Newell-Fonda junior James Leeds featured on BVRMC art wall

James Leeds, a 17-year-old Newell-Fonda junior with a family tie to Buena Vista Regional Medical Center, became the latest local artist featured on the hospital’s community art wall, a display set just inside the main entrance and down the south hallway.

Leeds is the son of Jess Leeds, who works as an operating room supervisor at BVRMC. That connection gives the display more than decorative value. It places a student from Newell-Fonda School in a highly visible space inside one of the county’s most important institutions, where patients, families and staff pass through every day.

The hospital has used the area artist display wall as a way to connect its medical mission with the wider community. BVRMC says its purpose is to make people feel “safe, cared for and connected,” and describes patients as “friends and neighbors.” The art wall fits that identity by turning a hallway near the front entrance into a place where local talent is recognized, not just a corridor on the way to an appointment or visit.

Leeds’ own interests line up with that idea of everyday community life. He said his favorite subjects are shop class, welding and physical education. He also likes taking photos of sunsets and vehicles, and he said he would like to work as a photographer. If he could choose any job, he said he would want to be a police officer.

BVRMC’s display wall has become a recurring feature rather than a one-time project. The hospital has highlighted new artists on the wall in multiple years, including 2021, 2022, 2024, 2025 and 2026. That long pattern suggests a standing effort to bring student work and local creativity into the hospital setting, giving the public a reason to look twice at the space.

The art wall also sits within a larger institutional story. BVRMC traces its roots to a 1945 gift from George G. Schaller to build a hospital in Storm Lake. The first patient was admitted to the new Buena Vista County Hospital in 1951, and the facility became Buena Vista Regional Medical Center in 2001. Today, BVRMC says it employs 400 people from 47 different communities.

The hospital is also expanding its footprint. On April 22, BVRMC announced plans for a new approximately 30,000-square-foot medical office building, with construction expected to be completed in 2027. The project will bring together UnityPoint Clinic Family Medicine providers and the BVRMC Pharmacy, reinforcing the hospital’s role as both a care center and a community anchor in Storm Lake and across Buena Vista County.