UnityPoint Health–Des Moines and University of Iowa Partnership Spotlighted During Leadership Transition

Dr. Ken Cheyne

After 40 years of service in pediatric care, medical education and physician leadership, Dr. Ken Cheyne will retire on April 3, 2026. Dr. Cheyne played a pivotal role in shaping medical education in Central Iowa through his leadership at UnityPoint Health – Des Moines, including his service at Blank Children’s Hospital and most recently as Executive Director of the Des Moines Area Medical Education Consortium, Inc. (DMEC) and Assistant Dean of the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine branch campus in Des Moines. Upon his retirement, Dr. Tyler Schwiesow will assume both roles effective April 4, 2026. Dr. Schwiesow brings nearly two decades of clinical and academic leadership experience, including 19 years as a dedicated clinician with UnityPoint Clinic Central Iowa Hospitalists Group and 10 years as Program Director of the University of Iowa–Des Moines Internal Medicine Residency Program.

The DMEC is the only University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine branch campus in the state of Iowa, representing a long-standing collaboration between UnityPoint Health – Des Moines, Broadlawns Medical Center, the Veterans Administration Central Iowa Health Care System and the University of Iowa. Formally established in 1993 and accredited as an official branch campus by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education in 2008, the Consortium has provided community-based medical education to nearly 350 University of Iowa medical students, with 75 to 100 students rotating in Des Moines annually. This partnership strengthens Iowa’s physician workforce by delivering high-quality clinical training while helping retain future physicians in Central Iowa and across the state.