Stewart Memorial Community Hospital (SMCH) in Lake City welcomes a new board-certified general surgeon, Rick Unger, D.O. Unger will be covering the needs of patients at the hospital while Dr. Cheney is on leave. “As Stewart Memorial continues to support the mission work of Dr. Cheney, we are excited to continue to provide high quality surgical care through coverage by Dr. Rick Unger,” says CEO, Cindy Carstens. “Dr. Unger’s practice style is very similar to Dr. Cheney as they both worked together at Mid Iowa Surgery. We are committed to providing the same coordinated care that our patients now experience with Dr. Unger during Dr. Cheney’s leave.” The surgical services Unger will supply include laparoscopic, gynecological, endoscopy, tissue and breast, colon cancer, gall bladder, hernia repair and many others. Unger graduated from A.T. Still University in Kirksville, Mo. and completed his residency in St. Louis at Deaconess Hospital. He practiced medicine in Iowa and now travels throughout the United States providing surgical coverage in rural, critical access hospitals. “I get the chance to meet new people, see different parts of the country and learn new ways of doing things,” Unger says.