MercyOne Ottumwa closed in February. MercyOne South Des Moines will close in June. Now a federally qualified health center in Centerville is closing this July citing the declining sustainability of rural health services.
A federally qualified health center serving Appanoose County and surrounding communities will close its doors this summer, adding to a pattern of rural healthcare contraction across southeastern Iowa.
River Hills Community Health Center announced that its Centerville clinic will close July 31, citing financial and operational challenges facing rural healthcare providers across Iowa and the nation, Ottumwa Radio first reported. The closure comes less than two weeks after the organization announced it would also close its Richland Dental Clinic in Keokuk County, which it attributed to cuts in insurance funding nationwide.
“For many years, the Centerville clinic has served as an important access point for care in Appanoose County and surrounding communities,” CEO Joy Alexander said in a statement. “We recognize the impact this closure may have on our patients, staff, and community partners.”
According to its website, the clinic provided women’s health and family planning, behavioral health, pediatric, and medical services.
River Hills is one of 14 federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) in Iowa and part of a national network of nearly 1,400 such centers that serve medically underserved communities. The organization said the closure reflects mounting pressures including workforce shortages, rising operational costs, and reimbursement challenges.
Unlike private clinics, federally qualified health centers are required by law to serve all patients regardless of their ability to pay, making them a critical safety net for low-income and uninsured residents in rural and urban areas. When one closes, there is typically no equivalent replacement—private providers can turn away patients that FQHCs cannot.
The Centerville closure is part of a pattern of medical facility closures in Iowa. In February, MercyOne shut down its Ottumwa Family and Internal Medicine clinic, leaving patients in a city of roughly 25,000 without a primary care option and directing them to the nearest MercyOne clinic in Centerville—about 50 minutes away. MercyOne has also announced it will close its South Des Moines Family Medicine and Urgent Care locations on June 26.
MercyOne’s clinic in Centerville, which offers emergency care, remains open and may be a good option for patients who will need to transition care from the closing River Hills facility.
In its announcement of the South Des Moines closures, MercyOne cited “the expected Medicaid cuts” as a factor that made the closures “difficult but necessary.” The closures follow US Rep. Zach Nunn’s vote to cut nearly $1 trillion in Medicaid funding. Nunn told WHO13 last July that rural hospital closures were a “myth.” The Ottumwa clinic closed seven months later.
Nunn’s reelection campaign did not immediately return requests for comment.
This midterm election, Nunn is on the ballot against challenger Democrat Sarah Trone Garriott. Following the closure she said in a statement, “Health care should be easier to get and easier to afford, not farther away and more expensive. In Congress, I’ll work to protect Medicaid, lower health care costs, and make sure Iowa families can get care in their own communities.”
The closures come as Iowa is already struggling with healthcare access. Iowa has the fewest OB-GYNs per capita of any state, according to data from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and ranks 44th nationally for physicians per capita, according to the Iowa Medical Society. The state has the fastest-growing rate of new cancers in the country and no hospitals that earned a top safety grade from the Leapfrog Group in fall 2025. Iowa has also ranked last among all states and Washington D.C. for the number of state psychiatric beds per capita, according to the Treatment Advocacy Center.
River Hills said it will assist patients through the transition, including helping transfer medical records, coordinating referrals to alternative providers, and supporting prescription transitions. Patients with questions can contact the clinic at 641-683-5773 or visit the River Hills website.
Iowa Starting Line has reached out to River Hills CEO Joy Alexander, Appanoose County officials, and Centerville city officials for comment. This story will be updated as responses are received.
