Mercy Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center - Kathryn Ann Meinders Digestive Health Institute

Why Choose the Mercy IBD Center?

At Mercy Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center, our care team is solely focused on treating IBD, so we understand how this condition affects many aspects of your life. That’s why we build treatment goals around your schedule and lifestyle.

We offer medical guidance you can understand and ongoing monitoring for more advanced treatments. We also offer additional support with nutrition, medications, infusions and education.

Communication is an essential part of our care strategy, which is why we discuss any treatment plan with your primary care doctor first. For added convenience, we also offer telemedicine visits and access to breakthrough clinical trials when available. 

Newly Diagnosed: First 90 Days

A new IBD diagnosis can feel overwhelming. But we’re here to help you understand what your diagnosis means, what tests you need and what care decisions matter most. Our team is specifically trained to meet your needs and available to chat through the MyMercy app between care visits.

Early care focuses on confirming your diagnosis, treating active inflammation, reviewing preventive care and giving you a clear plan forward. Our goal is to help you avoid complications such as surgery, ER visits or hospitalization. 

Treat-to-Target Care

Treat-to-target care means setting shared goals and using all tools at our disposal to guide decision-making. These tools include lab work, imaging and endoscopies to manage disease control and help you regain your quality of life.

Our shared goals begin with working together toward fewer symptoms and complications, less inflammation, repaired bowel lining and a return to usual activities. We accomplish this through planned check-ins and consistent monitoring. 

Flare Support and Rapid Reassessment

A flare means bowel symptoms have returned or become worse. Symptoms don’t always mean IBD inflammation is active. Sometimes they can be caused by infection, medication side effects or conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).

Our team is ready to answer all the questions you have, provide quick guidance and adjust your treatment plan to fit your needs and lifestyle. Avoiding emergency room visits and hospital stays is our top priority. 

Advanced Therapies and Medication Support

IBD treatments have advanced quickly. Newer, targeted medicines can reduce inflammation and help keep you in remission. The best option for you depends on your disease, past treatments, ongoing health conditions, safety needs, pregnancy plans and personal preferences.

Before beginning any new therapy, we take time to explain what it may help with, common risks and side effects, how it’s given and what monitoring is needed. We understand access to medications is crucial, and we have a dedicated staff member to help with medication approvals, reducing your out-of-pocket costs. 

Nutrition and Food

There’s no one diet that’s right for everyone. Your nutrition plan should be personalized to your body’s unique needs. You may benefit from additional nutrition support if you experience: 

If you’re having active symptoms, short-term food changes may provide some relief. But over time, your goal will be to get enough nutrition from foods you can tolerate. This includes consuming fresh fruits and vegetables and limiting highly processed foods.

Education and Care Coordination

Living with IBD can mean managing medications, tests, infusions, and preventive care between visits. If you have any questions, our coordinated team can help you know who to reach out to and what to expect so you can plan accordingly. To help streamline your care, our team will: 

Mental Health and Whole-Person Care

Inflammatory bowel disease can negatively affect your mood, sleep, body image, social life and confidence. Stress doesn’t cause IBD, but stressors like anxiety and depression can make living with a long-term illness like IBD that much harder.

If you ever feel like you need mental health support, we’re here for you. You’re welcome to talk with us about coping strategies, healthy sleep habits, activity, behavioral health and social support. These are all important parts of your overall well-being. 

Pregnancy and Life Stages

If you’re pregnant or thinking of becoming pregnant, IBD shouldn’t get in your way. But it’s important to plan early, because controlling your disease before and during pregnancy is crucial.

To help you navigate this time in your life, we coordinate regularly with your OB/GYN. Together, we’ll review your medications and provide nutrition guidance to keep you feeling your best both throughout and beyond your pregnancy.

We also support teens and young adults moving into adult care, adults balancing work and caregiving responsibilities and older adults whose medication and monitoring needs may change over time. 

Surgery and Postoperative Care

Surgery can be an important part of managing your ongoing IBD care. If surgery is ever needed, we’ll work directly with our colorectal surgery team to outline goals, support your recovery and plan a follow-up schedule.

For Crohn’s disease, medication and monitoring after your surgery may help lower the chance that inflammation returns. Your individual care plan will be based on your disease history and any surgical findings. 

Clinical Trials and Research

Participating in a research study gives eligible patients a chance to try investigational treatments and help improve future IBD care of others. Before you enroll, we’ll be sure to discuss risks and benefits, time commitment and costs. Available studies will be shared only when we’re actively enrolling patients. 

Frequently Asked Questions

Complete Digestive Health Care

Mercy’s complete digestive health care program gives you access to: 

Over time, many people with inflammatory bowel disease learn how to manage symptoms and live life to the fullest. At Mercy, we look forward to helping you find the key to regaining a higher quality of life with our compassionate care and exceptional service.