assuring manner that will benefit our patients when facing a health crisis in our emergency department.”

Reyes admits this is a strength for her style of practice. “At the time a physician meets a patient in a crisis, you share their experience of great need. It’s like a mission to me. I want to have an impact on the patient during a crisis to make the situation better, even if that is accepting the loss.”

This passion to help in a crisis stems from the influences of Reyes’ grandmother. “She was the nurturing caretaker for the family. She actually took care of everybody around us. It was her influence that led me to a medical profession,” says Reyes.

Reyes’ life experiences span the spectrum. She moved to the rural areas of Long Island, New York, at the age five, after emigrating with her family from Dominica Republic. She attended St. John’s University in Jamaica, NY. She traveled to Nebraska with her husband who was attending Creighton University to become a physician.

Reyes has two grown daughters attending college in Florida. With her move to GRMC, she will fill her free time training for a triathlon. She’s completed a marathon and ran the Quad-City Times Bix 7 last summer in Davenport.

“We have an outstanding and fully staffed emergency department team. Dr. Clayton Francis, long-time family practice physician in the area, joined the emergency department in February. With these new providers and all the extraordinary emergency nurses and staff, we are confident in our team to handle any and all emergency medicine needs at GRMC,” Linden says.