Apple a Day

Influenza, RSV, Covid and rhinovirus are all widespread in our region right now. Respiratory Therapist, Jen Eisenhuth joins us to talk about risk factors and symptoms for severe respiratory illness, especially for those with underlying conditions like lung disease, COPD, asthma, diabetes, and heart disease as well as the importance of preventive measures. She also shares more about the role of respiratory therapists in diagnosing lung diseases with pulmonary function tests (PFTs) and in educating people on how to manage asthma and COPD, smoking cessation support and sleep studies.

Lake Region Takes Root is a Community Garden and wellness initiative of Lake Region Healthcare that uses volunteer support to grow fresh produce that’s donated to local food shelves and the Salvation Army each summer. Jason Bergstrand is the visionary and project coordinator, and he joins us today to give us an update on the garden’s impact and inspire support of the latest project to expand its reach. He explains how a new hydroponic greenhouse will extend and expand the growing capacity of the garden to reach even more people and shares how the community can show their support with time, donations, or connections.

Dr. Dennis Gerold joins our family medicine team this month, serving patients of all ages in both the Fergus Falls and Elbow Lake Clinic. Listen in to get to know more about his roots in Minnesota, his background serving as a physician in the Air Force the past 12 years in places across the globe, and why he chose to settle his family and practice in Fergus Falls now.

Abby Mumm is a clinical supervisor on Lake Region Healthcare’s Radiology team and she also currently serves as the President of the Minnesota Society for Radiologist Technologists (MSRT). She took some time to visit with us about the unique and important role radiology techs play as the “eyes of the patient care team.” She shares the unique training and skills needed, the market demand for these professionals and the paths to become a radiology technologist, as well as what she hopes to accomplish during her term as MSRT President. Listen in for an insightful conversation with a passionate radiology professional!

Today we get to know the newest member of our family medicine team in the Fergus Falls Clinic, Jaden Witt, DNP. Jaden is an Ashby, MN native who worked at LRH as an RN before pursuing her DNP certification. She also did her clinical training at LRH and feels a strong connection and desire to serve the community in this role at LRH. With a minor in integrative therapies, Jaden shares her interest in Lifestyle Medicine, her holistic and patient-centered approach to care, and for fun her passion for Minnesota sports!

Lake Region Healthcare has added a new mental health service aimed at serving seniors in our region. Senior Life Solutions offers intensive psychotherapy services through group, individual and family therapies, medical management and education for people 65 and older. Terri Swenson is the RN Program Director and she joins us to talk about how this service can be accessed and who can benefit from this individualized whole-person approach to mental health care.

Randi Wicklund has been a Board Certified Emergency Nurse in our Emergency Department for the past five years. After deciding to pursue her Doctor of Nursing Practice degree, Randi knew she wanted to stay in Fergus Falls to establish her advanced practice because as she put it “Fergus Falls is home”. A 2004 graduate of Fergus Falls High School she feels a strong calling to serve patients in her home community. Get to know Randi and hear about her application of St. Mary’s Benedictine Value Number 53, making sure every person she serves is met with warmth and attentiveness and compassion and feels like they are being listened to.

An Apple a Day 2 for 1! This month we get to know two new providers on our primary care team. Katie Peterson, NP has joined the Walk-In Clinic team. She shares how her son Archer was the inspiration behind pursuing her NP degree and how she hopes to use her role and her knowledge to make a difference in research or screenings for children to help alleviate the misdiagnosis of pulmonary hypertension. Madeline Iverson, NP is our second guest, a Battle Lake native who is joining the family medicine team in the Fergus Falls main clinic. Madeline talks with us about her holistic approach to care and her desire to understand each patient’s story in order to better manage their health.

Continuing our Empowered Birth series, Dr. Katie Bressler and Heather Foresman, CNM today discuss empowerment in delivery options. Vaginal or c-section, medicated or unmedicated, water birth or side-saddle, the options for women with the LRH Women’s Health team are many and varied, and what you’ll hear in this episode is that the most important option is the one you prefer.

Meet the newest member of our cancer care team, Dr. Michael Hessenauer. He comes to us from InterMountain Healthcare in Utah where he has been practicing since completing his residency and fellowship at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. Dr. Hessenauer shares his care philosophy, his perceptions of the level of care and treatments available in Fergus Falls, and his desire to be part of the rural cancer care community in Fergus Falls that’s keeping exceptional cancer care close to home.