The historic house located at the corner of Seventh Street and Mountain Avenue is now bright blue and belongs to Helen D. Iams, MD, MS. Landing in Berthoud was not a coincidence. Dr. Iams had been searching Colorado’s Front Range for a place to open her practice, New Paradigm Medical, P.C.

Originally hailing from Maryland and spending the last 14 years in Wyoming, Dr. Iams wanted to live and open her practice in a thriving community.

“I spent two weeks driving up and down the Front Range,” said Dr. Iams. “I liked the feeling of Berthoud. On one hand, it is growing but on the other, there seems to be an effort here to keep that small-town feeling and I just love that.”

Dr. Iams rented a farmhouse about 10 minutes from her downtown practice, making her feel part of the community. Slowly, through multiple coats of paint and shopping trips to lighting stores, she is transforming the former spa space into her integrated family and sports medicine practice.

Double board-certified in family medicine and sports medicine, Dr. Iams sees anyone over the age of two and boasts several Olympians among her sports medicine clients. Although, she stresses that a person does not have to be a professional athlete to utilize her sports medicine services.

“The patient who will get the most out of coming to me is the person who likes to learn and understand,” said Dr. Iams.

Her style is a bit unusual, from the homey reception office that features furniture from Mr. Thrift and Habitat for Humanity to the quirky layout of the patient rooms, Dr. Iams wants her patients to be comfortable.

She plans to see two patients per hour, which is atypical in today’s medical climate. Dr. Iams wants to “really talk to patients” and find out what is going on.

“My personal credo is to educate the patients,” she said. “I want them to be equal partners in this relationship so that they can make choices as to what they want to do with their health.”

Dr. Iams is a seeker. Always reading and researching, she comes from a science background and was originally a research chemist. However, she wanted to help people. When she went back to school and became a physician twenty-years ago, she knew this is where she should be.

“I get to help people have better lives and that’s as good as it gets,” she said.

She loves the variety that comes with a family practice, but at the same time, she loves the complexity of sports medicine. Offering both in one practice could be a real boon for Berthoud residents.

Dr. Iams calls her practice integrative, in part because she is an advocate for holistic medicine, and she looks forward to collaborating with acupuncturists, chiropractors and naturopaths. Having firsthand experience with the benefits of these therapies, Dr. Iams is not shy about looking toward these fields.

She plans to open her practice, New Paradigm Medical, P.C. at 509 Seventh Street April 1. The office can be reached at (970) 775-3517. Her website: www.newparadigmmed.com