New clinic addresses women’s health issues

WILLIAMSBURG — After helping clients online for a year, Tilly Schmidt now has a storefront for her medical practice in Williamsburg.

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A North English Native, Schmidt spent 13 years earning health care degrees and certifications and 8 1/2 years providing women’s health care in Osage Beach, Missouri before returning to Iowa.

Schmidt earned a nursing degree with a minor in psychology from Mount Mercy University after high school. She earned a Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner degree online from the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha while working in labor and delivery at Truman Medical Center in Kansas City, she said.

Schmidt spent 8 1/2 years with Lake Regional Obstetrics and Gynecology in Osage Beach in Lake of the Ozarks.

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Schmidt also earned a medical coding certificate so she could code her own services, and she earned a family nurse practitioner degree so she can treat men, but she specializes in women’s health.

“I went to school for 13 years,” Schmidt said.

Schmidt’s husband, Brandon Van Dee, also from North English, works for Rockwell Collins in Cedar Rapids. He drove to Missouri on weekends to see Schmidt and their two children now 3 and 1 1/2, Schmidt said.

When working became difficult while breastfeeding her youngest, Schmidt began seeing her patients online. Telehealth also allows her to keep her patients in Missouri and Nebraska while living in Iowa.

“I started actually doing weight loss online,” said Schmidt, because some of the patients with hormone issues also had weight problems.

Schmidt moved to North English in May. She and her husband both have family still living there.

“I don’t do OB here … but I do everything else,” Schmidt said. She provides gynecology services, lobar biopsies, cervical biopsies, menopause and perimenopause care and birth control.

Many of Schmidt’s clients like her beauty services, she said. She provides Botox and offers micro-needling, which removes fine lines by restoring the elasticity of the skin, she said.

Schmidt isn’t associated with any larger health care organization, so she can keep her costs low. She charges only $55 for an office visit for acute care which treats sudden, severe health issues, such as injuries, illnesses or post-surgery recovery.

Schmidt dispenses medications such as antibiotics and Z-Paks for only $10.

“And I do IV therapy,” Schmidt said. Intravenous treatment can be used for hydration or to deliver vitamins. Schmidt is selective about her “banana bags,” which don’t contain aluminum as some do, she said.

Schmidt can provide lab services, complete blood count, thyroid tests and lipid panels, and charges only $10. “I make things affordable,” she said.

She can test for UTI, COVID and strep. “I can do all those swabs in house.”

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Health care seems to be just a number in larger facilities, Schmidt said. “We need to go back to treating patients and not numbers. Private practice allows us to do that,” she said.

Schmidt admitted that she has a lot of skill sets. “It’s nice because I don’t get bored.”

Schmidt started her weight-loss services after helping her sister, Jesse Axmear, lose weight. “[She was] kind of my little guinea pig,” Schmidt said.

Axmear encouraged Schmidt to help others lose weight through her professional practice, Schmidt said.

Willow Wellness is located just off the Williamsburg square, at 300 W. Welsh St. “I have people that walk in,” said Schmidt. People often have to wait several days to see their primary care physicians and have to visit the emergency room for acute care. That’s expensive, said Schmidt, so people visit her office instead.

Schmidt’s practice allows her to be home with her children when she needs to be. She’s expecting her third child around Christmas.

“I’m not open every single day,” said Schmidt, but she can provide telehealth services from anywhere, even in the evenings.

Willow Wellness is open Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Appointments can be scheduled online at willowwellness44.com/