03/05/2026
Elizabeth “Libby” Coyte, PA-C, epitomizes the impact that one person can have locally and nationally on improving access to medical care services, especially in medically underserved urban and rural communities. Libby advocated for legislative changes that improved access to medical care through better utilization of PAs [Physician Assistant's] skills and provided PAs representation on important regulatory and health policy agencies.
After graduating from PA school, Libby worked clinically thirty years in family medicine and oncology. In 1988, she joined with her husband, Ed Friedmann, also a PA, to reopen a closed medical clinic in Redfield, Iowa. It was the only clinic in the town. They reopened the clinic after agreeing to serve as its owners and converting it into a federally certified Rural Health Clinic (RHC). Libby assumed the role of office manager and worked there part-time as a PA until 2015; she continues as the clinic’s officer manager today.
Source: PA History Society
