Touching Lives - Fall 2016

Katie’s water births went swimmingly One by land, two by sea

Having already delivered two healthy babies – one in a hospital bed and one in a water birth pool – Katie Hollatz of Hutchinson knew exactly what she wanted for her third birth.

True to her plan, when son Landon arrived on Aug. 1, 2016, at Glencoe Regional Health Services (GRHS), he emerged from the birth canal into a pool of warm water. Nurse midwife Laurel McKeever, RN, CNM, gently guided Landon to the surface to take his first breath – untangling the umbilical cord from his neck as she did so – and placed him in his mother’s waiting arms. Katie’s husband Ben was at

Choosing water birth

Three years earlier, Katie delivered her first baby in a Twin Cities hospital bed.

“My goal had been to go as far as I could without medication, but I ended up with an epidural,” Katie recalls. Once Katie was numbed, her baby unexpectedly went into distress and his heart rate dropped. The attending physician used vacuum equipment to deliver Luke quickly. “It wasn’t horrible, but I was disappointed that I couldn’t hold him right away,” Katie says. Unforeseen events can happen during any labor and delivery, but Katie’s experience prompted her to seek a gentler alternative when she was expecting her second child. By then, the Hollatz family had moved from Lakeville to Hutchinson and learned about water birth at GRHS. Their second son, Logan, was born in a water birth pool at GRHS, just like third son Landon.

Water births making waves

Patients who are interested in giving birth in water should talk to their GRHS obstetrics provider well in advance of their due date to determine if they are a good candidate for water birth and discuss which provider might attend the delivery. Not all pregnancies will meet the safety criteria for water birth. For example, the pregnancy must have been at least 37 weeks in duration with no history of infection or abnormal prenatal blood test results. The baby must be in a head-down position with a normal heart rate. Other criteria may apply and will be explained by the patient’s obstetrics provider.

It’s not safe to receive most types of pain medicine while laboring in water, so women who know they want pain medication should not choose water birth. If a woman decides after starting her labor in water that she wants an epidural or intravenous pain medicine, she can exit the tub or water birth pool to receive it, but then she will give birth outside the pool.

If you’ve visited our Glencoe campus in recent months, you know we’ve embarked on another major construction project. The latest effort is a complete renovation of the first floor of the hospital to create more efficient workspaces for our providers and more comfort and privacy for our patients. Our construction crews took advantage of the unusually warm fall weather to work on exterior features and will focus on interiors during the snowy months ahead. We look forward to unveiling our new spaces next summer.

It’s the end of an era here at GRHS as our longtime friend and colleague, general surgeon John Bergseng, DO, FACOS, prepares to put down his scalpel for the last time at the end of December. He has been a devoted servant to the community since he first arrived in Glencoe back in 1982, and I have no doubt we will miss his steady presence for years to come. Please join us for a reception on Nov. 29 at the Glencoe City Center to celebrate Dr. Bergseng’s career, convey our gratitude for the many lives he’s touched, and wish him well in his retirement. I also invite you to visit grhsonline.org to add a personal note or memory to his retirement guestbook.

I’d like to close with a word of thanks for the GRHS staff and our volunteers, board members and patient advisory council members. Their skills, compassion and dedication to our patients, residents, tenants and community make me proud every day.

A word from the president Jon Braband

Katie Hollatz cradles her third son, Landon, who was born in a special birthing pool at GRHS. Katie chose water births for babies two and three.

Holiday Hours

Care during the holidays

In observance of Thanksgiving, our clinics in Glencoe, Lester Prairie and Stewart will close at 2 pm on Wednesday, November 23 and re-open at 8 am on Friday, November 25.

Because Christmas and New Year’s Day fall on Sundays this year, our clinics will remain open for their regular Monday –Friday schedules throughout the holidays. Visit grhsonline.org/doctors-clinics for hours at each GRHS clinic location.

If you need medical care during hours when your clinic is closed, consider visiting our urgent care center. It’s open 8 am to 7:30 pm, 365 days a year, holidays included. Check in at the clinic entrance on our Glencoe campus.

Our emergency room and ambulance service are fully staffed and available to help you 24 hours a day, every day.

My Chart

Get connected with MyChart

Want to receive test results and schedule appointments online? You can, with MyChart.

Ask the receptionist or nurse to help you sign up at your next GRHS clinic appointment or hospital visit. You also may visit grhsonline.org/mychart to download a sign-up form.

For assistance, call MyChart Services toll free at 1-855-551-6555 from 8 am to 8 pm, Monday through Friday.

Health News

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Touching

Publisher: Glencoe Regional Health Services 1805 Hennepin Avenue North Glencoe, MN 55336

Managing Editor: Nancy Ellefson

Editorial Advisory Board:

Jon Braband

John Doidge

Jill Hatlestad

Patty Henderson

Kristine Knudten, MD

Laura Kuvaas

Julie Schmidt

Your ideas and opinions are important to us. Contact Nancy Ellefson at 320-864-7798 or nancy.ellefson@grhsonline.org with suggestions or comments.

continued from page 1

The water birth experience

Water birth takes place entirely in the patient’s Best Beginnings Birth Center suite. The patient initially labors in a deep bathtub fitted with jets while an inflatable pool designed for water birth is set up in the room. When the time for pushing nears, the patient moves to the inflatable pool, which is wider and deeper to promote buoyancy and enable the patient to easily change positions while pushing.

Being immersed in warm water can bring a sense of calm and relaxation that reduces anxiety and pain. There are physical benefits as well. “Warm water promotes stretching of the soft tissues of the woman’s perineum so there is potential for less tearing and bleeding during delivery, and therefore a reduced need for stitches afterward,” says Laurel.

“I was apprehensive about handling the pain without an epidural,” Katie says, “but I wanted to feel in control of my birth.”

The midwives who attended Katie’s two water births coached her through the pain. “When I was struggling to breathe properly, they would say, ‘Breathe with me,’ or ‘Look at me,’ or just hold my hand,” Katie recalls.

After a water birth, the newborn is placed on the mother’s chest and covered with warm towels. The baby has skin-to-skin

contact with the mother for as long as desired, even after the mother exits the pool and moves to a bed. Breastfeeding can begin anytime after the baby’s birth.

Empowerment and control

Katie was pleased with the experience and benefits of water birth, from the immediate skin-to-skin contact with her baby to how she felt afterward. “I had no tearing and less muscle soreness after delivery with the water births,” she says. The atmosphere in

her room was soothing, too, with dimmed lights and the option for music and a diffuser with essential oils.

Women choose water birth for various reasons, Laurel says. “But afterwards, they feel empowered to have given birth without medication. I’ve never heard a woman say, ‘I wish I had not done that.’”

Watch a video about Katie’s experience at grhsonline.org/water-births

Family-centered cesarean birth has clear benefits

It’s easy to see why GRHS uses clear surgical drapes in the operating room for scheduled cesarean sections, instead of traditional opaque blue. With the expectant mother awake but numbed from the waist down, a clear drape provides a window through which she and her partner can witness the special moment of their baby’s birth.

The clear drapes are part of an approach called family-centered cesarean birth that is now the standard of care for nonemergency surgical births at GRHS.

Another feature of family-centered cesarean birth is that the baby is placed on the mother’s chest within 10 minutes of delivery to encourage bonding through skin-to-skin contact. Mother and child can snuggle – and even breastfeed – while the mother’s surgery is completed. Skin-to-skin contact enhances the mother’s milk production, encourages bonding, stabilizes the baby’s temperature and blood sugar, and increases the mother’s satisfaction with the birth experience.

In a family-centered cesarean birth, the mother receives post-anesthesia care in the Best Beginnings Birth Center so she can continue to bond with her baby after the surgery is over.

“Overall, the family-centered cesarean birth experience is more like a vaginal delivery than a surgical procedure,” says obstetrician-gynecologist John Mark Johnson, DO, FACOOG. “There is a lot more opportunity for contact and bonding.”

Katie Hollatz held her son, Landon, moments after his birth on Aug. 1. Katie was grateful for the skin-to-skin contact so quickly after his birth and other benefits related to her water birth.

A new way to ease labor pain

When a patient decides to use nitrous oxide during labor, the birth center nurses show her how to inhale it from a handheld facemask and how to time doses for optimal results.

Reduces discomfort and anxiety

“While it doesn’t completely eliminate pain, nitrous oxide can lessen the patient’s perception of pain and help her to relax and conserve her energy. Ideally, the gas should be inhaled before a contraction begins so the relaxing effect is at its strongest at the peak of the contraction,” says Marcy Stapleton, RN, nursing lead in the birth center. The effects of nitrous oxide typically wear off within five minutes of inhaling a dose.

Enables women to walk during labor

Nitrous oxide is safe for the pregnant woman and her unborn baby. It does not slow down the progression of labor or make the infant less able to bond or breastfeed after birth. Another advantage of nitrous oxide is that women can change positions and even get out of bed between doses to move around with assistance from the nursing staff. Doing so can actually help move the labor process along.

Side effects from using nitrous oxide may include dizziness, nausea and vomiting, but these are uncommon. There are also a few situations in which a woman would not be a good candidate to use nitrous oxide during labor.

GRHS obstetrics providers will discuss pain management options during the patient’s prenatal appointments and identify any risk factors that might prevent her from using nitrous oxide, such as a vitamin B12 deficiency or an inability to hold the mask.

Visit grhsonline.org/birth-center to learn more about features of our Best Beginnings Birth Center.

More ways to labor comfortably

Non-medication options

Hydrotherapy. Sitting in a jetted birthing tub filled with warm water for the middle stages of labor can reduce discomfort by relaxing muscles.

Aromatherapy. Diffusers with essential oils circulate scents that encourage relaxation and ease muscle tension.

Water block injections. Nurses may inject sterile water into four spots in the laboring woman’s low back to reduce her perception of back pain.

Massage. A gentle back massage – at the patient’s direction – can help reduce discomfort.

Music. By altering pain perception, music can ease pain and stress. For some women, it also provides a distraction and lifts the spirits.

Additional medication options

Intravenous narcotic. Nurses inject medicine directly into the patient’s bloodstream for all-over pain relief.

Intrathecal narcotic. Also called a saddle block, this is a single dose of narcotic medication that a nurse anesthetist injects into the patient’s lower back. It numbs the buttocks, perineum and vaginal area for about two hours.

Epidural analgesia. Nurse anesthetists inject medication into a catheter placed into the epidural space in the lower back to block the patient’s sensation of pain in the lower body. The catheter will remain in place until after the baby is born.

Patient-controlled epidural analgesia. An epidural set-up that enables the patient to push a button and self-administer an extra dose of medication as needed to maintain good control of pain in the lower body as labor progresses.

Combined spinal epidural analgesia. An anesthesia technique in which a nurse anesthetist uses a catheter placed in the patient’s lower back to deliver pain medication into two different spaces near the spine. It provides very rapid onset of continuous pain relief in the lower body.

Pregnant women have multiple options to help them manage the discomforts of labor. A new choice at GRHS’ Best Beginnings Birth Center is a 50-50 mix of oxygen and nitrous oxide gas.

Baby on the way?

We’ve got a provider for you

Obstetrics-Gynecology Physician

An obstetrician-gynecologist (OB-GYN) is a specialist physician who has intensive training and experience in providing medical and surgical care for pregnancy, childbirth and disorders of the female reproductive system. At GRHS, Dr. Johnson and Dr. Hieronimus help women with gynecological concerns, provide comprehensive prenatal care for low-risk and high-risk pregnancies, and perform vaginal and C-section deliveries. Our family medicine obstetrics providers and nurse midwives consult with our OB-GYN physicians as needed to manage complex cases. The OB-GYN physicians also accept referrals for high-risk pregnancies and difficult deliveries.

Family Medicine Physician

Family medicine doctors provide routine care throughout patients’ lifetimes. Some family medicine physicians –including Dr. Budahn, Dr. Leino and Dr. Olson at GRHS – also provide prenatal care, attend vaginal births and assist at C-section deliveries. They also can continue to see mothers and babies for general health concerns long after delivery. In cases where a pregnancy is considered high-risk or complications develop, they will work with or refer to an OB-GYN and/or perinatology specialist to manage care for the expectant mother and unborn baby.

Family Medicine Physician Assistant

Family medicine physician assistants have completed graduate-level education and certification to provide routine care to patients of all ages as part of a team that also includes a physician. At GRHS, Kari Knodel Vettel provides routine prenatal care and attends vaginal deliveries. She is also qualified to assist during C-section deliveries and will work closely with a physician to co-manage care or refer to a specialist if complications arise during a pregnancy. As a family medicine provider, Kari can continue to see mothers and babies for general health concerns long after delivery.

Certified Nurse Midwife

Nurse midwives have completed graduate-level education and certification to provide care for women and babies before, during and immediately after childbirth. At GRHS, nurse midwives Laurel McKeever and Michele Quale attend vaginal births, including water births, and may assist at C-section deliveries. They emphasize natural approaches to labor management. In cases of high-risk pregnancy, they refer to or consult with an OB-GYN physician and/or a perinatology specialist. With dual certification as a family nurse practitioner, Michelle Quale can see mothers and babies for general health concerns long after delivery.

John Mark Johnson, DO, FACOOG

Laurel McKeever, RN, CNM

Kristen Budahn, MD

Ashley Hieronimus, MD

Michelle Quale , CNM, FNP-BC

Amanda Leino, MD

Kari Knodel Vettel, MPAS, PA-C

Laura Olson, MD

Over the course of nine months, you’ll see your pregnancy care provider many times before the big finale in the delivery room. Choosing the right person is a big deal!

These new obstetrics providers deliver the goods

We are pleased to welcome Ashley Hieronimus, MD, and Kristen Budahn, MD, to our medical staff. Their practices are different – one is a specialist and the other is a primary care provider – but both are motivated by a passion for patient care and advocacy for good health. Meet them below, and you’ll see why we have great expectations.

Being born to a teenage mother spurred Ashley Hieronimus to become an advocate for contraception and prevention of teen pregnancy, and eventually to train as a physician specializing in women’s health.

“From the time I started thinking about careers, I knew I wanted to be a doctor,” she says. “I was completely sold the first time I saw a cesarean birth performed by a surgeon I was shadowing during college. I decided right then to specialize in obstetrics and gynecology.”

Areas of focus

At GRHS, Dr. Hieronimus provides care for normal and high-risk pregnancies and delivers babies vaginally and by cesarean section. She also performs a variety of gynecologic procedures in the operating room, including dilation and curettage (D&C) for abnormal uterine bleeding and miscarriages, minimally invasive laparoscopies to diagnose a variety of conditions, and surgical laparoscopies to remove ovarian cysts, ovaries and fallopian tubes. She performs abdominal and vaginal hysterectomies, but uses a laparoscope whenever possible.

“I enjoy everything about my specialty, but I’m especially passionate about caring for women with high-risk pregnancies, diagnosing and providing basic management of infertility, and performing gynecologic and obstetric surgery,” Dr. Hieronimus said.

Caring for two young women who died from cervical cancer fueled her passion for preventing that disease. “It’s really hard for me as an OB-GYN to see a patient die from cervical cancer because it’s preventable,” she says. “Routine screening can catch lesions before they become cancerous, and the HPV vaccine actually prevents cervical cancer.”

After hours

Born in Phoenix, Dr. Hieronimus grew up in Belle Plaine. Today she lives in Mayer with her husband, Brandon, and their three dogs. “I wanted to practice in a more rural setting and Glencoe was ideal for us. I have family in the area, and it’s not so far from the Twin Cities that we can’t drive there.”

Dr. Hieronimus enjoys kickboxing, reading and being outdoors with her husband, often for archery, cycling, golfing or paddleboarding.

Ashley

When she joined the GRHS medical staff this fall, Kristen Budahn, MD, was returning to familiar territory and some familiar patients. The family medicine specialist spent nine months in Glencoe during her third year of medical school in a program that offered hands-on experience practicing medicine in a rural community. Actually, Dr. Budahn never really left after that first taste of Glencoe. “My husband and I moved here for my training and we fell in love with the area, so we just stayed,” says Dr. Budahn. “I love the people, the community and the mission of GRHS.” She commuted to the Twin Cities to finish medical school and a residency at Methodist Hospital in St. Louis Park.

Areas of focus

In addition to her medical skills, many patients will benefit from Dr. Budahn’s fluency in Spanish. She studied Spanish throughout college, and used it during mission trips and while teaching high school math and science in the Dominican Republic the year before she started medical school. She also studied in Ecuador one summer during college and worked in an emergency room in Ecuador for a month during medical school.

Dr. Budahn sees patients of all ages for routine illness and injury care, preventive care and chronic condition management. She has training in obstetrics that enables her to provide care for uncomplicated pregnancies, deliver babies vaginally and attend water births. Besides obstetrics, her other special interests include pediatrics, sports medicine and all facets of dermatology from acne to rashes to skin cancer.

“I’m passionate about teaching my patients how to make good lifestyle decisions,” she says. “I’m an advocate for their health and I do what I can to better their lives.”

After hours

Dr. Budahn and her husband, Bryan, lead the youth group at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Glencoe, and Dr. Budahn accompanies the choir on piano. You may also see her at Panther Field House fitness classes or outdoors walking her puppy.

Hieronimus, MD Obstetrics and Gynecology

grhsonline.org/budahn to view videos about Dr. Budahn in both English and Spanish.

Get to know her better at grhsonline.org/hieronimus.

Hospital renovation project underway

We recently began work on a $5 million renovation of the hospital on our Glencoe campus. Our goals are to meet the community’s evolving needs for health care services efficiently and effectively, as well as to provide greater comfort and more privacy for patients and visitors.

The construction process should be complete by July 2017. The entire first floor of the hospital is being renovated in two phases. Interior changes resulting from the renovation will include:

• A new hospital registration and checkin desk designed for greater patient privacy and confidentiality

• New specialty care suite that positions clinic exam rooms and outpatient treatment facilities closer to operating rooms and imaging technology for more efficient care of oncology, orthopedics, podiatry and urology patients

• An in-house magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) suite with a new MRI scanner so patients will no longer need to exit the building to undergo their scan in GRHS’ current mobile MRI unit

• A larger, more comfortable surgery waiting area for patients and their family members

• Additional and larger pre-operative care and postsurgical recovery bays, new endoscopy facilities and a reconfigured nurses’ station in the surgery department

• Reorganized space for more efficient patient care in the emergency room (ER) and urgent care center, including direct access between the ER and medical laboratory for staff to order tests and receive results quickly

• A large, dedicated decontamination room for receiving patients exposed to chemicals and other hazardous materials

• Larger, more comfortable facilities on the hospital’s new third floor for patients undergoing infusion therapy, with a dedicated space for the oncology physician to monitor chemotherapy and other infusion services

Construction affects patients and visitors

Anyone planning a visit to GRHS’ Glencoe campus should be aware of construction-related changes to parking, building access and interior navigation.

The south entrance to the GRHS parking lot at 1805 Hennepin Ave N. is closed and will remain so for the duration of the construction project. Drivers should use the north entrance.

The main doors to the hospital are also closed. The clinic doors are serving as the main entrance to both the hospital and clinic during the first phase of construction. The clinic entrance is staffed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Patients and visitors should enter and look for signs to direct them to the appropriate check-in station for the purpose of their visit.

“New interior signs will help visitors find their destinations, plus we’ve established a station in our clinic lobby with staff who can give directions or wheelchair

rides to anyone who needs assistance to go anywhere in the building,” says Jon Braband, GRHS president and CEO.

Gift shop and dome roof are no more

The gift shop that was located in the hospital lobby has been closed to allow for construction in that area. Fresh flowers continue to be available for purchase at GRHS and have been relocated to the temporary main entrance in the clinic building.

“We weren’t able to find space for a temporary gift shop,” says Braband. “We ask everyone to visit local merchants for gift items while we work on plans to re-establish a gift shop on campus at some point in the future.”

Another casualty of the renovation was the hospital’s well-recognized dome roof. The 7,500-pound structure was removed on Oct. 19, almost exactly 20 years after the date it was installed.

“The new hospital entrance design will connect better to the new third floor structure and also reflect the cuttingedge services we provide inside the building. That said, I think many of us will miss the dome,” said Braband. “It was a local landmark.”

Watch for these renovated spaces to open by mid-2017

Ambulance Bay

Endoscopy

Emergency Room

Hematology/Oncology

Hospital Reception

Infusion Services

Medical Imaging

Orthopedics

Podiatry Surgery

Urgent Care Center

Urology

Knudten heads GRHS medical staff

Longtime GRHS family medicine physician and Glencoe resident Kristine Knudten, MD, is GRHS’ new vice president of medical affairs. She assumed her new position in October when retiring general surgeon John Bergseng, DO, FACOS, stepped down from the role after 12 years.

Dr. Knudten’s new responsibilities include leading the medical staff and serving as a member of GRHS’ senior management team. She spends two days a week in her new administrative role and three days a week in the clinic. She continues to be actively involved in the care of hospitalized patients as well.

The hospital’s distinctive dome roof was removed on Oct. 19, almost exactly 20 years to the day it was hoisted into place. The 7,500-pound structure was a local landmark.

Greener pastures ahead Longtime GRHS surgeon to retire at year’s end

John Bergseng, DO, FACOS, has a medical degree and 34 years of experience as a physician, but he still has a lot to learn. For example, he has no idea how to relax.

On a typical day, he rises at 4:30 or 5am (about the same time as the chickens on his hobby farm) to head for the GRHS campus in Glencoe. There, he works full-time weekdays seeing patients in the clinic, performing surgical procedures and, until very recently, managing the GRHS medical staff as vice president of medical affairs for GRHS. On weekends, he might spend another eight hours or so doing administrative work in his office and visiting patients who are in the hospital.

Indeed, Dr. Bergseng is known as much for his dedication and long hours as he is for his clinical skills and compassion. He’ll finally have time to kick back when he retires at the end of December.

“I’m looking forward to taking things down a notch or two or ten,” he says with a smile.

Bouncing around

Dr. Bergseng grew up in Edina. He earned his undergraduate degree – and played basketball – at Arizona State University. Next came a chiropractic degree from Palmer College of Chiropractic in Davenport, Iowa, and a medical degree from the College of Osteopathic Medicine at Des Moines University.

Young Dr. Bergseng first came to Glencoe in 1982 to practice family medicine and obstetrics with Clark Truesdale, MD. Deciding he wanted to pursue further training, Dr. Bergseng moved to Denver in 1983 and then back to Des Moines for residencies in family medicine and general surgery. “I finally settled on general surgery because it’s challenging and presents something new every day,” he says.

Putting down roots in Glencoe

Working with Dr. Truesdale sparked Dr. Bergseng’s interest in returning to Glencoe someday. Among the most vivid memories of his long career is delivering Glencoe’s New Year’s baby in 1983.

Glencoe is also where Dr. Bergseng met his wife, Pat, who was a nurse at GRHS in the 1980s. Another GRHS employee at that time attempted to set the pair up by calling Dr. Bergseng, who was back in Iowa completing his residency. “I wanted nothing to do with a blind date,” Dr. Bergseng recalls, “but I was interested in meeting Pat.”

Retirement Open House

4 - 7 pm on Tuesday, Nov. 29 Glencoe City Center, 1107 – 11th St. East Cake and other refreshments will be served. Share a memory or wish Dr. Bergseng well in retirement by adding a note and your name to his online guestbook. Visit grhsonline.org anytime before Dec. 31.

Dr. Bergseng returned to Glencoe as a general surgeon in 1988 and the rest, as they say, is history. Today, the Bergsengs have been married 26 years and have two children: Ryan, who attends the University of Minnesota and flies for the Minnesota Army National Guard, and Marissa, who attends South Dakota State University.

Grateful to colleagues and patients

Reflecting on his long career, Dr. Bergseng feels blessed to have worked with the GRHS medical staff, senior management team, and president and CEO Jon Braband. “The community should be confident of GRHS’ quality and personal care,” he says.

But it’s Dr. Bergseng’s many patients who’ve made a lasting impact. “He’s had the privilege of knowing and caring for entire families,” says Pat. “He was always humble, always listened to his patients and always made time for them.”

The pasture beckons

Pat says she is looking forward to spending more time with her husband and, by the

way, she could use another pair of hands to help with chores. At last count, their “household” included two horses, two dogs, two chickens, a rabbit and six barn cats. “I don’t ride the horses,” Dr. Bergseng clarifies. “I just serve as their water boy.”

A 12-year-old terrier mix named Megan Liz is Dr. Bergseng’s other constant companion. “Walking the dog is my best avocation along with feeding the birds and deer,” he says. His other interests

include hiking, playing piano, traveling and teaching adult Sunday school.

In retirement, the Bergsengs will stay active with their church and community, travel with family and friends, and perhaps undertake medical volunteer work.

“I’m open to maybe teaching at a college or medical school as well,” Dr. Bergseng says. “And Pat is working on a formidable ‘honey-do’ list.”

John and Pat Bergseng enjoy life on their hobby farm.

Appointment scheduling

To make an appointment with your GRHS provider at any of our clinics, please call 320-864-7816 or toll free

1-800-869-3116 between 7 am and 5:30 pm Monday through Friday.

To make an appointment for physical, occupational or speech therapy, please call 320-864-7070 or toll free

1-888-526-4242, ext. 7070, between 7 am and 5 pm Monday through Friday.

To make an appointment with selected staff and consulting specialists, or to schedule medical imaging or other outpatient tests, please call 320-864-7080 or toll free

1-888-526-4242, ext. 7080, between 8 am and 5:15 pm Monday through Friday, unless otherwise noted in the outpatient clinic staff listing at right.

To talk with a doctor or nurse, or if you have general questions, please call 320-864-3121 or toll free 1-888-526-4242.

Important phone numbers

Glencoe construction

Please use the clinic doors during our construction project. Signs in the lobby will direct you to the appropriate check-in station for your visit. Patient transport representatives are available to assist you. grhsonline.org/hospital-renovation

Family Medicine

Kristen Budahn, MD

William Hammes, MD

Tyler Helland, MD *

Kristine Knudten, MD *

Amanda Leino, MD

Laura Olson, MD

Bryan Petersen, MD *

Douglas Wagoner, MD

Christa Waymire, MD *

Kari Knodel Vettel, MPAS, PA-C

Sheryl Bartholow, FNP-BC

Michelle Quale, CNM, FNP-BC

Emergency Medicine

Liban Hired, MD

James Jessen, MD

Mitch Palmer, MD

General Surgery

John Bergseng, DO, FACOS

Nora Burkart, MD

Chad Robbins, DO, FACOS

Hematology/Oncology

To schedule an appointment, please call

320-864-7080 or 1-888-526-4242, ext. 7080

Birendra Kumar, MD

Outpatient consulting staff

Audiology

Kurt Pfaff, AuD, every other Tuesday

Cardiology

Minneapolis Heart Institute, three Fridays per month

Low Back and Neck Care

To schedule an appointment with Dr. Stulc at GRHS, please call 1-800-669-2513 Steve Stulc, DO, one Wednesday per month

In support of our community’s health Foundation News

Let your light shine

You can sponsor lights in our display as a tribute to special people in your life, a memorial to the ones you miss, or a thank-you for a service or kindness. Your tax-deductible donation can be made securely online by visiting grhsonline.org/trees-of-lights. For more information about making a gift to the Glencoe Regional Health Services Foundation, call 320-864-7810.

Internal Medicine

Bryan Fritsch, DO *

Shoeb Mohammed, MD *

Long Term Care

Michele Schuberg, CNP *

Midwifery

Laurel McKeever, MSN, CNM

Michelle Quale, CNM, FNP-BC

OB/GYN

Ashley Hieronimus, MD

John Mark Johnson, DO, FACOOG

Orthopedics

To schedule an appointment, please call

320-864-7080 or 1-888-526-4242, ext. 7080

Paul Damrow, MD

Brian Walters, MD

Terese Haasken, MPAS, PA-C

Pediatrics

Alexandria Kalina, MD, FAAP

Podiatry

Amie Scantlin, DPM, MS, FACFAS

Urology

To schedule an appointment, please call 320-864-7080 or 1-888-526-4242, ext. 7080

John Heller, MD

Nephrology

Rajeev Kaul, MD, one Monday per month

Richard Moore, MD, one Monday per month

Neurology

Sarah Benish, MD, twice per month

Otolaryngology (ENT)

Bradley Johnson, DO, Tuesdays

Pulmonology

To schedule an appointment with Dr. Larson at GRHS, please call 952-442-2191, ext. 5420 Barrett Larson II, MD, once per month

Trees of Lights 2016

Our annual holiday display features more than 67,000 lights dancing to holiday tunes you know by heart. Stop by the Long Term Care parking lot any evening between Nov. 27 and Jan. 2 for a healthy dose of merry and bright.

Lighting Ceremony — Sunday, Nov. 27 at 5 pm

GRHS Long Term Care parking lot, 705 18th St. East, Glencoe

• Say hello to one of Santa’s reindeer

• Warm up with hot cocoa and cookies

• Ooh and ahh when the lights go on

• Bring your camera to capture the holiday fun

* These providers also serve as hospitalists.