Health Care Professionals Find Rewarding Careers in Council Bluffs, IA

Daniel Johnson/Methodist Health System

Several high-quality health care organizations in Council Bluffs, IA, provide exceptional patient services and offer lifelong career opportunities for natives and newcomers alike. These include Methodist Jennie Edmundson Hospital, CHI Health Mercy Council Bluffs and All Care Health Center. Ahead, learn about some of the people employed by these facilities and why they enjoy where they work. 

Michelle Kaufman: “I love what I do” 

A Council Bluffs native, Michelle Kaufman says she always considered Methodist Jennie Edmundson Hospital a pillar of the community, so when she enrolled in radiography school and needed a part-time job at 19, she went to work there in medical records. 

Kaufman continued at Jennie Edmundson while in school for radiation therapy, progressing to a position in the X-ray Department, and moved to radiation oncology upon graduation. She’s spent her entire career at the hospital and now serves as service executive for radiation oncology. 

“I started here before I was married, before I had children, and now, my husband and I are empty nesters,” she says. 

There are many things that have kept Kaufman at Methodist Jennie Edmundson for 35 years. 

“I love what I do,” she says. “Oncology is a very rewarding and humbling field. We’re privileged to work with our patients and offer them care during their most vulnerable time. We’ve always had this sense of purpose and desire to move forward, providing the best care possible for our community.” 

Kaufman says that same focus on exceptional care for patients informs how the staff takes care of one another. 

“We work really well together, and our team mindset means the patient is the most important thing to us,” she says. 

Kristen Blum: “I’ve established my own family here” 

Serving CHI Health Mercy Council Bluffs as its new president marks a homecoming for Kristen Blum. 

“My first introduction to CHI Health was here at this hospital for a 12-week internship during my master’s program,” Blum says. “It was my first experience in a hospital, and it was a game-changer for me.” 

Blum says that project – with local nonprofits and public health entities focused on improving community health – was eye opening. 

“I saw this great marriage of the day-to-day operational side of the hospital, along with the investment and dedication to helping the community as a whole, which is very much part of CHI Health’s mission,” she says. 

She joined CHI Health upon graduation, holding a variety of roles within the system before returning to Mercy in 2024 as its president. 

“We’re a faith-based nonprofit, and that comes through with our care teams,” she says. “It also means looking outside our walls before people even come to us and asking how we can help people live healthier lives, or how we can get them back to living a healthy life after they’ve been in the hospital.”

Blum says working for CHI has been a special experience. 

“I’ve established my own family here,” she says.

“This is the community where we live, and I had all three of my children here, so it’s a special opportunity for me to be impacting how we provide care and what that looks like in the community where my own family and friends are receiving care.”

Jolynn Ahmann: “You get to truly help others” 

JoLynn Ahmann, pharmacy director for All Care Health Center, had worked in retail pharmacies for nearly 12 years before joining All Care Health Center in 2013. The Federally Qualified Health Center was building a new facility and expanding its operations to include pharmacy, which Ahmann helped establish.

“My goal was to expand my role into the clinic and help manage disease states with the providers,” Ahmann says. “I had always wanted to work more closely with patients, taking time to review and teach them about their medications and diseases. Providers don’t always get to spend a lot of time with patients, and I knew I could bridge this important aspect.”

All Care provides robust service options for the community. 

“We are kind of a one-stop shop for your health care,” she says. “We provide primary care, dental, behavioral health, pharmacy, access services and X-ray services.”

She says All Care serves patients regardless of insurance coverage or their ability to pay.

“The people you work for and with here genuinely care about you and your family,” Ahmann says. “But probably more important, you get to truly help others.”