Someone Special DAWN HOFFNER

WRITER: JOYCE EISENBRAUN | PHOTOS BY: MICHAEL K SMITH

Passionate compassion. Sophisticated country. Creative leadership. Over afternoon coffee on a sunny fall day, these are just a few of the characteristics that came to mind when talking with Dawn Hoffner, Director of Business Development at Prairie St. John’s, plus community volunteer, horse enthusiast, person of faith and mother to three children. And we might also mention humble, since her wry self-assessment is “I’m really nothing special.”

The passion for Hoffner? Health care, and these days the focus is behavioral healthcare. She has been involved in community health in one form or another for over two decades. “As the oldest of five, I was kind of drawn to the subject of health so I took some health-related classes my first year of college at Valley City State University. That confirmed my career interest, so I applied and was accepted into St. Luke’s School of Nursing. I continued that path to MSUM to specialize in community health.”

“Throughout my professional career, and in my volunteer activities, there’s a common thread of health education. My first job out of college was in public health working for Clay Wilkin Community Health Service,” Hoffner said. “And in the early ‘90s, I volunteered on a project with migrant health, working on a cancer-control initiative, which was interesting and opened my eyes to the issue of health disparities and the positive impact of health education.”

“About the same time, I also volunteered with the American Cancer Society on a project called Special Delivery, a program to help pregnant women quit smoking,” she said. “These were people who wanted to quit smoking but some didn’t accomplish that goal because they were so addicted. Seeing the challenges associated with addiction treatment interested me in promoting the prevention side of health issues.”

“The combined work and volunteer experiences got me fascinated with population based health improvement―the bigger picture―and now I’ve been doing different types of health-related things for over 25 years,” she noted. She did private consulting for many years with an emphasis on worksite wellness and other broad-based initiatives, and then joined MSUM full-time where she was responsible for the community health major and taught undergraduate courses in health care administration and school health.

“Over the years, I’ve collaborated on breast cancer research with NDSU,” she recalled, “I was involved with a statewide diabetes initiative for Native Americans in North Dakota, and worked on tobacco control. At one point, there were vending machines where anyone―including children or teens―could have unrestricted access to tobacco products, and I coordinated efforts that changed that and helped make tobacco products less accessible for underage individuals, as well as establishing smoke-free public policies in the community.”

In 2007, a friend talked with Dawn about a position at Prairie St. John’s, a Fargo-based facility that specializes in psychiatric and addictions treatment. “I thought I knew something about behavioral health,” she laughed, “but I found out I knew very little! I’ve gained some subject knowledge since then, but I am still learning.” Her role at Prairie St. John’s includes work to identify community needs and find ways that Prairie St. John’s might collaborate to help meet the those needs.

“We’re very fortunate in North Dakota and Minnesota that agencies work together: schools, law enforcement, health and human services and so on, all pull together to address an issue,” Hoffner said. One area of current regional concern is domestic violence. “While there has been real progress regarding victim’s services, mandatory arrest guidelines, and education to reduce stigma, etc., we now need to expand our focus to include prevention,” she said. “We need to take the next step and see the issue as one that affects everyone in the community, not just ‘someone else.’ And if we’re ever going to completely stop domestic violence, it will require not just community awareness but real accountability and community ownership to ensure comprehensive prevention and treatment and a culture of intolerance to the existence of domestic violence.”

Another major area of concern for Hoffner is the stigma associated with mental health issues. “People have come a long way in dealing with mental health challenges,” she said. “When you think about someone with cancer and how you treat them, why should the treatment be any different when you’re dealing with someone who suffers from depression,” she argued. “If you have a heart you could suffer from heart disease and if you have a brain, you could suffer from mental illness. It’s not a crime to be mentally ill!”

“Depression or other mental health or addiction issues touch every family in our community in some way or another,” she said. “People from every socio-economic level suffer. We need to do more to protect and care for them, just as we would if they had a physical illness. Many times,” Hoffner reminded, “the individual isn’t able to advocate for themselves because of the illness and families may be concerned about the stigma of ‘mental illness’ attached to their family, so it’s hidden.” The price for such avoidance is grim, however. Hoffner said that the third leading cause of death in North Dakota among adolescents is suicide.

In her role at Prairie St. John’s, Hoffner also helps promote the facilities’ services to those who need them. “About half of our patients are from the local area, and the rest are from all around North Dakota and Minnesota, so we truly are a regional provider of behavioral healthcare services,” Hoffner said. And she admits that she wears a lot of different hats in her role on the executive leadership team at Prairie St. John’s. “I’m involved with developing contracts with various agencies, referral source relationship management, marketing, communications, media relations, professional education, legislative health policy and community collaborations around suicide, addictions, domestic violence and other major initiatives.”

A quiet Start

A country enthusiast at heart, Dawn Hoffner acknowledges the many benefits of growing up on a farm near Valley City. “Being raised on a farm, one of the skills you learned was how to critically problem solve,” she said. “You look at the situation and then begin working on ways to fix it or solve it. It also taught me to keep going, even when it was tough.”

Growing up “painfully shy,” Hoffner said it took a while to overcome that shyness. “I was too embarrassed to call the pizza guy in college,” she laughs, ”so I was quite a ways into college and even my professional career before that got better. But I was passionate about my work, so even when I felt paralyzed by fear, I kept going.”

Two women in her family significantly influenced Hoffner and were her inspiration: her grandmother Amelia and her mother, Sonda. “My grandmother was literally a pioneer,” Hoffner remembers, “who enjoyed life, was married for 70 years, and who lived servant leadership. She didn’t talk about her faith, she lived it, and it gave her peace, purpose and identity. Her example has helped me to see that every day, there’s an opportunity to live your faith. No matter what walk of life you’ve chosen or what resources you have, you can offer a hand of strength, of encouragement.”

“My mom was a doer, not a teacher,” she said. “She could effectively manage any person or project. And she could do anything―upholstery, canning, gardening, painting, butchering chickens, and sewing everything from drapes and clothes to wedding dresses. Unfortunately,” Hoffner said, “we kids were allowed to play more than learn, and so I don’t know how to do all those things now! My mom was a hard worker, and devoted her life to her family.”

“In October of 2005, my mom had a sore in her mouth which she discovered to be a small oral cancer. She had smoked heavily for many years,” she said. “She was diagnosed in November, had her last real meal at Christmas. We went as a family to Vegas in March, but she couldn’t eat or drink anything because of the treatments. A PET scan in April indicated she was cancer free, but that June she had problems breathing again, and she was gone by the end of June.”

“After her last biopsy, the doctors told her there was no treatment, since the cancer had spread,” Hoffner recalled. “She calmly told us we needed to talk about a few things, and we did. Fear is something you can sense, and my mom was never afraid. We saw her faith in action, and it was dumbfounding. We were all struggling to adjust, but her strength, dignity and humor were over the top. She calmly went to sleep and never woke up,” she said quietly. “We were all with her; my oldest daughter was sitting beside her when she passed. Her quiet faith made a huge impression on all of us, including the grandchildren.”

A Family Approach

The emphasis on family is a key component to Hoffner’s life. The proud parent of three, she appreciates their differences, and in their successes. “They’re so different, but they all have the capacity to do anything,” she enthuses.

Her oldest daughter, Janae, pursued a community health major and will graduate in December with a nursing degree. “She has great common sense and is so capable,” Hoffner said. Her son, Joseph, is a senior. “He would take bikes apart and rebuild them for his friends as a child,” she remembers, “as a kind of bike chop shop.” Today, he retains his interest in mechanics, building and design, so his choice of engineering for college seems logical. The youngest, Amelia, named for her great-grandmother, is a happy seventh grader, who is eagerly anticipating a school-break with grandma and grandpa in Arizona. “She’s such a joy and help to all.”

Family fun involves time at their lake place and horses. “I got my first horse when I was four and rode throughout school years,” Hoffner said. “Then in college, and early in my career, I didn’t have time or a place for horses. But after Janae was born, I got back into riding. When she got old enough to ride, I thought I’d found just the right safe horse for her, and after two weeks of riding she asked me if she could get one that would go faster!”

All three of the children ride: Janae has trained horses, been in competitions and is a “gifted horsewoman.” Joseph rode for years, but is now more involved in other activities, while Amelia just enjoys the fun of riding, Hoffner said. “We’re down to three horses:―Tissan, Rita and Sassy. It’s a mini mental vacation anytime you’re riding, because there’s companionship, plus you can’t think about anything else―you need to be aware of other than your horse.”

“I love having animals around with kids,” she said. “It teaches responsibility, since the animals rely on us for food and care. It’s a privilege and a responsibility to have animals, and that’s something important for kids to learn.” The family’s two dogs, Lexi and Lulu, love to go with them everywhere, Hoffner said, and especially love long walks at the lake and going along to horse shows.

How would her kids rate Hoffner as a mom? “I think their answers would all be different than mine,” she laughed. “I think I’m pretty strict as a mom and probably expect a lot: I want them to try their best and I do challenge them to reach high standards. We all make mistakes, but we need to be responsible for our choices, and take the consequences.” Somberly, she added, “I’ve seen people that were protected from the consequences of their choices, and they didn’t benefit long term from that, in fact some even lost their lives.”

“I think every parent wants to teach their child responsibility,” she said. “For our family, about 99% of our existence is truly a privilege, especially by world standards. Responsibility comes with privilege, so I encourage them all to volunteer, to give back in some way, and they all have.” Is it easy?

“No,” she said, “but when I listed some options for Joseph and said ‘pick one,’ he did. When he got home that night, it changed our dinner conversation. He had never seen kids his own age that didn’t have enough food at home, so they were waiting in line at a food pantry; he needed the experience to have it really sink in.”

Family also was partially responsible for what started as another volunteer effort: Hoffner’s sister was going to have a baby, and wanted her to be with her during the delivery. “I’d had two children and worked in health care, but I didn’t know anything about being a doula,” she said. “I started doing research, and found it fascinating. A doula helps the new mom and dad with physical, mental and emotional support during the child’s birth and after. It can reduce anxiety, length of labor, and even the incidence of caesarean births. I got the training and helped my sister and it was amazing!” Since that first experience, Hoffner has been the doula for a total of 14 births, including one set of twins. “I’d love to do it again, but right now, it’s not a good time fit for my life,” she said. “But when you talk about rewarding things, being a doula is near the top!”

Looking Ahead

“There are times I’d like to wave a wand and fix a problem, but I’ve been very fortunate to be able to be involved in a wide variety of health improvement opportunities,” Hoffner said. “I’m proud to have had a small part, as others have, to make things better for people in the community, and to collaborate on solutions with other partners.”

That collaborative spirit has involved Hoffner in a broad array of community and state task forces and health initiatives. Currently she is serving on the Board of Directors for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention – North Dakota Chapter and as a member of the North Dakota Suicide Prevention Coalition; she’s the chairperson of Healthcare for the Public Affairs Committee for Chamber of Commerce of Fargo/Moorhead/West Fargo; the chair for the Crisis Response Subcommittee for Jail Intervention Coordinating Committee of Cass County Justice and Mental Health Collaborative (includes CIT training initiative); she’s in her second year of working on a domestic violence collaboration with the Fargo Police Department and the Rape and Abuse Crisis Center.

“When I first started in healthcare, the emphasis was totally on treating disease, not prevention,” she said. “And we’ve gained knowledge; we now have a good body of data on the benefits of early detection and chronic disease management as a cost-control measure and quality-of-life improver. And while there still are not major incentives for prevention built into our current health care system, I believe it really is coming. One of the most difficult things that will need to happen in the next several years is that shift that provides real incentives for prevention and disease management while maintaining the high quality of care we now have and the funding streams that support it,” Hoffner predicted. “It’s cost effective and better long term if we can prevent and better manage disease, but it means we need to de-politicize the process. Sometimes the rhetoric overtakes critical thinking and rational discussion needed to maintain infrastructure while fixing issues by creating solutions and new systems.”

What’s a major need right now?

“We’re facing some significant growth challenges in our communities,” Hoffner said, “and it impacts our infrastructure― including healthcare, but also law enforcement and human services. We need to invest to meet the needs associated with the growth. It’s true that out west the impact is greater, but we’re also seeing impacts here in the local area as well.” That’s why she is involved with helping establish Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) training in North Dakota. CIT can be used by law enforcement when working with folks who may have serious mental illness issues. It is nationally recognized as a research-based best practice training.

“I like to do things well,” she admits, “and I have high expectations for myself, but I don’t have enough time or energy to do everything exactly as I’d like. Right now my focus is my family and my work, and I find that my faith is the bookend to each day. I’m very thankful for the privilege to work and collaborate with others to make a difference in our community. There are so many opportunities, and anyone can participate―it’s not restricted!” she encouraged. “Every day there’s an opportunity to live your faith, to ease suffering, to make something better for someone.”

For all the people in our community and beyond who have felt the impact of Hoffner’s efforts, it would appear that she is, indeed, “someone special.” [AWM]