PROCTOR HEALTH CARE PROVIDER RELISHES ‘HANDS-ON’ SUPPORT

By Melinda Lavine mlavine@duluthnews.com

It felt homey. A white fence in the backyard. Picture windows in the living room and hand-painted drawings on a bulletin board.

At Lifestone Health Care, Chiamaka Enemuoh sat next to Alice VanDell after breakfast. They talked about the official start of fall. “I don’t know how long the sun is going to be out,” Enemuoh said, holding VanDell’s hand.

This is Enemuoh’s favorite part of her job.

She is the founder and president of Proctor’s Lifestone Health Care, an assisted living facility she launched in early 2016.

At Lifestone, she and her staff provide extensive medical care for clients who are unable to stay home. That’s bathing, toileting, dressing, grooming, medications, doctor’s appointments.

Anything they need to be well and live well, said Enemuoh, sitting in a conference room at her facility.

And her business has allowed her to be a “hands-on owner.”

“I can do everything that my staff can do from A to Z. That’s what my intentions were, to be able to help in my own way, which I wasn’t able to do the more I advanced in health care.”

Enemuoh (pronounced “anymore”) emigrated from Nigeria to Madison, Wis., with her parents when she was 19.

She was introduced to health care almost 20 years ago, and her calling was clear, she said.

Working her way through the system, she started in group homes and nursing homes.

Today, she’s a board-certified family nurse practitioner.

She spends her days addressing the needs of the clients and finding the time to do administrative duties, she said.

It can be difficult to meet the special needs of each person, as well as their expectations. Patience and not taking things personally are key to working in health care, she said.

Enemuoh is also an active member of the community. She’s involved in the Women’s Business Alliance, she’s an Age Well Arrowhead volunteer. She’s on the board of directors for the Duluth Area Chamber of Commerce.

She attributes much of where she is today to her family and her husband, Dr. Emmanuel Enemuoh, who is “a big

Steve Kuchera / skuchera@duluthnews.com

part of my success in anything that I do.”

In her downtime, she likes to watch movies from Nigeria because they remind her of her culture. (She and her family visited Nigeria in August.)

And Enemuoh relaxes with conversations with her children — sitting back and listening to them talk about their days like her mother did for her.

There will always be various challenges to health care and managing a business, but working through and finding solutions for clients is what’s it’s all about.

“This makes me happy, knowing that people are well taken care of.”

What do you do? (job, community involvement)

I am the creator/executive director of Ellipsis MN, which is a social media based project that updates daily what’s happening in music, art and other community events. As Ellipsis, I also create my own events: local music shows, tap takeovers, fundraisers, etc.

I am a co-producer and Music Director for FEMN FEST, a feminist festival based in Duluth; events and social media coordinator for the Duluth Superior Film Festival; I’m on the fundraising board for the We

Health Clinic, and am in this year’s Leadership Duluth class. I also work for Minnesota Public Radio as the host of The Current Duluth’s “The Duluth Local Show.”

How do you spend your free time?

In my free time I like to go see live music (obviously), hang out with friends, drink local beer, read and watch movies.

Tell us about an influential person in your life.

I don’t know if I could pick a single influential person in my life. I’m surrounded by humans who put their heart and soul into their community and their projects. I specifically find myself in the company of powerful women who take on the world in order to make the lives of other people better. Each one of them inspiring in their own way.

What keeps you in the Twin Ports?

The music and art scene, and the lake.

What words of wisdom do you live by?

In order to lead a fascinating life, one brimming with art, music, intrigue and romance, you must surround yourself with precisely those things.

I think that the music aspect is one of my favorite parts. And I actually find that if I don’t go out to see live music I get very sad. And I can’t figure out why. Then I’ll go out to a show that I’m really excited about and suddenly my entire mood has changed and I have a more positive outlook on life.

BRITTANY LIND, The Current Duluth

What do you do? (job, community involvement)

I am currently a student at the University of Minnesota. I am in my final year as a biochemistry major and women, gender and sexuality studies minor and am in the process of applying to medical school.

I was a DFL Campus Organizer during the last midterm elections, an initiative that increased campus voter turnout by 64%. I have volunteered on numerous campaigns for races that run from city council to president. Currently, I have multiple DFL roles, acting as Duluth DFL District 2 director and as a Senate District 7 DFL director. I am also the political director/constituency organizer for the DFL-endorsed candidate for Duluth City Council At-Large, Mike Mayou. In addition, I am the current president of the college Democrats at UMD, after serving two years as vice president.

I am a member of the Duluth for Clean Water political committee and a former co-chair and social justice task force leader for the Minnesota Public Interest Research Group. I spend time organizing with various local gun-violence-prevention organizations and helped organize the March For Our Lives in Duluth.

I am passionate about making politics and advocacy work accessible to young people and have found Duluth to be the perfect place to do so. The

“biggest small town” descriptor for Duluth is incredibly accurate, and I am so thankful to have made Duluth my home.

How do you spend your free time?

In my free time I enjoy skiing, rollerblading, brewing kombucha, and searching the lakeshore for agates and beach glass. I like to hike and kayak. I love cooking and going to farmers’ markets.

Tell us about an influential person in your life.

My dad has always been an influential person in my life. I grew up in a rural community with a rural physician father. I watched as my dad would come home from work with smoked fish in his hand that his patient had made for him. I now realize how special it is that my dad is able to wholeheartedly connect with people around him. As I have gotten older, I have realized how much of a role model my dad has been for me in teaching me empathy and humility. As human beings, we take care of one another. “Treat others how you wish to be treated” is a saying I will always live by.

What keeps you in the Twin Ports?

Throughout my undergraduate experience, I have formed meaningful relationships with people in the Twin Ports community, to the point where my friends my own age chuckle when I talk about my friends in the community, as they are often 40-70 years old. My involvement in advocacy efforts, volunteer experiences and issue-based organizing in my community has enabled me to learn the power of a single conversation and the power of networking. I spoke at a gun-violence vigil about my work rallying around decreasing gun violence only to find myself being invited to speak on a community panel later that month by someone who was at the vigil. The networking opportunities and warm atmosphere of Duluth make me never want to leave. What words of wisdom do you live by?

“Significant social change comes from the bottom up, from an aroused opinion that forces our ruling institutions to do the right thing.” — Paul

Wellstone