08/24/2026
It was great getting to know him! He was really fun to be around! Already looking forward to next year, after a much needed breather of course.
Dr. Matthew Bentz from Humboldt is chief resident for our Emergency Medicine Residency Program at Iowa Methodist Medical Center. But the past ten days he’s had a different title: Assistant Medical Director for the Des Moines Fire Department at the Iowa State Fair. Dr. Bentz volunteered for this role and has spent every day of the fair working alongside paramedics in the heat and crowds treating hundreds of patients for everything from dehydration to falls to allergic reactions to cardiac arrest.
Dr. Bentz says, “I felt immense professional pride in the collaborative efforts of the Des Moines Fire medics, fair administration and local law enforcement. It truly takes a unified, village-like approach to keep our community safe during such high-stress, high-traffic events as large as the Iowa State Fair.”
A spokesman for Des Moines Fire Department says having a UnityPoint Health ER doctor treating medical emergencies at the fair for the first time has greatly reduced the number of patients who had to be taken to the hospital for treatment.
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Image description: A group of firefighters stand in front of a building labeled "Health and First Aid Center" and a red tent with "Des Moines Department" printed on it. They are all smiling and pointing in various directions.
