Clinic gets back on track with new provider

Buffalo Center’s healthcare clinic has a new provider lined up to offer primary care, after a previous arrangement fell apart last month. Dr. Corey Welchlin of the Center for Specialty Care announces Kelly Lillie, ARNP of Forest City has signed on to serve the Buffalo Center clinic, and she expects to get started in January.

Lillie was born and raised in Forest City, where she says she grew up learning hometown values while working alongside her parents in their family hardware store, Hansen Hardware. She has worked for many years at hospitals and clinics in the area, including at Forest City, Britt, and Mason City.

She was originally interested in becoming a veterinarian, and after graduating from Forest City High School, she received a Bachelor’s Degree in Animal Science from ISU. She had second thoughts about veterinary school, and she came back to Forest City after college to help at the hardware store. A few years later, she decided to go back to school for nursing, thanks to the encouragement of her father, Philip.

Lillie went to NIACC to get her associate’s degree in nursing, graduating with honors, and her first healthcare job was at the hospital in Forest City. The hospital closed in 1992, and she had to figure out what to do next. She got a job at the clinic in Forest City, and then she worked at Mercy hospital in Mason City at the birth center.

She later found a new job back in Forest City, working as a workers’ compensation case manager at Winnebago Industries for a few years. “Then I just really missed being actively in the medical field,” said Lillie. She took a job as a nurse at the Britt hospital, and she was encouraged by someone on the staff there to go back to school and get her nurse practitioner degree. After her previous schooling, she needed just one more class to get her Bachelor of Science in Nursing, so she went to Allen College to complete that degree. She continued her education at Allen College to get her Master’s degree to become a nurse practitioner, while still working full-time at the hospital in Britt.

Once she graduated, she took a big step for her first job as a nurse practitioner by going to St. Mary’s hospital in Rochester, MN. She worked there in trauma and critical care, as well as general surgery. She says it was a good learning experience that got her out of her comfort zone, and she saw things that she’ll probably never see again.

Six months after starting that job, she stopped by the Britt hospital to get her flu shot, when she ran into the CEO of the hospital. “[He] was bird dogging me and asking when I was going to come back,” said Lillie. She was planning to stay at St. Mary’s, where the pay was good, but the Britt hospital offered her even more to come back. She took the offer to return to Britt, and she also worked in the emergency room there. She also had time to moonlight at other hospitals and emergency departments around the Midwest.

She had to take a year off in 2021 due to injuries, but then in 2022, she returned to work at the clinic in Forest City. She worked along Dr. Carlson and other staff she had worked with years earlier. Most recently, she worked at an urgent care facility in Mason City run by Premier Health. She says the urgent care closed on September 30, after being bought by MercyOne.

Lillie and Dr. Welchlin started talking about eight months ago about the possibility of her coming to Buffalo Center, after he got her name through a family connection. She was still under a contract with Premier Health at the time, but now she says she’s a free agent. “So, it’s like, all right, it’s time to help Buffalo Center and get the medical clinic back,” said Lillie.

Lillie brings years of experience in family medicine and acute care. She says she’d like to bring back a “good old, hometown medical clinic” to Buffalo Center. “We’re going to make it a good clinic,” said Lillie.

They’re working through the Lillie’s credentialing process now, and Dr. Welchlin says they’re looking to hold an open house in early January and hopefully have her start in Buffalo Center on January 20.

Welchlin hopes Buffalo Center may not have to wait quite that long to get a provider. He has another nurse practitioner, Amanda Guthmiller, who is completing her board exams, and he hopes to have her credentialled yet this fall. “The goal is to have both ladies working there,” said Welchlin. He says that will enable them to staff the Buffalo Center clinic five days a week.

“Medicine, as it should be, is built around primary care. That’s what Buffalo Center wanted more than anything else is primary care,” said Welchlin. He and Dr. Dodds from the Center for Specialty Care continue to see orthopedic patients in Buffalo Center, and Welchlin says he has a new surgeon starting soon, Dr. Clere, who is looking to get his Iowa license so he can see patients at the Buffalo Center clinic. Welchlin is also continuing to look for a physical therapist.

Dr. Welchlin thanks the community for their patience and support as they’ve worked toward finding the right staff for the clinic. “I think we have the right person with Kelly and with Amanda,” said Welchlin.

“I’m excited to come to the community. It’s a very nice community,” said Lillie. “The dangerous part is Weaver’s is right across the street, and I love that store.”

Kelly and her husband, Rick, are avid outdoorsmen who enjoy hunting and fishing together. She is an accomplished horsewoman and relishes her time in the outdoors. She has two adult children and four granddaughters, who she has gotten involved in her appreciation for nature and the outdoors. Her canines also play an important role in her life and are very much family members. She enjoys working with her dogs and participating in field trials and hunt tests. 

Lillie says she’s looking forward to bringing medical care back the deserving people of Buffalo Center and surrounding communities.