Hometown Advantage

When Steven Joyce finished high school in Sioux City, he was bound for greener pastures.



“When you are 18, you think you want to explore the world and certainly aren’t going to come back to your home town to live,” says Dr. Joyce. “Everybody wants to go bigger, somewhere with more things to do and see.”



After completing medical school at the University Iowa, Joyce trained in internal medicine and

pediatrics at the University of Rochester in New York. He married a woman from Menno, South Dakota and the couple settled in Rochester for four years. But as the Joyces’ family grew, they began to think about home.



“If you had asked me in 1988 if I would ever move back to Sioux City, it would have been a resounding no,” he says.



But the economic boost provided by companies like Gateway computers, as well as a growing number of entertainment and lifestyle options, strong schools, and a low cost of living convinced the Joyces to take a second look at the Sioux City area.



“I love practicing here,” says Dr. Joyce, who is now the Chief Primary Care Officer for Mercy Medical Center. “It’s a challenge to practice everywhere. More is asked of physicians than ever before. But here I have the satisfaction of knowing that many people like and trust me. That doesn’t exist everywhere, that bond.”



“Respect and cordiality are definitely benefits of practicing here.”