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These professionals have turned their passion for medicine into thriving local businesses. See how they're leading the charge in health and wellness.
Bismarck Magazine is published four times a year and is complimentary. Copies are available across the Bismarck, Mandan and Lincoln communities or online at bismarck-magazine.com.
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LETTER
PUBLISHERS
Photo by Connor Picard
In Bismarck, business is more than just commerce—it’s community. It’s the small business owners who greet you by name, the local professionals who grew up here and chose to stay, and the innovators who combine expertise with heart to make our city stronger. In this special Business Issue of Bismarck Magazine, we are proud to spotlight the thriving medical professionals who not only heal but also lead as entrepreneurs.
Bismarck has always had a unique business culture—rooted in resilience, driven by relationships, and inspired by a deep sense of service. Nowhere is this more evident than in our medical community. This issue features a lineup of local healthcare leaders who have taken the bold step of starting their own practices, bringing personalized care and new ideas to the forefront of our city’s wellness landscape.
You’ll meet Dr. Feil of Feil Orthodontics, whose friendly and modern practice has transformed countless smiles. Tara Harding of Simply You Wellness Clinic is redefining holistic health in Bismarck, empowering her patients to take control of their well-being. Dr. Kathy Anderson of Nurturing Wellness is leading the way in integrative pediatric care—offering a whole-child approach that’s both compassionate and cutting-edge. And that’s just the beginning.
These business owners are more than professionals—they’re visionaries who believe in Bismarck’s potential. They’ve invested not just in buildings and equipment, but in people, in futures, and in the health of our entire region.
We hope this issue not only celebrates their accomplishments but also inspires the next generation of entrepreneurs—medical or otherwise—who are ready to make their mark on our community.
Tara Harding, DNP, FNP
SIMPLY YOU WELLNESS, OWNER
PHOTOS: CLOUD WATCHER
Simply You Wellness was founded in 2021 to fill the cracks in the healthcare system that founder and owner Tara Harding, herself a healthcare provider, found when going through medical treatments for infertility. Her clinic has rapidly expanded in the four years since, offering telehealth and in-person appointments, hiring nine new providers and an operations manager. Simply You Wellness offers everything from pediatric services to mental health to women’s health, treating everything from hormones, infertility, menopause, and much more, even recently expanding into men’s health. Tara answered questions for us discussing the motivations behind her clinic and the lessons she’s learned from her rapid growth.
How does owning your own practice differ from working for a hospital or larger group?
“We give our patients time, so we have very long appointments, an hour to over an hour, and a half hour to 45 minutes for follow ups.
"We really let the patient navigate their health. If they want something ordered or looked into, we order it.
"We also have advanced training when it comes to hormones to interpret labs differently. We believe in optimal health versus your labs are normal… We understand lab levels are this, but we also have an understanding that since you're feeling this way, let's dig deeper. So the patient who continues to keep going in and is told everything's normal, that's kind of our niche too.”
What do you wish you had known before starting your own practice?
“I don't need to be the one doing this all anymore and I bet there's someone else that can do this much better. To try to really release that control and trust there's a safe person out there who can be in your finances and can be aligned with your mission and your values and your vision… That was the hardest part for me, trying to just let somebody else in to take over a lot of that managerial stuff that I don't even really enjoy doing.
"[Also,] I wish I would have known not to let other people's biases
or opinions or lack of education or knowledge distract me from my vision… Being up-to-date can mean breaking a lot of barriers and boundaries in an area... There's a clinic like mine on every corner of every major city. What I'm doing really isn't revolutionary, but it is for the region. I have now learned to embrace that.”
What is in the future for Simply
You Wellness?
“We are building. From day one, I had this vision of not only the style and our approach to healthcare being different, but also what it looked like, smelled like, felt like being different. And it's an image I just couldn't shake… I looked into the Boden Office Park, and they have been phenomenal to work with and allowed me to roll my
vision onto paper… It’ll be done hopefully in the summer/fall of 2026.”
3000 N 14th St Suite 2D, Bismarck (701) 975-4422 simplyyouclinic.com
Blake Feil, DDS, MS
FEIL ORTHODONTICS, OWNER
For Blake Feil, owner of Feil Orthodontics, dentistry has fueled his passion for entrepreneurship, healthcare, and creative expression. Inspired by his business owner grandfather and banker father, Blake knew he wanted to be a business owner from the time he was a high schooler. After taking health career classes, he became interested in dentistry, and in medical school, he fell in love with orthodontics and full mouth reconstruction which combined medical science, dentistry, and the crafting of smiles. He opened Feil Orthodontics in Bismarck in 2009, opened locations in Beulah and Mandan in subsequent years and is now the longest running orthodontics practice in Bismarck and Mandan. The only doctor in his practice, Blake sat down with us to discuss the innovations behind his practice and some of the hard-won lessons he has earned along the way.
What are the biggest challenges of running the business side of your practice?
“As much as I really like the idea of wearing both hats, the business side, and the clinical side, there tends to be some time constraint challenges. You end up working all the time, and I have a family of four children, so I have to find a good balance…
"But being able to be all in on both ends makes the business stronger, and it ties you even more to the business where you feel like it's part of your heart and soul. But that also is a challenge because then everything that happens in the business happens to you personally.”
What do you wish you had known before starting your own practice?
“I don’t know if there's a lot of things I wish I knew, because I think it would have made it harder to jump all in… There is a little bit of being naive that's helpful going into it.. [But,] one advice I give to a lot of new grads is really know where you want to be in your professional life ten years from now and start working on that so you build in that balance ahead of time, because it's a lot harder to run ahead and then try to find balance in the midst of it all.”
PHOTOS: CLOUD WATCHER
What’s your favorite part of what you do?
“Being creative is my nourishment, so I’m able to be creative every day and learn new things all the time. There’s so much change in orthodontics that it keeps me really excited… We have embraced technology. We do all our own 3D printing, we have our 3D scans, we have 3D x-rays, and we've also incorporated robotics… Now, there's huge investment in it and a learning curve, but there's so much that can go into creating and designing and down to that
absolute deepest detail has made it really enjoyable because we can see this evolution of how, you might have had slight limitations in the past, but now you can just hone it in just perfectly.”
bismarckbraces.com (701) 222-8668
416 N. 6 St. Bismarck, ND 58501
2610 Old Red Trail
Mandan, ND 58554
200 W Main St. Beulah, ND 58523
BISMARCK
MANDAN
BEULAH
Dr. Kathy Anderson, M.D.
NURTURING WELLNESS PEDIATRICS, OWNER
PHOTOS: CLOUD WATCHER
Pediatric and adolescent healthcare for Dr. Kathy Anderson means seeing and treating a larger vision of health, both physical and mental, helping optimize development by utilizing a holistic model of care and wellness. After practicing for nearly 15 years, Dr. Kathy opened Nurturing Wellness in 2020 as an independent, integrative medicine practice, and she sat down with us to offer insight into her love of pediatrics and the passion behind opening her own clinic.
What are some common misconceptions about integrative medicine?
“Integrative medicine is for everyone. It is not alternative medicine. In pediatric integrative medicine, we build on all the good evidence of what we know to be the best medical recommendations for children, and solidify those building blocks by going deeper into a discussion of healthy nutrition, understanding how the mind and body interact, supporting healthy relationships, and helping parents and families prioritize what is most important to optimize their child’s health and development from newborns through transition to college."
What motivated you to start your own practice instead of working for a hospital or larger group?
“I think the doctor-patient relationship is really important. That's one of the things that we focus on here. I wanted to have children at the center of all our decision making and recommendations. In an independent practice, we really can make children the focus.
“We also wanted to be intentional about creating a healing environment. Our patients can feel that their healing begins right when they walk through the door - we have a warm, spacious “home away from home” without screens or other distractions, and with books and toys, allowing a child’s imagination to take off. We have a compassionate staff committed to making sure that our patients and families are cared for the way that each of us would want our loved ones cared for. We strive to be a true medical home for our families."
What’s your favorite part of what you do?
“Absolutely the patients. Part of the reason I went into pediatrics is because I love all of the developmental phases.
"In newborns, I love that their little earlobes have a fine layer of hair on them. For toddlers, I love their feistiness. You never know what you're going to get. I just like the raw humanity of toddlers.
"For school age kids, I love their honesty. They'll tell on themselves all the time.
"For adolescents, I love how you can see emerging thought processes in the questions they're asking or some of the hesitations they have with being asked certain questions… You can see the personality of a child in that newborn, and then you can see it cross into toddler into school age into high school age. I can almost see the string of that child over the course of their pediatric and adolescent life course that I get to follow them. It's really, really fun.”
1930 Burnt Boat Drive Suite B, Bismarck
(701) 490-9596
nurturingwellnesspediatrics.com
McCall Zenker, PharmD, clinic coordinator
Amber Lauf, LMT, massage therapist
Dr. TeeJay Zenker, DPT, Cert. DN, physical therapist
THERAPY RETREAT, CO-OWNERS
PHOTOS: CLOUD WATCHER
Opened in 2024, Therapy Retreat was founded on a passion for improving whole community health through personalized programs that yield actual results. Founders McCall Zenker, Dr. TeeJay Zenker, and Amber Lauf wanted to offer wellness options like Emsella, Emsculpt, red light therapy, vibration plate therapy, massage therapy, physical therapy, and more, all at one location. Each patient who walks through their door receives an individualized treatment plan that utilizes cutting-edge technology to enhance their quality of life. Our interview delves into the behindthe-scenes struggles and successes of owning a medical practice.
Can you explain what Emsculpt and Emsella are in a little more detail?
McCall: “They have the same technology behind them, but Emsella is pelvic floor strengthening. What sets it apart from traditional pelvic floor strengthening is it's non-invasive. You remain fully clothed, you're sitting on a chair, and you're getting involuntary muscle contractions on those pelvic floor muscles.”
TeeJay: “Emsculpt has been FDA approved as a therapeutic device to help with pain, range of motion, loss of strength, so we've been utilizing it just as much for that as we have with the sculpting or more aesthetic uses. It runs on very similar electrical simulation parameters as dry needling. It goes hand in hand, but again it's non-invasive.”
What's your favorite part of what you do?
TeeJay: “All the clients that we've helped already. There's always a vision to help, give back to the community, get results, but when you see it firsthand, it's really rewarding. I had a guy in here this morning that could barely walk when he got in here and said he felt awesome when he left and had a huge smile on his face. No better way to start the day.”
What are some ways you try to give back to the community?
Amber: “A few of my clients are teachers or have affiliations that we have been introduced to people that are with the food pantry for Mandan and Bismarck Public Schools, so we try to put a donation box out. A lot of our clients are awesome about putting food in there. At Christmas time, we all chipped in along with our clients and community to collect some items. On our
year anniversary, we asked for donations, both food, and monetary.”
What would you say to someone who thinks the services you offer could be helpful on their own wellness journey?
McCall: “If you even are considering all our service providers are willing to do a free consultation, whether it be by phone or in person, for every
single service that we have. Don't hesitate to call or stop by.”
We believe every child deserves personalized, thoughtful care in a warm and welcoming environment. Our experienced providers take the time to listen, guide, and support families through every stage of childhood — from newborn care through the teenage years.
Stephen Craven
Daniel Schumacher
Jason Lee Tako
Kristin Schoch, DDS and Jim Nelson, DDS
POLISHED DENTAL, OWNERS
Polished Dental has become known in the Bismarck/Mandan area for two things: high-quality treatment and dedicated staff. Owners Jim Nelson and Kristin Schoch prioritize caring for their patients and staff like family. Jim Nelson first opened the practice 40 years ago under the name Kirkwood Family Dentistry and then Kirkwood Dental. 23 years ago, he built the current office building and moved his practice there under the name Nelson Family Dentistry. When Kristin bought into the business ten years ago, they renamed the practice Polished Dental. Since then, two new associate doctors, Dr. Kourtney Grace and Dr. Madison Schirado, have joined the practice and help maintain the Polished Dental standard. Drs. Jim and Kristin shared with us the ins and outs of owning a dental practice.
What was the process like for Kristin to become an owner?
Jim: "You're an associate for a couple of years, and after we're both like, yep, this is working great...
Kristin: "We practiced the same, our mindset of how we run a business was the same, how to treat our employees, to take care of our patients. There's a lot of different ways to run a dental practice…
Jim: "Then… for the next two years she was an equity associate. We were both putting money aside for her to buy in… After that time, she buys in, and we’re partners."
What are the biggest challenges of running the business side of your practice?
Jim: "Early on, trying to get everyone, the front staff, the assistants, the hygienists, to be on the same page was a challenge.
Kristin: "We are in a place where we have the most amazing staff in town. I mean, Jenny's having her 31st anniversary today. We have no turnover. We have great, loyal staff who take great care of our patients."
PHOTOS: CLOUD WATCHER
How do you balance being a doctor and a business owner dayto-day?
Jim: "Most of our day is the doctor part, seeing patients… Our business side of it, we have an office manager, and we have an office manager doctors meeting every month. We also have a whole office meeting every month. Then, we also have a backstaff, the hygienist assistants meeting every three months. And then another every quarter is the staff up front.
Kristin: "There are a million mini
meetings between Jim and I every day. We meet each other in the hallway and it's like, okay, this is going on. What do you think about this? I don't know.
Yeah, let's talk about it. You're never fully off."
What’s your favorite part of what you do?
Jim: "I think part of what makes us successful and happy is we love what we do. Both of us really enjoy dentistry, and the people we work with.
Kristin: "And the patients.
It is so awesome because now I'm to the point where I might have a patient who's married and is bringing their kids who I saw 16 years ago when they were a child. I love the relationships with the families that you get to know when they become your friends."
www.polished-dental.net
(701) 222-4746
1700 E Interstate Ave, Bismarck
Mike Houle, OD
Brian
Beattie, OD
EYES ON BISMARCK, CO-OWNERS
Eyes on Bismarck (formerly Eyes on Parkway) was opened in 2008 by Mike Houle and Brian Beattie. Both men were driven by a desire to focus their practice around their patients, providing high-quality care in an environment that didn’t rush them out the door. In their interview, they discuss the ideology behind their business model and the intentionality behind their optical services.
What is Eyes on Bismarck and what sets it apart?
Mike: “We are stubbornly independent. We are looking to do things the way that we think they should be done, the quality of the products, the customer service, and we just aren't very good at compromising on that.”
Brian: “We don't care how much time it takes to explain your problem to you. We're going to explain your problem to you until you understand it. The people who have come to us from somewhere else… it wasn't that they got bad care. They just didn't get information. They felt like there was a gap. So we are very particular about the fact that we communicate to our patients.”
How do you balance being a doctor and a business owner day-today?
Mike: “Having the ideal person to manage it is the key for us. We couldn't do what we do without our manager, Stacy. She makes it all go. She allows us to do what we do the way we want to do it.”
What's the biggest challenge of running a business and a practice?
Brian: “One of the things that I think is challenging about optometry in general is that it's driven by the big three, a frame company, a lens company, and vision benefits manager… They dictate prices. We can't do anything about it, because those companies just drive the market.”
Mike: “Since we're as stubborn as we are, we do as little as possible with those entities… We found a lens company that makes products that we think are better quality… We want to work with
PHOTOS: CLOUD WATCHER
the same sort of companies that have the same approach… and the same mentality that we do as far as providing quality customer service… We're not getting rich, doing what we're doing, but we're doing it the way we want to do it."
What’s your favorite part of what you do?
Brian: “I enjoy the challenging patient. We make jokes in the
optometry profession that the worst patient is the patient who comes in with a bag and they set it down and they go, those are all the glasses that didn’t work. That’s kind of my thing, let’s see what’s going on and what the problem is… I like to say, if they’re needy, they see Beattie.”
Mike: “My favorite thing in the world is taking a kid who is shy or bashful and cracking them. Of course, we want them to have healthy eyes and good vision, but
above that for me is having them leave with a smile on their face. If you can get someone to feel better about themselves when they leave, it doesn’t get any better than that.”
1929 N Washington Street Suite AA, Bismarck (701) 255-7894 eyesonbismarck.com
Jacqueline Materi, APRN, CRNA,
JOURNEY TO WELLNESS, OWNER AND PSYCHIATRIC MENTAL HEALTH NURSE PRACTITIONER
PHOTOS: CLOUD WATCHER
Journey to Wellness offers hope to patients dealing with chronic mental illness. One of the only clinics in the region that offers treatments like ketamine and EXOMIND (TMS) for depression, anxiety and PTSD, founder and owner Jacqueline Materi has seen incredible results for clients who had previously suffered without relief. She first founded her clinic in 2017 under the name Ketamine Care Clinic. After five years, she felt the call to obtain her psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner degree to expand her services into medication management, therapy, talk therapy, and more. As she was completing her degree, she was diagnosed with a brain tumor. Thankfully, surgery to remove the tumor was successful, and Jacqueline reopened her clinic under the name Journey to Wellness in 2023. During our interview, Jacqueline offered insight into the life changing treatments she offers and the catalyst for opening her own practice.
Can you talk more in depth about what EXOMIND therapy is and does?
“EXOMIND is an FDA cleared newer form of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS).
TMS has been on the market about 40 years now, but with the EXOMIND brand, you can deliver less treatments than traditional TMS which is 36 treatments in a row, five days a week. It can be very time-consuming for patients, and it can be painful. With EXOMIND, it's non-painful. It's very relaxing. You just feel a slight tapping on the top of your head because it is activating the prefrontal cortex of your brain and stimulating rewiring of neurons that have been damaged with chronic stress, depression, anxiety, and binge eating disorders. With EXOMIND, a patient has six treatments within two to three weeks. I offer insurance coverage for a portion of the treatment for select insurance carriers.”
Can you talk about what motivated you to start Journey to Wellness?
“I was working as a certified registered nurse anesthetist for a couple years and stumbled across an article that said a medication I was using in the operating room all the time called ketamine was being utilized for treatment resistant depression… I researched it more, travelled to California, toured established ketamine specific clinics, and decided to take a leap and open the first ketamine clinic in North
Dakota. I always felt like I had this entrepreneurial drive, and now I get great satisfaction from seeing people really turn their lives around after treatment.”
Is there a success story from your work that stands out to you?
“I have a patient who has been with me since 2017. He had come to me with a history of PTSD and pretty extreme depression, to the point where he wasn't even really leaving the house. He was keeping a job, but other than going to
work, he wasn't doing anything, didn't want to associate with people, and was using drinking and smoking to self-medicate. I treated him with ketamine infusions, and it really turned his life around.”
www.journeytowellnesspllc.com (701) 760-8606
1120 College Dr. Suite 100, Bismarck
