The University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics’ Iowa River Landing Clinic opened its doors to the public on May 9 to showcase a new facility.

Clinic doctors hope the clinic’s new fifth floor will help patients get through sensitive procedures as quickly and as comfortably as possible.

The new floor opened fewer than three years after the grand opening of the clinic, said Rami Boutros, a clinical professor of pediatrics at the clinic.

“It’s really amazing what we’ve been able to accomplish in such a short amount of time,” Boutros said. “We’re very excited to have it open, and I think it will really allow us to better serve our patients.”

The level will be dedicated to sensitive procedures such as colonoscopies and ob-gyn care.

“It’s set up to allow patients a streamlined visit,” Woodward said. “We don’t have TV screens anywhere but the consulting rooms, because our philosophy is that no patient should be here long enough to need to watch a TV. We want to get them in and out as quickly as possible.”

The consulting rooms are multipurpose.

“Patient comfort was our No. 1 goal when we designed this floor,” said Woodward. “The consulting rooms can also be used as a waiting room if people have small children with them and they want some privacy.”

Doctors expect that the minimalist, streamlined approach of the new floor will help bring in people in need of the sensitive care that the floor will provide, said David Elliott, a UI professor of gastroenterology.

“No one likes coming in and getting these procedures done,” he said. “But they’re important, even though they’re uncomfortable. Colon cancer kills thousands of people each year in the United States, and many of the cases are because people didn’t feel comfortable going in to get checked.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an average of 50,000 Americans die each year from colon cancer.

“Hopefully, the ease of access this facility provides will be an incentive for people to come and get tested,” Elliott said. “Something as simple as digestive problems could really be something much more serious, like colon cancer, that’s why it’s so important we make people feel as comfortable as possible when they come in.”