November-December 2016 by Connect Business Magazine

KYLE C. SWANSON, M.D.

THOMAS R. JONES, M.D.

JOHN A. SPRINGER, M.D.

SCOTT R. STEVENS, M.D.

JESSE C. BOTKER, M.D.

Adult hip and knee disorders, hip and knee primary and revision replacement surgery.

Cervical, thoracic, and lumbar spine surgery, as well as orthopaedic trauma.

Fractures and trauma, spinal instrumentation, arthroscopic surgery, hip and knee surgery.

Arthroscopy and sports medicine, treatment of fractures, trauma and pediatrics.

Sports medicine and orthopaedic surgery. Shoulder, knee, hip and ankle arthroscopy.

Across the board expertise. Right across town. With 16 orthopaedic surgeons, 10 physical therapists, 13 physician assistants and 80+ support staff here to help, professional care is on your side. Not only do you have access to the best care, but the vast majority of health plans are accepted. So ask for OFC or the OFC Express Urgent Care clinic. Whatever your needs, youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll have the whole team behind you.

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Contents

THE MAGAZINE FOR GROWING BUSINESSES IN SOUTHERN MINNESOTA

COVER STORY

Healer Leader

STAFF & CONTRIBUTORS Publisher: Concept & Design Incorporated Editor: Lisa Cownie

Art Director/Staff Photographer: Kris Kathmann

Andy Meyers has done a little bit of everything at The Orthopaedic and Fracture Clinic. These days he is leading the specialty clinic through ever-changing times in the health care industry. He speaks candidly about The Affordable Care Act, increased competition in the market and how OFC continues to help others heal after 59 years in Southern Minnesota.

Contributing Photographers: Art Sidner Contributing Writers: Carlienne Frisch, Tom Slunecka, Sam Bloedow Production: Becky Wagner Circulation: Becky Wagner Printing: Corporate Graphics, N. Mankato Mailing: Midwest Mailing, Mankato

PROFILES

Cover Photo: Kris Kathmann

Vital Statistics

Madelia Community Hospital & Clinic has a plan for its future, and that plan is putting emphasis on the “community” part of its name. Two ladies are leading the way as they have a vested interest in the community they grew up in and continuing the hospital’s success.

Well-Minded

CIRCULATION 9,400 for November/December 2016 Published bimonthly

CORRESPONDENCE Send press releases and other correspondence: c/o Editor, Connect Business Magazine P.O. Box 176, Nicollet, MN 56074

Seven new offices in eight years, Dr. Ramie Vetter found a need in the region and he is filling it with his group of Eunoia Family Resource Centers.

E-mail: editor@connectbiz.com (please place press releases in email body) Web: www.connectbiz.com

COLLABORATION CONNECTION – SPECIAL REPORT

Building Healthy Businesses

Phone: 507.232.3462 Fax: 507.232.3373

We take at look at efforts by Mankato Clinic and Mayo Clinic Health Systems to collaborate with the communities they serve to encourage healthy lifestyles. We also look at how businesses, large and small, can implement employee wellness programs. An investment more and more businesses are making nationwide.

COLUMNS

Editor’s Letter Cownie Connection

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ADVERTISING Call: (507) 232-3462

ABOUT CONNECT

Locally owned Connect Business Magazine has ‘connected’ southern Minnesota businesses since 1994 through features, interviews, news and advertising. Connect Business Magazine is a publication of Concept & Design Incorporated, a graphic design firm offering print design, web design, illustration and photography. conceptanddesign.com

IN EVERY ISSUE

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EDITOR’S LETTER

Health Care In The Hotseat As I speak with and interview business leaders in our community, one thing is apparent: the winds of change are a blowin’. One industry in the midst of tremendous transition is health care. And that is an industry that affects every business, every person, every life. This issue highlights just a few of the many wonderful choices we have for health care in our region. Our cover story, Andy Meyers of The Orthopaedic and Fracture Clinic, takes a look at the challenges independent specialty clinics face in the ever changing health care game. We also check the pulse of the Madelia Community Hospital & Clinic. There aren’t a lot of hospitals like it left in the country. We’ll show you why it’s a model for others to follow. And, of course, health care encompasses more than our physical being. To be truly thriving we need to maintain our mental health as well. We talk with Dr. Ramie Vetter about his rapidly growing group of Eunoia Family Resource Centers. Mankato Clinic and Mayo Clinic Health Systems are doing their part to keep Minnesota in the top 10 of the healthiest states in the nation, by embarking on community wellness campaigns. Both organizations are passionate about the health of the community. Employers, too, are starting to see how investing in their workers’ health can also improve the health of their business. We’ll take a look at employee wellness programs and give you some tips on how you can get started on your own. Happy reading, and hopefully, learning!

Lisa Cownie Editor

Building Flexible + Healing Environments From clinics and medical office buildings, to hospitals and research facilities, ISG’s multi-disciplinary team of 230+ professionals help clients plan and design integrated healthcare facilities that advance their core mission to provide exceptional care through environments that heal and strengthen. With eight offices in three states and 230+ professionals, ISG helps healthcare clients reduce operational costs and improve staff efficiencies and flexibility while maintaining inviting, safe, and supportive environments.

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By Lisa Cownie Photo by Kris Kathmann

Andy Meyers transitioned his career from law enforcement to medical. After being promoted from within, he now keeps The Orthopeadic and Fracture Clinic healthy and growing in his role as CEO.

Today, he leads a team of surgeons, physician assistants, nurses and therapists at The Orthopaedic and Fracture Clinic, but Andy Meyers spent a good chunk of his early career in the jail. Don’t be alarmed, that is usually where law enforcement officers start out, paying their dues, working their way up to patrol, which is what Meyers did as a Deputy Sheriff/Paramedic with the Linn County, Iowa Sheriff ’s Department. “At the time, it was a good job,” Meyers says, “The department had a paramedic-level rescue service. You see, outside of the city of Cedar Rapids, folks depended on volunteer firefighters for that sort of thing. But not all of the volunteer services were advanced cardiac life support trained. So we on the sheriff ’s department carried all the advanced medical care and extrication equipment. That was my primary role my last two years there. I found I liked the medical side better than the law enforcement side. So I worked patrol from 7 p.m. to 3 a.m., then went to school in an orthopaedic physician’s assistant program from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. I did that for two years and got my Orthopaedic Physician’s Assistant. My first job out of the chute was The Orthopaedic and Fracture Clinic.” That was in 1990. Once he got to Southern Minnesota, he didn’t leave. It was good to put down roots after a childhood filled with move after move. Meyers says, “I was born in Hays, Kansas but only lived there as an infant. My dad was an insurance adjuster, so he set up offices for an independent insurance adjusting company. He would go to a city, build up staff and business there, then we would move again. We went from Hays, to Davenport, Iowa, to Sioux City, Iowa, to Wassau, Wisconsin, then back to Cedar Rapids, Iowa. That’s where I got married, and knew it was time to settle somewhere. Just then the OFC opportunity came along. At that time OFC had offices in Faribault, Mankato, Northfield and Owatonna. Initially, I was located in Mankato. Then OFC needed a PA in the Owatonna location. I relocated to Faribault and commuted to Owatonna. It closed in 1995, however, my family was settled in Faribault. My kids were in the school system and my wife worked at the high school there. So we decided to stay in Faribault and I would help staff in the Faribault and Northfield locations. It wasn’t until 2006 we moved back to Mankato.” And just like with the sheriff ’s department, Meyers worked his way up in the organization. Starting as a Physician’s Assistant 26 years ago, he is now CEO. Just as he has grown, so has OFC. continues > NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016

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Today the clinic sees more than 30,000 patients a year. Its Mankato campus has grown into an integrated and newly-designed environment that includes Mankato Surgery Center, Mankato Regional Imaging at OFC, the Physical Therapy/Sports Medicine Center, and the Back Care Center. It also has clinics in Faribault, Hutchinson and Northfield. The field of orthopaedics is one that changes quickly, especially with the advent of new diagnostic techniques, updated surgical advancements, and numerous non-surgical treatments. Meyers makes sure his team has access to the latest in research and technology. OFC surgeons are board certified, treating patients in adult reconstructive surgery and joint replacement, arthroscopic surgery, foot and ankle surgery, hand and wrist surgery, treatment of fractures and trauma, sports medicine, spinal injury and pediatric orthopaedics. Patient care is something that Meyers thrives on. But at times, he feels handcuffed as the bureaucracy in the health care field grows and the politics of providing patient care can be cumbersome. He addresses those concerns, how OFC is handling increased competition in the market, and why he feels OFC continues to stand strong after 59 years in service. You’ve done a little bit of everything for OFC in the 26 years you’ve been with them. You were named CEO in August 2012. Yes, I worked my way up the ladder here. It works well in that I have personally worked with most of the docs so I know what they do. I know what it is like to be on call. I have scrubbed with these guys in surgery, and helped in the office for 18 years. I can walk the walk and talk the talk. So it’s a nice blend. I went back to school to get my Masters in Business Administration, and later attained the American College of Medical Practice Executives (ACMPE) certification. OFC has four main offices in the region, and I understand OFC doctors also go to outreach clinics in the more rural areas of Southern Minnesota. Part of our business model, and it has been from the beginning, is that our physicians

Andy Meyers | Orthopaedic & Fracture Clinic

“Simply put, we are an independent surgical specialty practice. Anyone can come here. Everyone has a choice. So, if you are a patient that needs orthopaedic care, you can choose to come here.” do one day of outreach a week. We take orthopaedic care to those communities that otherwise wouldn’t have it so that they can be cared for locally. It’s a win-win because then we also get better compliance from the patients because they don’t have to drive all the way to Mankato for, say, physical therapy. Or they don’t have to drive here for surgery. So people are better at carrying through with their care plan. If a patient lives in Redwood Falls, they don’t want to have to drive all way to Mankato, especially in the winter, for physical therapy or surgery or aftercare, so they may end up not doing it. To help with that, we go there. One person going there can see numerous people a day. It keeps the care local and it keeps the local hospitals viable so they can continue to give

care in their communities. You know a lot of small hospitals have gone belly up in the last ten years because they didn’t have enough volume to support it. So we try to keep that care as local as we can and work with local physicians. It works and it’s been that way for as long as I’ve been here. How many employees? We have around 150, that number includes 16 physicians, 10 physical therapists and 13 physician assistants. Then we also have the nurses, medical assistants, and all the people on the business side; the insurance people, surgery schedulers, transcription, those types of things. We do have a great staff, we are very proud of them. We’ve done nothing but orthopaedic care

for 59 years so that tells you something! They are so well versed in the needs of the orthopaedic patient, we couldn’t do it without them. We try to take good care of them as our staff is our biggest asset. There seems to be confusion over how The Orthopaedic and Fracture clinic fits into the health care scene here. Some think you are a part of Mankato Clinic, some think Mayo. Yes, we hear about that confusion all the time. But, simply put, we are an independent surgical specialty practice. Anyone can come here. Everyone has a choice. So, if you are a patient that needs orthopaedic care, you can choose to come here, to go to the cities, or to go to Rochester or wherever. Regardless of

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who your primary care doctor is, you can go anywhere you want for orthopaedic care. You can self refer or have your physician refer you. The problem comes with big health systems who try to control all aspects of your care and if they have a specialty service, like orthopaedics, then they will refer in house. It’s just part of the game. Ultimately it is up to the patient to be bold enough to say ‘I have a history with OFC so I’d like to go there,’ or ‘I’ve heard that people who have gone there have had good results’. Many just don’t understand that they can say where they want to go. The contract is between the patient and the insurance company. So if you have Blue Cross Blue Shield for example, that’s where the relationship lies. YOU have the choice on where you want to go for specialty care. Is being independent getting more challenging? Patients get referred by their physician and that can work to our advantage or disadvantage. With Mayo, or any ‘system’ provider, for example, they are going to refer in-house, not to a competing orthopaedic practice. Likewise, the Mankato Clinic and others who don’t offer that specialty, may refer patients here. So, it can help us or it can hurt us. But the key point is that the patient has the choice no matter who their doctor would refer them to. Sometimes that is not made evident to them, but they do have a choice. The landscape is changing, as for many of the 59 years OFC had the orthopaedic specialty market here all to itself. Yes, we had the market to ourselves, in fact we contracted to provide orthopaedic care for Mayo in this region for years. But that agreement ended in 2014 when they started recruiting their own orthopods. Well, there goes all the referrals from Mayo. They are going to refer where they are going to refer and there is nothing we can do about that. That is out of our control. So we had to ask ourselves, what can we do? What is in our control? Well, we

Healer Leader

Skills Outside The Office “Two of my hobbies are fishing and woodworking. I’ve enjoyed fishing since I was a boy. For woodworking, I love taking rough wood and converting it to something useful, hopefully aesthetically pleasing, with the quality to last lifetimes. Pieces that can be passed on from generation to generation.” 10

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Andy Meyers | Orthopaedic & Fracture Clinic

can provide the best possible care and more access for patients. We found that a surprising number of patients will defer care because of work schedules. Often the regular office hours meant people couldn’t get to the doctor during the week because they didn’t want to be penalized for taking time off work! I understand employers need their employees at work during certain times, but we can’t all be healthy 100% of the time. Plus, if people take care of an ailment sooner, the length of recovery and return to work is quite often shortened. Additionally, if you put off care for months the condition may become chronic. So we now offer OFC Express to make it easier for patients to see a doctor. We have extended our hours now from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. That started on July 18, 2016. How is it going so far? It is going really well. And we anticipate bigger volumes as the word gets out about it. But we’ve been seeing an average of 11, 12, 13 people a night. It shows us there is a need for it. We’ve had nights as big as 19 in a four-hour period, then some nights only 6. But patients are happy with the hours, it gives them access outside of business hours so they don’t have to take off work. Besides accessibility, what else is OFC doing to counter the increased competition in the market. In all of health care there is a switch going on right now. Currently all providers use a fee for service format. The problem with fee for service is that we are paid for each visit and not on the quality of service or the outcome. So right now the big switch for us...and everyone else...is pay for performance. So it’s going to be based on

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Community Partnerships OFC shows its commitment to the community in numerous ways. In 2015 it entered into its most comprehensive community endeavor to date, a multi-year partnership with Minnesota State University Mankato that includes private funding for athletic scholarships and in-kind support services, such as orthopaedic evaluation and physician coverage for various sports programs. Meyers says the MSU partnership is a natural fit for OFC and proof that OFC and its doctors are passionate about giving back and serving the region.

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access, quality and outcomes. As we make that switch we are gathering data and following outcomes closely. We have been documenting our outcomes for quite some time. One positive already is that we are in the top 5 in Minnesota for total joint replacement outcomes. Let’s talk more about that non-medical side of your business. Insurance, health care reform, those types of issues are taking up more and more of your time. When they started the Affordable Care Act (ACA or Obamacare) they knew it would take 14 years of taxes to pay for 10 years of benefits. So they started collecting four years before it even started, but still it’s become unsustainable. The Blues (Blue Cross/Blue Shield) have gotten out of the individual market, Preferred One has gotten out, Aetna is pulling out in many markets because it lost 400 plus million dollars. It’s just an unsustainable program. Some insurance providers are trying to make a go of it by getting bigger, and I don’t know if that is the answer. For example? Aetna wants to merge with Humana. The Department of Justice is saying they need to assess this. They fear Aetna is getting too big and if it fails it affects too many people. But the DOJ also has to be cautious because Aetna is threatening to pull out of the ACA altogether. And if Aetna gets out of Obamacare completely that wouldn’t be good for the program. The government needs to look at other alternatives, like opening up the borders to sell health insurance across state lines.

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• Mercy/St. Luke’s Paramedic Program, 1984–1986 • Iowa State Law Enforcement Academy, 1986 • Kirkwood Community College, OPA-C, AS 1988–1990 • University of Northwestern – St. Paul, BS 2002–2004 • Capella University, MBA, 2004–2006 • The American College of Medical Practice Executives, Certified Medical Practice Exec., 2013–2014

Andy Meyers | Orthopaedic & Fracture Clinic

have to go through each state to buy health insurance, well, I can’t drive a good price because my pool has now shrunk to only my Minnesota employees. So instead of basing it on the 30,000 total employees l have, I have to limit it to the 5,000 I have in Minnesota. So those kinds of things will help drive prices down as well. We have a long way to go and we have some barriers. Medicare reforms also big news for your industry. In 2015, the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA) passed. What changes has that meant for OFC? This goes back to the pay for performance plan I mentioned. Under MACRA, clinics like us have two options for payment from Medicare; the Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) and Advanced Alternative Payment Models (APMs). Very few, I think around 11%, are going to be able to go in under the APM. So the rest of us fall under MIPS. Well, under MIPS, there are 94 data points we have to collect. So now we may have to hire people just to collect data and make sure we are meeting desired goals. It’s tough because as a health care organization you try to stay lean, and be efficient, but they keep throwing things at you and they are constantly changing the guidelines. So in early November we’ll hear what kind of data they want from us for 2017. That will leave November and December to get staff trained for whatever it is they decide the guidelines will be. So under MIPS, after the year is over, they’ll look at all the participating providers, rank their performance, and draw a line and say these people that are below the line will lose money and these above the line will get money. And we won’t know what the threshold is until after the year is over.

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Is APM the better route? Yes, and the thought is that they want everyone on APM. But under APM they want you to “bundle” services and offer those bundled services for one fee. But in our business bundling can be very difficult. It’s not like a car repair place where I can bundle a tire rotation with an oil change. All of our patients have individual needs. We can’t offer the same things to everyone that walks in the door. So for APM they want us to take on more risk to get greater reward. Problem is, a lot of things don’t fit in that slot. So how it is going to shake out I don’t know. To be successful, it will take a tremendous amount of data tracking. Additionally, we can get docked payment for things that are out of our control. What is an example of what you could get docked for, that is out of your control? In the past a big push has been the Patient Portal. They have mandated that we have to have 5% of patients contacting us via the patient portal. Well, we can tell patients about it, but we can’t make them use it. If you are diabetic and your doctor says ‘don’t eat candy’. But you leave our offices and have a candy bar, well the provider has no control over what you eat. It’s the same with the portal. You visited us, you had a good outcome, and you have no questions, you are most likely not going to use portal. It’s different for places like Mankato Clinic. You go there many times for different things, so you may need your immunization records, or wonder what antibiotic you were on last time, or maybe check on your child’s sports and school physicals. For us, you fell and broke your arm, your arm gets better, so why would you contact us again. So it favors family practice. Specialty clinics are outside of their thought process. So it’s hard for us to drive the numbers they want when we are judged on the behavior of someone else. I get the intent of bettering patient communication; I don’t get us possibly getting docked from Medicare reimbursement because it’s based on patient behavior. So all we can do is make our best effort. It’s just part of the hoops.

Andy Meyers | Orthopaedic & Fracture Clinic

You’ve found some success in forging partnerships with others in the region. Yes, and that is partly in response to the Mayo situation. We have taken call at the hospital in Mankato and covered orthopaedics 24-7, 365 days a year for nearly 59 years. Then, they brought in their own orthopaedists, which is fine, except they didn’t take call. We were covering call so they could just work days, Monday through Friday, come in during regular hours, do their thing, and go home at the end of the day. We didn’t see the fairness in that, so we decided to stop taking call at the hospital. That aggravated them. So by not taking call, it changed our status and privileges at the hospital. So we can only do so many cases a year, and we can’t go over that number.

“Like us, River’s Edge has an excellent retention rate and as I mentioned, the quality of care is five star. So it has been a great partnership. And because of their size, we have better input in the system.” It was clear to us we needed to establish a relationship with another hospital to do inpatient surgery. So we looked at River’s Edge in St. Peter. It is actually a Medicarecertified five-star hospital. We’ve worked very hard to bring up their numbers. They were doing a small volume of simple orthopaedic cases like carpal tunnels, knee scopes, etc. Now at that hospital we are doing total joints and other cases at a pace of 65 to 75 a month. So they’ve worked hard to partner with us. They had to increase staff and provide additional training. Like us, they have an excellent retention rate and as I mentioned, the quality of care is five star. So it has been a great partnership. And because of River’s Edge size, we have better input in the system. With the size and layers at Mayo, it was very difficult to get input through or to try to change something. It was nearly impossible.

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“We have a very flat corporate structure. Employees have access to all levels of administration. And that’s it. No multiple layers. Very few committees. And that means lower overhead.” That’s a benefit OFC has, you’re locally-owned and don’t really have too many layers. We have a very flat corporate structure. Really, there is myself and an administrative team of five people. We do have department heads who are all working department heads. They don’t just manage but they actually do the work as well. Employees have access to all levels of administration. And that’s it. No multiple layers. Very few committees. And that means lower overhead. With health care costs as they are, that lower overhead plays a significant role. Yes, let’s go back to the pay for performance model I was talking about. Part of what will be looked at are costs. We have to be able to deliver a quality service at a reasonable cost and have quality outcomes. And the bigger the organization, the harder that will be. The bigger you are, the more leaders and committees you have, the more people and facilities you have to support. Well, that cost has to be passed on somewhere. We don’t have that liability here. We are working within our own system.

For example, we have the surgery center right here. We can do total joints in our surgery center, and then they recuperate in a skilled nursing facility. That is a drastically reduced cost than a hospital stay would be. It’s less for the insurance company to pay for and those are the things that are going to make a big difference in the future. The Surgery Center is located right here on the Mankato campus and I understand you share it with Mankato Clinic. Yes, it’s a cooperative effort. So it does a couple of things; it lets us gear all the staff and equipment around OFC’s and Mankato Clinic’s patients which helps us control costs, and patients don’t have to worry about exposure to sick people. Going into a hospital, there are a lot of sick people in there and that means you risk contracting it. But here we have a facility where the patients are predominantly healthy and they just need orthopaedic or other specialty care, they don’t have pneumonia or other infectious illness. There are already several models set up like that in the Twin Cities and across the nation

so I think you’ll see more and more of this type of facility. At The Surgery Center that’s all we do. We are efficient at it, and it helps us keep costs down. I think in some ways you are a well kept secret out here, because you can offer everything the cities can offer. You even have two MRI’s on site. Yes, there was a time that getting an MRI meant making a trip. But we have state-ofthe-art MRIs right here. One is a Hitachi 1.2 T (Tesla) which is an open-sided MRI. And we have a Siemens 3.oT with a 70 centimeter short bore. That is the strongest magnet you can have. We use it a lot for brains, neuro, vascular, breast, and musculoskeletal MRIs. The higher the Tesla the finer the detail. So for example, it can be used with a patient diagnosed with MS. The disease causes areas of demyelination in the brain. So we are able to track those to see where they are, how big, how many. We use the Siemens 3.0T magnet a lot for those hard to see areas.The Hitachi open sided is good for claustrophobic patients,

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Andy Meyers | Orthopaedic & Fracture Clinic

the obese patient and children because the parents can be in there and comfort the child during the procedure. What is the ownership structure of OFC? It is owned by the physicians, they are all partners or becoming partners.Their ownership helps drive the quality of care, improves their job satisfaction, and results in very low turnover. So when a doctor chooses to practice at OFC, the retention rate is pretty high? Our retention is very good. We have physicians who have been here 33 years! Other than retirement or moving, in my 26 years, maybe three or four have left. More invested because they are a part owner. Yes, but now there is a shift going on. There are two options, employee physician vs owner physician. So coming out of training the doctors will go into one of two camps. They may choose to go to work for somebody big like Allina or Mayo or Cleveland Clinic. In that case, they’ll have a salary and will get paid a certain amount and work only 8 to 5 or whatever the contract stipulates. But then there are those who want more control of their own destiny. Those that

want to go to a practice where they can be a partner and have a say in the direction and administration of that business. It used to be that 80 percent of those coming out of school wanted to be owners and partners and 20 percent became employees. But now I would say 60 percent want to be an employee and 40 percent an owner. What’s behind that shift do you think? It’s partially driven by the consumption of specialty practices by big systems. There are just not as many independent practices out there. Younger physicians tend to want a more traditional work day and family time, and just time off in general. Some don’t want the responsibility of managing a business so they want to go somewhere that all of that is taken care of. That way they can just come in, do their thing and leave. I don’t know if it’s a Gen X thing or what, but the younger ones coming in are just not as entrepreneurial. But those that do want to take ownership tend to be more motivated to be involved and to make sure patient care is what it is supposed to be. But there has been a swing in the other direction over the past few years. When people think of orthopaedics, they often just think of broken bones, things of that nature. But orthopaedics truly encompasses so many things. Yes, to become an orthopaedic surgeon,

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you go to college and medical school. Following medical school, you go into an orthopaedic residency program for five years. After that you can specialize for another year. There are six sub-specialties: adult reconstruction/joint replacement, spine, foot and ankle, upper extremities (UE) and hand, fractures/trauma, and sports medicine. We have subspecialists in several of these areas and we can treat specific problems within those areas. For example, if you have Dupuytren’s, carpal tunnel syndrome, tendon laceration, CMC arthritis you would want a hand/UE person. Or maybe you need a specialist in sports medicine. We have two surgeons trained to handle your needs. Spine and adult reconstruction are also available. As we have for years, we can handle trauma and fractures of all ages. And we are right here in Mankato and in communities all across Southern Minnesota. Editor Lisa Cownie, also of KEYC News 12, writes from Mankato.

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Despite my public persona at times, I am actually a quiet person. My nature is more reserved I would say. I would rather watch and listen silently in the background than be the center of attention. But I have never really been all that shy about my love for the southern Minnesota region. My passion and belief in this place just exudes from every part of me when I’m asked how I like living in Mankato and in Minnesota in general. You see, sometimes our winters give us a bad rap to my friends that live in more climate-friendly locations. I truly believe, actually I know, that this place is special. Time has gone quickly for me living here this time around. I’ve been back for seven years now. But to this day when people find out I moved to Mankato, Minnesota from Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii... the first reaction remains “You moved HERE from THERE? Are you crazy?” Well, the truth is, I’m crazy about Southern Minnesota. We’ve had the privilege of living in many areas of the country, and we have found it’s not the warmth of the climate that matters, it’s the warmth of the people. We first discovered Mankato, let’s just say

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“many”, years ago, when my husband Brodie and I moved here so he could attend what was then known as Mankato State University. Upon his graduation, we embarked on a life that would take us criss–crossing the country. He was an officer in the U.S. Coast Guard and that kept us on the move. And although each spot we landed never quite felt like home, we did grow to love Lisa Cownie things about each place that helped ready us for Editor our final spot: Mankato. We first moved to the San Francisco area. We chose to live about 50 miles north. There nestled in the valley near Napa, I learned to love wine. A couple of years later we trekked back across the country to the Washington D.C. area. There, nestled next to Quantico Marine Corps Base, I learned to love more deeply our brave service men and women, seeing first–hand the sacrifices they and their families make every day. After a few years there, we moved back across the country (I mean as far as you can go) to Hawaii. There nestled along the beach of Hawaii Kai, I learned to love the sun. As each adventure grew, so did our family. By the time we moved to Hawaii, our family had grown to six: Two parents, two boys and two girls. As the kids grew, so did our need to “settle down.” We were drawn back to the only place that truly felt like home, Mankato. So for the last time we packed our family, our belongings and our memories, and moved. Here nestled among neighbors and parks and schools and kindness, I have learned to love life. The good life.

Catch the new Hometown Business Connection on KEYC News 12! Every week, KEYC and Connect Business Magazine will bring you the stories of area local businesses and how they impact Southern Minnesota. • Starts Monday, October 24 @ 10 pm: An exclusive interview with Glen Taylor • Every Monday on KEYC News 12 at 10 • Every Tuesday on KEYC News 12 Midday

Deidre Hruby, Director of Patient Care and Jodi Ulmen, Quality and Risk Management Director

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By Carlienne A. Frisch Photo by Kris Kathmann

Two women focus on community collaboration to keep a rural hospital strong in the midst of industry changes.

There is a growing belief in the health care community that by 2020, one in three hospitals will close or reorganize into an entirely different type of health care service provider. Becker’s Hospital Review reports that hospitals and health systems in the United States are undergoing a dramatic shift in their business models due to a number of forces that are expected to eventually turn the industry on its head. Especially vulnerable, rural hospitals. According to the American Hospital Association, there are 5,724 hospitals in the United States. Of those, 1,984, or 35 percent, serve rural communities and are considered rural hospitals. Most of those have been designated as Critical Access Hospitals. CAHs are rural hospitals with no more than 25 beds and are at least 35 miles away from another hospital. Madelia Community Hospital & Clinic (MCHC) is in this category and sits right in the middle of the land of health care giants: Mayo, Sanford and Allina. However it continues to find ways to stand strong in the midst of a consolidation trend by focusing on the community it serves and developing key partnerships with other regional health care providers. All allowing MCHC to maintain its independent status. One change in the business model came in 2012 when MCHC entered into a professional services agreement with Mankato Clinic. For the past four years, the agreement has allowed Mankato Clinic to provide leadership service and physicians to help offer more access to Madelia’s patients, and support for its employees. With a partnership between the two health care entities, Mankato Clinic supports MCHC through its electronic health records, quality control, transcription team, and specialty services like onsite diagnostic imaging interpretation, ultrasound and lab. Mankato Clinic physicians and advanced practice providers working at MCHC also provide outreach services for urology and cardiology, which now include telemedicine appointments with Mankato Clinic Cardiologist Dr. Manpreet Kanwar. MCHC managers attend Mankato Clinic leadership team meetings so employees can follow the best practices for their colleagues and patients. In addition, Mankato Clinic CFO Steve Hatkin attends MCHC board meetings as a consult.

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Talk about your family. Ulmen: “I have a husband and two adult children. My daughter is a nurse.” Hruby: “My husband and I have four sons and one daughter-in-law. One son is working on a nursing degree.” How do you relax? Ulmen: “I like to sit on the deck with my husband and enjoy a cup of coffee or a glass of wine, depending on the time of day.” Hruby: “International travel, cooking, baking, sewing, being with grandchildren.” Of what accomplishment are you most proud? Ulmen: “Achieving my nursing education. I was a 30-year-old non-traditional student with two active kids and a very supportive husband. I studied on Sundays.” Hruby: “Raising our children with my husband to have ethics, values and a work ethic, and leading by example.” What possession or what intangible do you value most? Ulmen: “I don’t value possessions. I value God and my family.” Hruby: “My family means the most to me in the whole world.” What words describe you? Ulmen: “Organized, a good listener, patient, and my husband says I’m the rock.” Hruby: “Good listener, optimistic—and my mom always said I was an over achiever.” If you weren’t at MCHC, what would you be doing? Ulmen: “I’d retire and do volunteer work.” Hruby: “My dream job is to be a shopping director on a cruise ship, or work for a company as Director of Fun. I could also be a vacation planner or tour guide.”

Madelia Hospital & Clinic | Madelia

“The top four issues in the community were obesity, cancer, cardiac disease and diabetes — all linked to sugar consumption. We saw the need.” Aside from that partnership, MCHC also propelled community engagement to the forefront of its business practices and two MCHC staff members, Jodi Ulmen and Deidre Hruby, are leading the charge. Ulmen, Quality and Risk Management Director for MCHC, and Hruby, the Director of Patient Care, are helping the hospital meet the challenges of the industry today by including the local community in what they do by providing resources, sharing knowledge and developing relationships. Ulmen says, “It’s not just about the patients; it’s about the community.” And certainly, MCHC has been a crucial part of the community since it was founded in 1950. This is not the first time it has had to ride out changes in health care, adapt to demographic shifts, and reinvent itself in the midst of the influence of larger health care institutions. Its vital signs are good. Madelia Community Hospital & Clinic is a 25-bed inpatient/ outpatient facility that also boasts a 24-hour emergency care facility with comprehensive medical, surgical and radiological capabilities. It is accredited by the Joint Commission and is a federally designated critical access hospital. MCHC has Spanish-speaking providers. Its services range from acute care to preventative care and many types

of screening tests are offered locally. Its home health staff serves a 25-mile radius. And now, with the guidance of Ulmen and Hruby, they are able to take that one step further. It all started with the federally-mandated program that requires every nonprofit hospital to do a community needs assessment every three years. Hruby admits the results were not all that surprising, but it did give them a call to action. Hruby says, “The top four issues in the community were obesity, cancer, cardiac disease and diabetes — all linked to sugar consumption. We saw the need.” MCHC’s web page states what many Americans already know — that health studies have shown a direct link between the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages, such as soda, sweetened teas, flavored milks and sports drinks, with significant weight gain in children and adults. The data are significant for the Madelia community. In Watonwan County, the obesity rate is 28 percent and the diabetes rate is higher than the state average. As a result of the hospital survey results, the Madelia CommunityBased Collaborative was formed. And in 2014, the hospital helped launch the “Rethink Your Drink” campaign through the Collaborative,

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016

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Vital Statistics

Hruby and Ulmen with Rethink Your Drink campaign marketing materials.

with the goal of improving the health and well-being of Madelia residents. (The drink does not refer to alcoholic beverages, but rather sugary drinks.) The Collaborative received a grant through the Statewide Health Improvement Program to fund the project. Ulmen and Hruby, both of whom have a nursing background, serve on the MCBC board, which meets monthly and includes additional hospital employees. The Collaborative has involved representatives

of SHIP, the Minnesota State University-Mankato School of Nursing, the Glen Taylor Institute for Family and Society, and Watonwan County Human Services, as well as a University of Minnesota Extension Educator, a Madelia Public Schools representative and a representative of the Ministerial Association. Ulmen says, “When researching obesity, we learned that many factors contribute to obesity, and sugary drinks play a significant role. They are the easiest to remove from the diet, so we focused on that. It’s not about ‘taking it away,’ but about awareness to healthier alternatives, making the healthy choice the easy choice. Our main focus has been the kids, and they have been shocked at how much sugar is in soft drinks. At community events we also reach middle-aged and elderly residents. Ulmen says that early in the Rethink Your Drink campaign, the Minnesota Department of Public Health raised the question of handling push-back from pop companies. The issue was addressed in the media, with pop companies nevertheless stating that lack of exercise, not pop consumption, causes obesity. Leading by example is, of course, crucial. Hruby says, “Here at the hospital, we need to walk the talk. The picture on the front of the two beverage machines in the break room is now a bottle of water.” Ulmen adds, “The pop machines now have less than 50 percent of sugary beverages. The other policy change is that no sugary beverages are served in the dietary department. When a person asks, ‘What if someone is nauseated?’, we say that ginger tea is a good alternative to 7-Up. Ginger tea is available in the department.” The duo is hoping other businesses will follow their example by

Vital Statistics

Invested In Madelia Ulmen and Hruby both grew up in Madelia and have strong ties to Madelia Community Hospital & Clinic. Ulmen said, “I’ve lived here all my life, except for three years when my husband was in the Air Force in Minot, N.D. When I was 19, I had my tonsils out in this hospital.” Hruby, who was born in Madelia Community Hospital, countered, “I had my tonsils out here when I was five.” The two Madelia community movers and shakers answered a few questions about their backgrounds. What were your favorite and least favorite classes? Ulmen: “Accounting was my favorite. I thought I wanted to be a bookkeeper. My least favorite class was English. I prefer to read for knowledge.” Hruby: “Chemistry — I had the best chemistry 24

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teacher in the world, Mr. Abraham. Algebra was my least favorite. How can X plus Y equal three?” Of what accomplishment are you most proud? Ulmen: “Getting my Licensed Practical Nursing degree in 1999 and my Associate Degree in Nursing in 2008 — both from what is now South Central College in North Mankato.” Hruby: “Getting my Bachelor of Science degree in 1994 from MSU-Mankato as a non-traditional student.” Why did you choose a medical career? Ulmen: “Nursing was my second career, after accounting. I had figured out where I belonged.” Hruby: “When I went back to school as a non-traditional student, I considered pre-med, but that would have been difficult to do when raising a family.” What career track did they follow at Madelia Community Hospital & Clinic? Ulmen is a registered nurse with a current Minnesota

Madelia Hospital & Clinic | Madelia

“Here at the hospital, we need to walk the talk. The picture on the front of the two beverage machines in the break room is now a bottle of water.” having healthier options in the workplace. Members of the Collaborative initially brainstormed ways to engage the community in reducing consumption of sugary beverages. The campaign has involved Facebook postings, a school poster contest, interactive displays at park events and inviting nursing students to speak to school health classes. The most popular aspect may be MCHC’s mascot, “Flat Doc,” a life-size one-dimensional figure in green scrubs that often accompanies the MCBC displays to help promote healthy lifestyles and encourage community members to be active. The Rethink Your Drink campaign also has had an effect on students’ experiences in school. Madelia schools have established hydration stations, and refillable water bottles have been provided to each student, funded by a U-Care grant. A Minnesota Department of Health grant paid for infuser water bottles for all school employees and all MCHC staff. Employees of Luther Memorial Home and Tony Downs Food Company received information and infuser

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license and has been the Quality and Risk Management Director since October 2007. Before returning to SCC for nurses’ training, Ulmen worked as a loan secretary at Farmers State Bank in Madelia for nearly five years. She began her medical career at Madelia Community Hospital as a Nursing Assistant, progressed to being a staff Licensed Practical Nurse, then the education coordinator, then the social service designee and eventually the discharge planner, before achieving her current position as the Director of Quality and Risk Management. Like Ulmen, Hruby has maintained her RN license and began her medical career track at Madelia Community Hospital. Her first exposure to the hospital was as a Candy Striper to gain volunteer hours for Girl Scouts in the 1970s. She began her employment as a Nursing Assistant, progressed to being a Registered Charge Nurse and then a Home Health Care Nurse before assuming her current position as Director of Patient Care. NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016

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Vital Statistics

Hospital History The Madelia Community Hospital was founded nearly a century ago. A look back at its history offers a glimpse into the progress of medical care–the changes and improvements that brought better patient care to past generations and to today’s patients. Here are some of the Madelia Community Hospital’s milestones. ■ 1918—Dr. W.J. McCarthy purchased the Hoffman residence and converted it into a private hospital with 12 beds. Millie Sharper was Madelia Community Hospital’s first nurse. ■ 1941—The Village of Madelia purchased the hospital and operated it as a municipal hospital until 1954. ■ 1950—A nonprofit fund-raising corporation was formed to raise funds from residents to build a new hospital. ■ 1952—St. Paul architect, Max Buetow, presented plans for a 22-bed hospital. Dr. H.E. Coulter donated the new site at 121 Drew Avenue SE (still the present site, shown above). ■ May 1953—Construction began. ■ June 1954—Patients and equipment were moved to the new hospital. The first hospital superintendent was John A. Sivertsen, employed on a part-time basis, with Ruth Zimmerman the superintendent of nurses. One year later, she took over both positions and remained administrator until June 1968. 26

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■ 1962-63—An eight-bed addition was added to the south end of the hospital, with a full basement that included a meeting room and a storage area. ■ 1966—The hospital qualified for Medicare; oxygen was piped in and suction equipment was installed. ■ 1967—Complete heart monitoring equipment was installed. ■ 1970—The hospital became a member of the American Hospital Association. ■ 1970-71—A major remodel included an addition to house the laboratory, x-ray room, dressing rooms, waiting area, physicians’ lounge, dirty linen area and mechanical room. ■ 1971—The Joint Commission of Accreditation accredited the hospital, with full accreditation being achieved ever since. ■ 1978—A physical therapy department was established. ■ 1980—A blood analyzer was purchased, improving emergency care. ■ 1984—The Swing Bed Medicare certified program began. ■ 1985—The Home Health Care certified program began. ■ 1992—Candace Fenske was named Hospital Administrator; she remains in that position. ■ 1997—A two-story, 18,000-square-foot addition was added onto the north side of the hospital to accommodate the Madelia Clinic, laboratory and an ambulance bay on the upper level, and dental, optometry, physical therapy and home care on the lower level.

Madelia Hospital & Clinic | Madelia

water bottles through employee wellness programs. Medical statistics may be an indicator of success in the future. Both women are considering the next aspect of reducing obesity and diabetes in the Madelia community. Ulmen says, “Rethink Your Drink bridges to the next phase — the benefits of exercise, diet and sleep. We will increase public awareness of the variety of fruits and vegetables available. For example, during Madelia Park Days, the UM Extension Educator taught community members how to cut a jicama or a mango and offered tasting samples. Kids got the opportunity to participate in the American Heart Associationsponsored Jump Rope for Heart, and, of course, the Rethink Your Drink booth made another appearance.” Last year, the MCHC and MCBC began another campaign,

■ 1999—A new entrance was constructed, offering one-entrance access to the hospital, clinic, optometrist and dentist. Madelia Clinic joined Mayo-ISJ. ■ 2004—A post anesthesia recovery area was added/remodeled. Electronic medical record keeping began. The non-profit Madelia Community Hospital Foundation was formed to raise and manage donations of funds and property. ■ 2006—A ground breaking was held for the addition of 12,461 square feet and for a remodel. The $8 million project included a new patient wing with private wellness rooms. ■ 2008—New Ulm Orthopedics began seeing patients at MCH. ■ 2010—MCH was designated a Level 4 Trauma Hospital. ■ 2011—Mayo Clinic Health Systems ended operation on the Madelia Campus. A service agreement with Mankato Clinic was signed. ■ 2012—Avera e-Emergency activated for the ER Department. MCHC Physical Therapy began a satellite clinic at the Lake Crystal Area Recreation Center. The Madelia Community Hospital & Clinic is an independent, non-profit 501c3 organization, formed in 1950 to raise funds for a new hospital. Currently, as in the past, the organization is directed by a board of nine area residents, with Candace Fenske as CEO. MCHC currently has a relationship with the Mankato Clinic, which employs doctors, nurse practitioners and physician assistants for MCHC. All other staff are employed directly by MCHC.

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Vital Statistics

responding to concerns about suicide in the community. Hruby says, “MCBC was well established and quickly pulled together a mental health task force. All of the people involved brought ideas. An instructor at Minnesota State University Mankato taught QPR (question, persuade, respond), which coaches a lay person to ask ’Are you having thoughts of hurting yourself?’ and then to help the other person get appropriate help — to persuade them to go to the Emergency Room or to a mental health practitioner. “We knew the community had questions about suicide and mental illness,” she continues. “In June we had a workshop for people who might have a connection — emergency medical technicians, police officers, health care providers, county public health employees and ministers. In July we had a community forum for anyone who wanted to learn more about suicide prevention. More than 30 people attended. Last year, QPR training was provided to more than 90 teachers, aides and school administrators and was offered to the community.” Hruby says, “On World Suicide Prevention Day, we gave Madelia High School students a semi colon ‘tattoo’ with skin markers. The semi-colon signifies suicide awareness, meaning ‘the story’s not over yet.’ The semi-colon represents a sentence that the author could have ended, but chose not to do so. The sentence is your life, and the author is you. We also gave students Lifesaver candy and told them, ‘Have a Lifesaver, be a life saver.’ “We want to get information out there,”

Madelia Hospital & Clinic | Madelia

THE ESSENTIALS

Madelia Hospital & Clinic Phone: (507) 642-3255 Address: 121 Drew Avenue SE Madelia, Minnesota

Strategic Partnership Series

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she continues. “There’s such a stigma about mental illness. Last December we had a caring program on ‘how to handle the holidays when your family member is gone.’ For Madelia Park Days, I put together activity folders about feelings and had them next to the collaborative’s other booths. By the end of the event, they were all gone — taken by kids, parents and grandparents. A hospital employee and a county social worker who have had Mental Health First Aid instructor training have been teaching others. We have more SHIP funds available to train people who work with youth — teachers, Scout leaders, etc.” The need for mental health education is substantial in rural communities. MCHC’s website indicates that nearly 20 percent of people in the United States live in a rural area. Because rural populations are often underserved, they deal with disparities in health and behavioral health. The Collaborative offers an adult Mental Health First Aid Course to anyone 18 years or older, which covers anxiety, depression, psychosis and addictions. The programs have been noted. Ulmen says, “The Minnesota Department of Health is very interested in what we’re doing in our model programs.” Hruby explains further: “At the Minnesota Rural Health Association conference in June, the Department of Health discussed suicide prevention through community collaboration and lauded our Madelia community project.” Ulmen says, “Our goal is to demonstrate how it all ties together – Rethink Your Drink and the mental health task force – our physical well being and our mental well being.” These are community initiatives driven by the community’s health partner, Madelia Community Hospital & Clinic.

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Carlienne A. Frisch writes from Mankato.

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Minnesota State Mankato Strategic Partnership Series

Something To Smile About The partnership between Open Door Health Center and Minnesota State Mankato’s dental hygiene program benefits both the students and the patients they serve. During her senior year at Minnesota State University, Mankato, Karie Seifert and her dental hygiene classmates went into local elementary schools to provide basic screenings to the students. It was during those visits, which were part of a partnership between the university and Open Door Health Center, that Seifert starting thinking about a different path for her career. “It made me want to do more than just work in a dental clinic,” she says. “It made me want to be able to help those kids even more.” Seifert, who graduated in 2011, now helps coordinate those school visits as the school outreach coordinator for Open Door. She also

works with the Minnesota State University, Mankato dental hygiene students who come to Open Door to see patients there and is an adjunct instructor at her alma mater. She is living proof of how powerful the partnership between the university and Open Door Health Center can be. “One of the great things about this partnership is that it can spark an interest in community health,” says Jennifer Neal, the dental services manager for Open Door. “We often get hygienists who will apply for positions after they graduate. We’ve already hired one from last year’s graduating class.” continued > NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016

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Lynette Engeswick, a longtime faculty member in Minnesota State Mankato’s dental hygiene program who helped launch both the school outreach and the clinical partnerships with Open Door, says the experience is critical for her students. Not only does it offer the kind of real-world experience they need before they graduate, but it also opens their eyes to needs they might not have seen before. “The people who come in to Open Door aren’t focused on preventative care,” Engeswick explains. “They come in because they are in pain and they need treatment. These are patients who have extensive dental decay and extensive periodontal disease—and that is not something many of our students have seen before.” Most of the students have grown up going to the dentist every six months. They haven’t experienced dental disease in their own lives or in the lives of their friends and family, and they have very little context for how many people are dealing with it. Nor do they understand the other struggles that people are often facing. Working with the patients at Open Door reveals how many other issues that might come into play, from hunger and poverty to addiction and abuse.

Minnesota State Mankato Strategic Partnership Series

less if they work with a student,” she says. “A lot of them are nervous about that at first, but when we tell them that there will be someone there helping the students, they are much more comfortable.” Seniors in the dental hygiene program are scheduled to work at the clinic on Fridays; each of them is given two Fridays as part of the rotation. That allows Open Door to serve more patients, Neal says—especially those who need extensive treatments. “We see a fair amount of need scaling and root planing here,” she says, “so having the students here helps us see more patients in general.” Partnering with the University also allows Open Door to serve more schools as well. “Some of the smaller schools we can do on our own,” Seifert says, “but the bigger schools, we just couldn’t serve without them. The number of kids we’d get to see would be much lower.” During the 2015-16 school year, 20 students from Minnesota State Mankato visited a total of 22 public, private and charter schools in the Greater Mankato area; they provided a basic oral health screening to 1,922 children—and gave each of them a toothbrush,

Partnering with the University also allows Open Door to serve more schools as well. “Some of the smaller schools we can do on our own,” Seifert says, “but the bigger schools, we just couldn’t serve without them. The number of kids we’d get to see would be much lower.”

“It’s social justice,” Engeswick says. “So often we blame the client for the illness. In fact, we judge them for it. But in the social justice model, you realize that it’s multi-factoral. This opens their eyes to what their patients are dealing with.” Clients at Open Door Health Center benefit as well. Many of the treatments needed for advanced stages of oral disease are cost prohibitive even with the sliding fee scale that is available to Open Door patients. But the fees to see the students are substantially less. Neal says that clinic staff are quick to mention that option when they are working with a patient who needs such expensive treatments as scaling and root planing. “We go through the options with them and explain that they will pay 32

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floss and toothpaste. The program, which is funded by grants from Delta Dental Foundation and the Minnesota Department of Health, is also an opportunity for some of the children to have sealants placed, which are meant to help prevent future cavities from forming. For many of the students, it was their only interaction with a dental health care provider—and it often revealed more significant problems that needed to be addressed. “When we go into the schools, we’re counting teeth and looking for visible holes,” Engeswick explains. “When we find something that needs to be taken care of, we refer them to the dentists at Open Door, which now has a pediatric dentist on staff one day per week” For many of the students, it’s their first opportunity working with

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children. Most of the school work is focused on adult periodontal care, because that is what they are tested on when they take their board examinations. But many, like Seifert, find the experience to be both valuable and gratifying. “I never felt like we had enough experience with kids,” Seifert says. “That really helped me understand how to work with kids and how to know what is what in their mouths, since they often have both baby teeth and permanent teeth.” It also helped her understand how dire the situation was for some very young patients. The amount of decay present in many children was disheartening at first, Seifert says, likely due to the fact that many of the students they see have not received much, if any, dental care. The good news, however, is that since the program first started, the amount of decay they’ve detected has dropped. “It’s dropped big time,” Seifert says. “We have seen a huge improvement.” Engeswick says that the real power of the school program is that the dental hygiene students gain a greater appreciation for the diverse situations their own school classmates may have been in. “They aren’t that far from the age of the students they’re screening,” she says. “They probably never realized that their classmates were coming to school with cavities of this kind. Now they are able to see what it’s like to be a child living in poverty.” In the long run, what the students get out of the University’s partnerships with Open Door goes well beyond enhancing their dental hygiene skills. Working with patients at Open Door requires them to refine such “soft skills” as communicating with patients, managing their time appropriately and maintaining their professionalism, as well. “This is the stuff you can’t teach in the classroom,” Engeswick says. “They can’t arrive late because there’s a patient there waiting for them. And they can’t go long with one patient because the next patient is there waiting too. It’s an experience that simulates what real-life in this profession will be like for them, and it helps them with the transfer from education to practice.” During their rotations at Open Door, the students often find themselves doing tasks that aren’t directly patient related—and that, too, prepares them for the real world. “If they don’t have a patient, they have to help out in other ways,” Neal explains. “They may be pulling charts or helping with sterilization. They learn what it’s like to be part of a team and how it works in the real world.” Engeswick is always happy when one or two of the graduating students decide to go into community health instead of private practice—but no matter what path they choose, she knows that the experience at Open Door will inform their work. “It just might change the bias they have about the patients they’ll see in private practice,” she says. “They’ll be better able to understand why someone didn’t keep their six-month appointment and learn not to judge.”

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Cade Hartwig and Alek Gullickson have joined the sales team at Hawkins Chevrolet in Fairmont.

Kasota Kasota-based Vetter Stone Company announces the promotion of Ben Kaus to Vice President. Kaus joined Vetter Stone two years ago as the Operations Manager and will continue with those duties in addition to serving as an officer in the company. Vetter Stone quarries, cuts and ships stone to destinations around the world from their quarry locations in Minnesota and Alabama. Their stone is utilized by architects and designers in the commercial, landscaping and residential markets. Vetter Stone employs more than 130 people nationwide. Chankaska Creek Ranch and Winery’s single varietal 2015 La Crescent earned the Minnesota Governor’s Cup for the best

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Minnesota grape wine. This prestigious award was awarded by the 2016 International Cold Climate Wine Competition (ICCWC), at the University of Minnesota’s Continuing Education Conference Center in St. Paul. The Minnesota Governor’s Cup is a lovely large silver ice bucket trophy that recognizes the “Best of Show” or top prize of all Minnesota gold-winning wines. The trophy travels around and “we are thrilled to have it displayed in our tasting room,” says Mike Drash Chankaska’s Head Winemaker. This year’s competition included 354 wines from 64 commercial wineries in 13 states and Canada. Awards were based on blind tastings by 20 expert judges, who include enologists, wine writers, restaurateurs, retailers and wine educators.

Mankato Regus Office Space has named Jennifer Wanderscheid the new Area Manager of the Mankato region. She will concentrate on building relationships with both small startup businesses seeking to move beyond their work-at-home environment as well as with larger corporations looking for executive office space. “I’ve lived in the Mankato area my entire adult life and I am devoted to bringing new exciting opportunities to the area business community. I am excited to head up a vibrant business center in downtown Mankato that brings the unique offerings of Regus to our community. I worked from home for years, and I know how isolating that is. I wish a flexible business center like this would have been an option for me all those years ago,” says Wanderscheid. The new Regus center is located on the third floor of Profinium Place in downtown Mankato. Regus is the largest provider of flexible office space in the United States with more than 1,000 locations in the U.S. and more than 3,000 locations globally. Its mission is to manage their office and business needs so that they can focus

on growing their company. The facilities were designed with a mix of workspaces that enable its clients to be productive and successful. Offerings include: offices to provide privacy when people need to hunker down; lounges, for road warriors who need a place to drop in, plug in and work; and co-working spaces, collaborative spaces that enable people to be surrounded by like-minded professionals. All of the services are booked based on client needs. Regus can rent space by the hour, day, week, month or year with flexible contracts. For more information, visit regus.com or call (507) 330-7110. David Krause, CEO of Pioneer Bank introduces some new roles within the bank. “I’m proud to announce that Mike Kunkel has been named President of our Greater Mankato Market,” said Krause. “Mike has demonstrated the leadership and relationship building skills that are so important to leading a team. We are very excited about what he can bring to his new role.” Kunkel’s transition will begin immediately and he will relocate to the bank’s Mankato branch on Stadium Road. Kunkel fills the position previously held by Duane Olenius. Olenius has been named the bank’s first Chief Relationship Officer. “Duane has earned this promotion and the opportunity to lead our relationship building process bank wide, expanding our focus on bringing value to our customer relationships”. Krause also announced new roles for additional bank staff. Vice President Alissa Brekke, the bank’s longtime residential

MANKATO

Mankato Clinic Mankato Clinic is proud to announce that Chief Medical Officer and Psychiatrist Dr. Julie Gerndt has been selected as one of 100 Influential Minnesota Health Care Leaders by Minnesota Physician.

mortgage department head, will begin to focus on business banking. Brekke has been with the bank it’s entire 12-year existence in the Mankato area. Andrea Mattes, a business banker for the past two years, will fill Brekke’s role in the residential mortgage department. Mattes has been with the bank for six years, with experience as a credit analyst in addition to her recent years as a business banker. Mattes’ business banker role will be filled by Jennifer Wiens. Wiens currently serves the bank’s loan production office in Lake Crystal. She will continue to staff that office in addition to spending most of her time in the bank’s North Mankato branch. Pioneer Bank has grown to over $400 million in total assets and has offices in Mankato, North Mankato, St. James, Mapleton, Madelia, Lewisville and a loan production office in Lake Crystal.

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ISG is pleased to announce the recent acquisition of Green Bay-based Raasch Associates, Inc., better known as Raasch Engineers | Architects. The acquisition increases ISG’s overall professional team to more than 230. The Minnesota Board of Nursing has completed campus and clinical site visits at Bethany Lutheran College (BLC) and has officially granted permission to the college to establish a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) program. As a result of the state board’s action, Bethany’s Board of Regents also officially approved the addition of the new major during their August 2016 meeting. The first nursing cohort at BLC will begin their studies in Fall 2017. Pre-nursing courses are already in place and current students may prepare to apply to the nursing program while taking these courses. With formal state approval, the college is now in the process of hiring nursing faculty and is taking inquiries from prospective students about the program. Marco, a leading technology services provider in the United States, announced that it has purchased Document & Network Technologies (DNT), a copier/printer and business IT services company located in St. Louis, MO. Their 80 employees have

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joined the Marco team. “This is our largest acquisition to date,” said Jeff Gau, Marco CEO. This is the 14th acquisition the company has completed over the past three years.

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GMG is pleased to announce the selection of Bridget Norland as its new Director of Marketing & Communications. True Real Estate announces the expansion of their business to the Henderson community with realtor, Cara Bishop. In addition, True Real Estate has hired two realtors for their Mankato location, Chantal Heetland and George Massad. Bishop works from the True Real Estate office on Main Street in Henderson and is a long-time resident of the Le Sueur and Henderson area. She has over 14 years of combined marketing and real estate experience and is very active in the community. Chantal Heetland joined True Real Estate in June and George Massad joined True Real Estate in August. Both are committed to providing genuine service and a rewarding experience for both buyers and sellers for true results. Bolton & Menk, Inc. was selected as winner of the American Public Works Association (APWA) 2016 Harry S. Swearingen Award for Outstanding Achievement and Excellence in Chapter Service – Corporate Division. APWA’s goal of providing opportunities that help public works personnel directly impact the quality of life in all the communities they serve aligns well with the firm’s corporate values and philosophy of seeking and delivering the right solutions to its public clients. This national award was presented at the APWA Public Works Expo in Minneapolis on August 29. Since 1958, Bolton & Menk is only the fourth Minnesota-based company to receive the award. Schmidt Siding & Window is named to Qualified Remodeler’s Top 500 List, which ranks America’s largest remodeling companies based on annual revenue. This is the 22nd consecutive year that Schmidt has been named to the Qualified Remodelers Top 500 list. The Mankato-based home

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improvement company placed 186th this year, completing 1,850 remodeling jobs in 2015. “There are around 265,000 licensed remodelers in the U.S. and another 500,000 unlicensed remodelers, so we’re honored to have been in the top 200 on this list for 22 years,” said Schmidt Siding & Window president Dale Brenke. “Our team’s focus will always be on customer satisfaction and quality workmanship. Our goal is to exceed expectations and create lifelong customers.” Angie VanEman-Riley of American

MANKATO

Mayo Clinic Terry Brandt has been named chair of administration for Mayo Clinic Health System Southwest Minnesota Region. He succeeds Rich Grace who, after a 40-year career with Mayo Clinic, will retire at the end of 2016.

Way Realty has been ranked #7 on REAL Trend’s list ‘America’s Best Real Estate Agents’ in the state of Minnesota, and as the top female real estate agent in Minnesota for 2016. Additionally, VanEman-Riley was honored in The Wall Street Journal by REAL Trends on ‘The Thousand’ – a nationally ranked list of the top 1,000 agents in the United States. Most recently, VanEman-Riley has been named as one of the ‘100 Most Influential Real Estate Agents in Minnesota 2016’ by Real Estate Executives Magazine. September marked two years of home care services for the people of southern Minnesota from locally-owned Freedom Home Care, LLC. In anticipation of services for year three, FHC has added staff and services to meet the needs of current and future clients. FHC is now offering medication management services. These services include medication set-up and medication administration. This allows FHC to help

monitor the medication a client is taking to ensure they are complying with their medication regimen. Overall the focus is to make sure the client is using their medications appropriately and safely. Patty Christensen, long-time Registered Nurse and active community member has been hired to facilitate the medication management services in addition to assisting the comprehensive class of clients FHC serves. Another new addition to the FHC team is Client Care Coordinator Jen Olson. Olson will be assisting clients and client families by performing initial home visits, customizing care plans, coordinating caregivers, maintaining communication, and ensuring satisfaction with services. Abdo, Eick & Meyers is pleased to announce the following promotions: Derek Halvorson, Senior Manager; Tara Torseth, Senior Manager; Erin Enstad, Manager; Thomas Kueber, Manager; Heidi Lellman, Manager; Justin Nilson, Manager; Bonnie Schwieger, Manager; Brad Wallace, Manager; Zach Doud, Client Services Senior Accountant; Laura Jans, Senior Accountant; Riley Petersen, Senior Accountant; Lelia Leonhardt, Client Services Accountant and Jolene Marsh, Office Manager.

New Ulm Brian Spangler is the newest IT Network Administrator at Thriveon, a Managed IT Services Provider headquartered in New Ulm. Prior to coming onboard with Thriveon, Spangler’s 14 year IT career has been in the government sector for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the City of St. Paul where he was a System Administrator. Visit our website to browse our Career Opportunities: www.thriveon.net/work-here.

Region Nine Region Nine Development Commission will be awarded the 2016 Innovation Award from the National Association of Development Organizations (NADO) Research Foundation for Creating a Dementia

Friendly Community. Creating a Dementia Friendly Community began in August 2014 when Region Nine Development Commission (RNDC) was awarded funds from ACT on Alzheimer’s to begin the Mankato/North Mankato Act on Alzheimer’s toolkit for making the community dementia friendly. ACT on Alzheimer’s is a volunteer-driven, statewide collaboration working to prepare Minnesota for the personal, social and budgetary impacts of Alzheimer’s disease and other related dementias.

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Amy Long is the new Administrator at Mayo Clinic Health System in St. James. Mayo Clinic Health System, St. James has been named an Acute Stroke Ready Hospital by the Minnesota Department of Health. St. James Fire Chief Jason Monnens was selected as the Minnesota State Fire Department Association’s 2016 Educator & Community Awareness award winner. Second Hand Treasures thrift store has opened in downtown St. James.

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Waseca From the Chamber: New members are Kritzer Investments LTD, Waseca County Auto Sales, Riverbend Business Products, Westbrack Marketing and Bomgaars. The Chamber Ambassadors presented Business Progress awards to EnvisionNelemans Construction, Minnesota Truck and Equipment Repair and Waseca County Auto Sales. The Waseca Art Center announces new hours; Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday from 11 a.m. to 5 a.m. and Thursday 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Farmamerica announces its new executive director, Jessica Rollins. Katie Clayton is the new owner of Current Rays Tanning. A new business, the Refinery Boutique, is opening in downtown Waseca.

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Businesses Building Healthy Communities MANKATO CLINIC Celebrating A Century – Celebrating Community

Mankato Clinic’s century celebration is collaboration at its best. As the Mankato Clinic celebrates its 100-year anniversary in 2016, it wanted to not only reflect on its past but to also focus on the future and how Mankato Clinic can play a bigger role in helping the community achieve better overall health. The “Thrive” campaign was developed with this in mind. Its goal is to create awareness and provide practical e divisiontools your and teamresources is placedaround the key areas ollow thisofguideline: healthy diet, physical activity and optimal sleep. Building on principles from the Participant Total book “Eat, Move, Sleep” by Tom Rath, the 5-10 primary message is that small choices each 11-25 day can lead to big changes in achieving 26-50 healthier lives. As a provider of health care 51-100 services, Mankato Clinic saw the Thrive campaign as a way to go upstream to

ons

Captain

help the residents of Southern Minnesota achieve their health goals. CEO Randy Farrow says the program has been well received and the clinic has been able to create some great partnerships with a number of organizations to help move it forward. “This really needs to be a community-wide effort to be successful and have an impact,” says Dr. Farrow. “KEYC News 12 has been a key partner in creating awareness through their weekly Thrive segments featuring expert advice from Mankato Clinic specialists as well as human interest stories from community members. The library systems

t designate a team captain. The job entails:

MANKATO FAMILY YMCA members. Workplace Wellness – Why It’smembers. A Good Investment eam and sign up team

Shape-Up Challenge at their

hirts.

By Lisa Cownie

For any business, large or small, losing

er your team and teammates and an employee to frequent sick days or an at the same time. No changes to any ation will beextended made afterabsence August 1.can really harm pro-

ductivity. That’s one driving force behind

ts at the Mankato Family YMCA a surge in the popularity of employee k.

wellness programs. In fact a study by the

s will be notified by the YMCA when Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, available to be picked up.

shows that generally speaking a company-

orksite weekly wide minutes wellness program can save $2.43 for ill be provided by the YMCA that you every $1 spent. A report from U.S. Corporint and enlarge at your company.

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he Shape-Up Challenge Events employee wellness program can result in a e of classes that are offered by the Y, 20% to 55%Challenge reduction in health care costs AILY basis to Shape-Up for the business. the four weeks of competition.

in Mankato, North Mankato and St. Peter have promoted the book “Eat, Move, Sleep” and the kids version “The Rechargeables” in support of the initiative. Other organizations and communities have also gotten behind the effort. But the most powerful indicator of success has been the numerous testimonials we’ve received from community members that have shared how their experience with Thrive has lead them down the path to a healthier and more fulfilling life.” For more on the Thrive campaign and for some healthy living tips, go to Mankatoclinic. com\Thrive.

SHAPE UP. GAME ON.

Workplace wellness doesn’t have to mean on-site gyms and in-house personal trainers. There are some simple ways you can incorporate a plan into your business without investing a lot of time or money. One way is to partner with a local gym or YMCA. This is not a new concept to the Mankato Family YMCA as it has had employee wellness programs in place for more than 30 years. One, known as the Shape-Up Challenge, runs for one month a year. “It started as a means to promote employee wellness and to help jump start exercise programs for people who may not be moving as regularly as they should be,” says director of the program for the Y, Barbara Mullally. “It also was designed as a community event where local businesses competed against one another in a friendly

d logging the weekly team totals.

y totals Tuesday the 38 by noon CONNECT Businessto Magazine y YMCA at:

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and fun exercise competition.” The 2016 Shape-Up challenge is just coming to an end. This year 45 area businesses participated. Mullally says, “The idea is for employees to cheer each other on as they compete against other businesses to exercise the most minutes within a four week period.” The Y believes programs like the ShapeUp Challenge are important not only for the health of the people involved, but for the health of the business too. “A team of healthy employees can bring lowered expenses in return, often in the form of better performing workers, lower absenteeism and health care costs,” she says. “Employees are the most valuable assets to any company. By providing workers with healthy incentives, companies are improving well being and job satisfaction, as well as raising retention rates. The welfare of the employees has a direct impact on the success of the company.” For businesses thinking of starting an

employee wellness program it can be overwhelming. Here are some best practices to keep in mind:

ting goals to increase that number periodically. Some insurance providers may offer pedometers for free.

Begin with employee health screenings and health risk assessments. The assessment is simply a questionnaire employees fill out regarding quality of life, family health history and lifestyle choices. The screenings can check things such as cholesterol, blood pressure, weight and mental health. The results of these can be used to help employers know how best to develop a program and which areas to focus on.

Providing rewards and incentives to participants when they reach milestones is another way to get everyone engaged. For instance, monetary compensation when someone stops smoking, or lowers their cholesterol level.

Businesses can also encourage employees to incorporate healthy activities throughout the workday. For example, have walking meetings, extend lunch hours so employees can work out or offer standing desks as an option. Investing in pedometers is another idea. You can purchase pedometers for just a few dollars. Pass them out and encourage employees to keep track of the steps. Set-

Experts say to be sure to include variety in your program to cover a range of healthy lifestyle issues. For example, offer a smoking cessation program, discounted gym memberships, ergonomics training, and stress management workshops. As health care is transitioning to a more preventive approach, employers can get in the game. Employee wellness programs not only reduce overall health care costs, they can lessen worker’s compensation claims, decrease absenteeism, and help with employee retention. continues >

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COLLABORATION CONNECTION — SPECIAL REPORT

MAYO CLINIC HEALTH SYSTEM New Physician Leader – Same Community Mission James R. Hebl, M.D. now leads Mayo Clinic’s community practice in southwest Minnesota. It’s a region that includes six hospitals and 22 clinics. Dr. Hebl took the reigns as regional vice president in July 2016 and states that he’s confident Mayo Clinic will continue to meet the challenges of serving such a demographically diverse and geographically expansive region. He also notes these challenges are minimized by being part of an integrated health care system. Dr. Hebl says, “Our integrated Mayo Clinic network allows us to coordinate care in small community clinics, local hospitals, regional medical centers like Mankato, as well as tertiary referral centers as in Rochester. Being part of this integrated health care network allows Mayo Clinic Health System to provide world-class health care

to patients all across southern Minnesota.” That network includes adding specialty services to serve the southern Minnesota region, with one of the newest growth areas being in the field of orthopedics. “Mayo Clinic Health System has expanded and continues to grow its multidisciplinary Orthopedic Surgery practice to ensure com-

munity members get the best care possible without having to travel too far. Mankatoarea residents are fortunate to have many great options for health care right in their backyard. At Mayo Clinic Health System, our Orthopedic surgeons offer comprehensive diagnostic, surgical and rehabilitative care for issues related to muscles, bones and joints. Services include fracture and trauma care, hand and wrist care, sports medicine, joint replacement, foot and ankle care, and arthroscopy,” says Dr. Hebl. Dr. Hebl’s charge for the future is to help Mayo become even more engaged with the communities it serves. Mayo sees that promoting health, wellness, and disease prevention is vital in the ever changing health care industry. “These strategic goals and priorities will be achieved by transforming the way we practice, achieving operational excellence in everything we do, investing in talent and technology, and expanding our reach to all patients and families who hope to receive Mayo Clinic care close to home.”

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Mankato – North Mankato is the fastest growing MSA in Minnesota according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. From 2014 to 2015, the Mankato-North Mankato Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes Blue Earth and Nicollet counties, had the fastest growing economy in Minnesota with Real GDP growth of 3.2%. Looking across the country, the Mankato-North Mankato MSA had the 3rd fastest GDP growth of the 32 MSAs in the upper Midwest. That region includes Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, North Dakota and South Dakota. It was also the 87th fastest out of all 382 MSAs in the country. Mankato-North Mankato’s best performing sector was natural resources and mining, primarily due to the high yields in the agriculture sector. Nationally, manufacturing grew by 1.6% from 2014 to 2015, however that was not the case in the upper Midwest. Only five out of the 29 MSAs reported growth in this sector. Mankato-North Mankato had the 10th best percent change at -1.15%. When looking at average GDP growth over the last 15 years, the Mankato-North Mankato MSA ranked 12th out of 32

metros that are in the upper Midwest. The sectors that comprise the largest percentage of our GDP fare even better over that same 15-year window with manufacturing GDP growth ranking 7th, retail ranking 5th and education/health care ranking 9th.

The Economic Development Administration awards the city of Madelia $100,000. Following the February fire in Madelia, the City of Madelia and Region Nine Development Commission worked together to apply for a $100,000 technical assistance grant from the EDA. Region Nine has received notification that the grant, to establish an economic development planning framework, process and strategy that supports private capital investment and job creation in the region, has been awarded. This EDA planning investment supports the development and implementation of a resiliency and communications plan for the City of Madelia. The Region Nine-led project will focus on developing a more diverse community, creating jobs and strengthening the local economy. “It was wonderful to have such strong

support for this application at the local, state and federal levels,” expressed Region Nine Executive Director Nicole Griensewic Mickelson. “This award will help position Madelia for a bright and prosperous future. We look forward to working with the city and residents as they make plans to help guide the future development of the community.” EDA grants are awarded through a competitive process based upon the application’s merit, the applicant’s eligibility, and the availability of funds. The grant award was matched by the State of Minnesota to total a $200,000 work plan for the city.

A new high-tech incubator is planned for the former Imation building in Oakdale, according to PRNewswire. Slumberland is partnering with Blossom Medical, LLC, to develop a portion of the 122-acre site into Incubology, a world-class high-tech incubator. The fully-developed space will consist of collaborative sharing spaces that will include state-of-the-art wet and dry labs, clean rooms, and individual offices. Incubology hopes to provide an

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environment to support start-ups as well as established companies who are searching for innovative, collaborative space. The article says the dedicated wet and dry lab space is suitable for R&D as well as manufacturing for pharmaceutical, med-tech, biotech, nanotechnology and chemical industries. Additionally, it will serve as a dedicated high-tech working space for IT and software developers. The incubator concept - bringing pharma, biotech, medtech, nanotech, chemistry, IT and related technologies under one roof is a highly unique feature of Incubology. Services such as regulatory affairs consulting, banking and specialized insurance, corporate and intellectual property legal services, will also be integrated into the incubator platform.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture says U.S. farm incomes will hit their lowest point this year since 2009, amid a multiyear downdraft in commodity prices. The forecast reflects a painful slump in the U.S. agricultural economy driven by bumper corn and soybean harvests, swelling grain inventories and tougher

export competition. Farmers are expecting record corn and soybean harvests again this fall, potentially pushing prices for the nationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s two most common crops down even further. As a result, the USDA says, net farm income will drop 11.5% to $71.5 billion this year, from $80.7 billion in 2015. That would be the third straight annual pay cut for farmers since incomes soared to record levels in 2013. Futures prices for corn have fallen about 15% so far this year, and prices for the grain are trading at seven-year lows. Wheat prices have tumbled nearly 23% in 2016 to trade at 10-year lows thanks to excess supplies. Domestic growers also are battling a strong U.S. dollar that has encouraged some of their foreign customers to find grain elsewhere. Weather conditions this summer have fueled expectations that U.S. farmers will harvest the largest U.S. corn and soybean crops in history.

Calpine Corporation announces it will sell the Mankato Power Plant, a 375 MW natural gasfired, combined-cycle power plant to Southern Company for $395.5 million plus working

capital and other customary purchase price adjustments. The Mankato plant provides electricity to Northern States Power, a subsidiary of Xcel Energy Inc., through July 2026, pursuant to a tolling agreement. In addition, a 345 MW expansion is currently in advanced development to serve a 20-year tolling agreement with Northern States Power. Commercial operation of the expanded capacity is expected by June 2019. Xcel Energy announces it is seeking proposals to dramatically grow its wind energy portfolio. The goal is to add enough new wind farms to power more than 750,000 homes. This announcement is another step in Xcel Energyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s long-term plan to transform its energy fleet, and represents one of the largest wind energy proposals in the nation, bringing up to 1,500 megawatts of new wind power to Xcel Energy customers. Xcel Energy is seeking proposals now to take full advantage of great wind pricing supported by federal tax credits available for construction of new wind projects. The additional wind energy is part of the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s long-term plan to more than double its renewable energy portfolio and deliver 63 percent of our energy from carbon-free resources in the next 15 years.

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Local Chamber & Economic Development News

Any chamber of commerce, convention and visitors bureau, or economic development organization in our reading area—large or small, from Amboy to Winnebago—can post on our free bulletin board. For details, email editor@connectbiz.com.

Blue Earth Cindy Lyon, Blue Earth Chamber The Blue Earth Chamber reached 160 members in 2016 up from 140 five years ago. Welcome to new 2016 members; Youth for Christ, Elmore Assisted Living, Gateway to Adventure, New Horizons Adoption Agency, Oswald Brewing Company, Prairie Lakes Transit, Thate’s Tree Service, Twisted Vine Floral, Giant Days Fun Run, BE Eagles, Eckhardt Guest House, Cedar Inn, as well as private members Chuck Frundt and Bruce Lyon.

Fairmont Margaret Dillard, Fairmont Area Chamber Fairmont kicks off the holiday season with the annual Glows Festival on November 18! Come greet Santa as he lands at the Fairmont Airport around 4:00 p.m. Experience Fairmont’s extraordinary downtown parade of lights and music. With over 70 annual entries and thousands of lights, this impressive display of holiday cheer is one celebration you won’t want to miss! Contact the Fairmont Area Chamber of Commerce for more information (507) 235-5547.

Mankato Julie Nelson, Small Business Development Center

What’s more fun than a trip down your local Main Street? Saturday, November 26 is Small Business Saturday®, a day to celebrate and support small businesses, which depend heavily on their local communities. Join the Small Business Development Center and organizations across the country in supporting and shopping at local small businesses during the busiest shopping season of the year.

Fairmont Stephanie Busiahn, Fairmont CVB Let Fairmont’s historic venues immerse you in culture this holiday season! The Red Rock Center hosts Celtic finger-style guitarist Jerry Barlow on November 17 and a Holiday Concert by Glenn Henriksen on December 16. The Fairmont Opera House features internationally acclaimed pianist Teresa Walters on November 11, “Away in the Basement” on November 12, and Rhythmic Circus performs December 9. To purchase tickets, contact the Fairmont Opera House or the Red Rock Center.

Gaylord Elizabeth Reishus, Gaylord Chamber NAPA held its grand reopening in August. Those present were Chamber President Pauline Marlinski, manager Kris Howell, owners Tony Gulden, Shannon Gulden, Paula Windschidtl and Steve Windschit, Interim City Administrator Rick Almich, and Chamber members Kathy Jensen, Goretti Enrrigue and Mary Goetsch.

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Le Sueur Julie Boyland, Le Sueur Chamber The Chamber reports a new business, Oak Terrace Senior Housing of LS. Its address is 811 South 4th Street. Le Sueur’s 7th Annual Night Out on the Town will be Thursday, November 17 from 4 to 8 p.m. Come and enjoy a night out shopping and take advantage of many discounts and specials. There will also be food samplings, wine tasting, gifts and drawings sponsored by the Le Sueur Chamber of Commerce.

Madelia Karla Angus, Madelia Area Chamber You’re invited to kick off your holiday season in Madelia with the Razzle Dazzle Celebration November 18 and 19. The celebration includes a Parade of Lights with Santa, Live Reindeer, Madelia Community Theater Presentation of “It’s a Wonderful Life”, Business Holiday Open Houses and Holiday Expo. For a full schedule of events visit www.visitmadelia.com.

Mankato Bridget Norland, Greater Mankato Growth Attention Voters: Mankato and North Mankato residents will be asked to vote on a referendum at this November’s election that would extend the existing local 0.5% sales tax in each city. Extending the sales tax would allow the cities to address critical gaps in municipal infrastructure, recreation, senior amenities and supportive housing that will improve the vitality of our community while keeping a lid on property taxes. You can get more information at salestax.greatermankato.com.

Region Nine Nicole Griensewic-Mickelson, Dev Com Region Nine and Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation have kicked off a marketing and communications training series. Trainings will be held monthly throughout the region and cover a different topic each month. On December 20 Tiffany Olson, marketing director at ISG, will present Marketing on a Budget at Hamilton Hall in Blue Earth from 8:30 to 10 a.m. as part of the series. To learn more about this free training and to register, visit rndc.org/mactraining.

New Ulm Sarah Warmka, New Ulm Chamber/CVB The New Ulm Area Chamber welcomes these new members: New Ulm Steel Hockey, Jimmy John’s, Strategic Partnerships Division at MSU, Tech Unlimited LLC, Fafinski Mark & Johnson, Kristine Rueckert–Farmers Insurance Agency, Northwestern Mutual–Derek Skovbroten and Your Ideal Weight Loss Center. Upcoming events include Holiday Shopping Opener November 4 and 5 and 11 and 12. #ShopNewUlm events are set for November 10 and December 15. The Parade of Lights will be held on November 25.

Nicollet Alesia Slater, Nicollet Chamber Happy Fall! School is in full swing, and the farmers are anxiously waiting to get the harvest started. Road construction still continues, so please be aware of your surroundings, we want everyone to arrive alive. Hometown Holiday will be held Sunday, December 4 at the Nicollet Conservation Club from 2 to 4 p.m.! Follow us at nicollet. org for all the latest happenings!

St. James Jamie Scheffer, St. James EDA The $20,000 Community Growth Initiative grant program through 44

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Local Chamber & Economic Development News

SMIF is well underway in St. James. The leadership team awarded $10,000 each to two project teams. The first will work on a Downtown Artwalk complete with sculptures, painted electrical boxes and matching flower planters for businesses. The second will work on an electronic community advertising sign on Highway 60. We continue to be impressed by the level of involvement and passion of our community members!

St. James Jennie Firchau, St. James CVB & Chamber Join St. James in celebrating “Winter Carnival” December 2-4. Festivities include a Lighted Parade, Tour of Homes, Home Vendor Show, Children’s Elf Shop, Gingerbread House building, visit Santa and Mrs. Claus, as well as Canvas Painting, Incredible Shopping Deals, and Winter Carnival Dance at the American Legion Post #33. Check the St. James Area Chamber of Commerce Facebook page and website for more details.

Sleepy Eye Kurk Kramer, Sleepy Eye EDA Sleepy Eye is experiencing numerous business expansions, renovations and new construction activities. Work has begun on the new Schroepfer Trucking property. Shortly after the new year a newlyrenovated AmericInn will be opening for business. Soon to follow with completion will be the new Sleepy Eye Event Center which will seat nearly 600 people, and will be connected to the hotel. Bolton & Menk Engineering will soon be moving into their new building.

Waseca Gary Sandholm, Waseca EDA Waseca has purchased 62 acres adjacent to the Pondview Development. The land was purchased for future development. When all the agreements have been executed, 50 lots in the Pondview Development will be open for building. With close access to Hwy 14, this is an ideal location for commuters to other cities as well as people working in Waseca. This will provide the capacity to offer more housing options in Waseca.

Waseca Kim Foels, Waseca Area Chamber The Waseca Area Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors proudly announce we are “Keeping it Local” by partnering with video production services of Mediacom to produce videos showcasing Waseca. You can view the Chamber’s business and Community video at www. wasecachamber.com. The Chamber and Rotary are partnering to host a Meet and Greet Candidate Forum on November 3 at Lakeside. Must RSVP to info@wasecachamber.com by noon on November 1.

Waseca Gary Sandholm, Waseca Tourism The 29th Annual Waseca Marching Classic was held September 17 and was dubbed a big success as bands from Minnesota, Iowa and South Dakota competed. Plans are underway for the Sleigh & Cutter Festival in February. The Parade is February 11, and the Vintage Snowmobile Race is February 25 with fireworks capping the evening. Check sleighandcutterfestival.org for more details in the coming weeks.

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Well-Minded

Eunoia, Dr. Ramie Vetter’s mental health practice, has grown from a one-person office to seven locations across Southern Minnesota. For many, life is like a roller coaster. Long climbs to reach a high point, only to find a drop off waiting once you get there. Twists and turns that can be both exhilarating and frightening. Dr. Ramie Vetter, having ridden roller coasters himself throughout his lifetime, wants to help others stay on the tracks. “As human beings we’ve got a lot going on. There are work issues, personal life issues and family issues that greatly affect our mental health,” says Dr. Vetter. “My job is to help people really make sense of it.” He calls it a job, but he’ll admit it doesn’t really seem like work to him. “Growing up I would hear my dad talk about his pastoral counseling, so I was familiar with some aspects of doing therapy and what that means,” reflects Dr. Vetter. “But it wasn’t until I took a high school psychology class that it really clicked. I pursued it, got my first Master’s degree and started working with clients. Right away, I was hooked. It just immediately clicked with me. I enjoy helping people and, fortunately, I get paid to do it.” It’s that passion that led to Dr. Vetter’s decision to open his own practice in Fairmont in 2008. He named his practice Eunoia, pronounced ee-OH-nee-ah, fully understanding not many would know its meaning or its pronunciation.

But he knew, at the very least, it would get people talking, the whole point of what he is trying to do. “Its Greek derivative means ‘well-minded’,” explains Dr. Vetter. Eunoia Family Resource Center is a group of mental health clinics specializing in individual, couples, family and group therapy, as well as psychological testing and psychiatric services. In rhetoric, Eunoia indicates the goodwill a speaker cultivates between himself and his audience. Dr. Vetter immediately found an audience, a need for his services in the region. Eunoia now has 7 locations throughout southern Minnesota. “I had no grand plans of eventually having 7 offices. It just kind of grew organically based on the need,” he explains. “Originally, I was a one-person operation. But I had an extra office next to mine that was empty. As I got busier, I started hiring other therapists to help with the load and it just sort of spread. A lot of the offices I opened stemmed from therapists calling me and just saying, ‘have you thought of opening an office in St. James or New Ulm.’ So I started looking at doing that, opening where I could find suitable office space, and making sure I had therapists that would be a good match for the company. I have such good people around me. It’s humbling at times.”

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Well-Minded

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Dr. Vetter now has Eunoia offices in Blue Earth, Fairmont, Gaylord, Mankato, New Ulm, and two locations in St. James. The therapists at each location are from the towns they serve and have unique understanding of the needs of each community. Dr. Vetter says that is one special thing about Eunoia, big resources yet small enough to adapt to the needs of each area. For instance, one therapist in the St. James office, Lucia Beckendorf, is the only Spanish-speaking therapist in the region. Another, Dr. Brandon Scott Dugan, provides the Marchak method for parenting evaluations.

“Mankato is a nice sized city and it’s been great meeting other professionals in the community. It’s been a good experience. There’s enough of a need that we feel we can work collaboratively. It’s best for the patients if everyone is working together.” “One of the things that makes my company so great, other than the people in it, is that we are able to be open to meet the needs of the communities we serve,” Dr. Vetter says. “And I can sit down with different community organizations to see what their specific needs are at the time. For example, in Mankato, we work with the Probation Parole of Blue Earth County. I asked them what they saw as the biggest need in regard to the services we could provide. In Blue Earth County, they agreed anger management was a big one. They shared with us that they needed it specifically for each group - men, women and children. So we were able to get that up and running.” Eunoia has 19 therapists from different realms and eight support staff. The timeline has a quick progression. It moved from its

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NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016

Eunoia Family Resource Center | Fairmont

original Fairmont location into its current spot at 1420 N State Street in 2012. Dr. Vetter opened his first St. James location in 2013 and added another in that city in 2014. Also in 2014, he opened in Blue Earth and New Ulm. Then in 2015, he expanded into Gaylord. And in March 2016, he reached into Mankato. He is taking a breather from expanding right now while he focuses on establishing the Mankato office, which just opened in March in the Madison East Mall. “It was a roller coaster,” admits Dr. Vetter. “We’re kind of taking a breather now and focusing energy on the Mankato office and continuing to help that grow. Mankato is a nice sized city and it’s been great meeting other professionals in the community. It’s been a good experience. There’s enough of a need that we feel we can work collaboratively. It’s best for the patients if everyone is working together.” Dr. Vetter said it was immediately evident the Mankato market has a need for Eunoia’s services. “Absolutely there is need here. Most surprising was when Mankato Clinic, which has offices across the hall here, came over and wanted to know how they could make referrals to us. We found the same thing with Mayo, the local crisis center, Blue Earth County, just everyone very interested in how can we collaborate and work together realizing that right now it is not uncommon for there to be a two to three month backlog for people needing these services. So, being new to town, we can help alleviate that because we can get people in sooner than later.” Aside from all of his degrees and professional lauds, Dr. Vetter says his personal experiences also give him a keen understanding of what some of his clients might be going through. Dr. Vetter says, “My dad was a Vietnam vet, and also originally trained as a Lutheran pastor. So he went back into the military for a career as a chaplin. In my childhood, I moved all over the place. So I can relate to clients and kids that are going to a new school, trying to make new friends.” It wasn’t until he met his wife during his undergraduate studies at Augustana in Sioux Falls that he realized what it was really like to have a place called “home.”

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Well-Minded

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“When we got married just after graduation, the agreement was that I could go wherever I wanted for graduate school, as long as we ended up back in Fairmont, Minnesota. My wife’s life goal was to be third generation business owner for her family’s business, Fleet and Farm Ace Hardware in Fairmont and St. James.” Dr. Vetter agreed, but initially it proved harder than he thought. “Once I finished school and my doctoral training, my internship was in Springfield, Missouri. During that time, I was helping families either reunite or deal with the potential of terminating parental rights. It was hard, intensive work but beneficial. “When we moved back to Fairmont, it was actually difficult to find a post-doctorate program. You see, I had my doctorate degree, but needed a year of supervision before I could get licensed. I was fortunate to get a post doc from Mayo in Fairmont! I finished my year post doc there, worked for two and half more years. Then I started Eunoia in 2008.” Armed with his own life experiences, Dr. Vetter put together a business plan to not only help residents in the region but the therapists under him as well. “What we do for our providers is office support, advertising, billing, training and we cover liability insurance, continuing education costs, and we even offer 401k and health insurance.” And, in a line of work that deals with heavy stuff on a daily basis, Eunoia is there to support its staff ’s well being. “Self care in this field is important and it’s something we watch as

Well-Minded

Professional Cred Dr. Vetter certainly has an impressive resume. He has earned a Masters of Arts in Marriage and Family Therapy, a Master of Arts in Psychology, and a Doctorate of Professional Psychology. “My doctorate is in clinical psychology, where much of my work is working with individuals for all sorts of adjustments to life, depression, anxiety, adoption issues, domestic violence, addiction issues and grief.” But Dr. Vetter is not all work and no play. His hobbies include working with Boy Scouts, camping, hiking, building computers, and pheasant hunting. 50

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Eunoia Family Resource Center | Fairmont

a company. We make sure our people are taking vacations, handling everything okay. All of our offices are close knit, so if someone is struggling, the therapist next to him or her is helping that therapist out. We definitely screen new applicants heavily to make sure they are a good fit and fall in line with our culture of helping people, helping each other out.” With the opening of the Mankato office, he sees an opportunity to foster those wanting to enter the field as well. “We picked the Mankato site to be a training ground for future therapists. Ashley, who minds our front desk in the Mankato office, is a student at Minnesota State University in the field of psychology. So we recruit undergrads to work in the office and they get that experience. We hope to eventually be an APA (American Psychological Association) approved training site for internships and post doc. So our psychologists would provide direct supervision to future psychologists wanting to obtain licensure.” Eunoia also strives to take part in the National Health Service Corps, a federally-backed loan repayment program to recruit providers to an area. “If sites can be National Health Service Corps eligible, it helps in recruiting. It’s not uncommon for providers to walk away from schooling with $ 200 to $300 thousand in loans. So until those are paid

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Well-Minded

Entrepreneurial Family Dr. Vetter has been married to his wife, Bonnie, for 19 years. They have three sons; 13-year-old Parker, 11-year-old Noah and 6-year-old Jonah. His wife and children are a big reason he now calls Fairmont home. “My deal with Bonnie was always that we would land back in Fairmont after my schooling,” he explains. “She was a business major in college and her goal in life had always been to be involved in her family’s business. So I knew the deal when I married her and fully understood the terms of that agreement!” He smiles, “It has worked out well because the last thing I wanted to do was move my family more than I had to. I was anxious to put down roots and not move again!”

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Eunoia Family Resource Center | Fairmont

Well-Minded

“When creating Eunoia I wanted a company that could adapt to the needs of the communities in which we work and provide services that are meaningful to our clients.” off, a big chunk of their salary goes to that repayment. So the National Health Service Corps program is attractive to them.” One key component of that special program is that if someone can’t pay for the therapy they need, the therapist will provide it for free. “Some of our sites are currently part of the National Health Service Corps. We hope to achieve that for all of the locations. Also we accept most insurance and have a sliding fee scale,” he says. “If people need care, we don’t want cost to be a barrier.” Another area Eunoia is making its mark in Southern Minnesota is through employee assistance programs or EAPs. An EAP is a service provided by employers to assist em-

ployees with personal or work-related problems that may impact their job performance, health, or mental or emotional well-being. EAPs generally offer assessments, short-term counseling, referrals, and follow-up services for employees. EAP counselors also work in a consultative role with managers and supervisors to address employee and organizational challenges and needs. “For several years now we have provided EAPs for the 3M site in Fairmont. So we have experience with company trainings, one-on-one support with managers and supervisors, and working with human resources personnel. People don’t have to be mentally ill to need a service such as ours. We can just help people deal with other people more effectively.”

THE ESSENTIALS

Eunoia Family Resource Center Locations: Blue Earth, Fairmont, Gaylord, Mankato, New Ulm, and two locations in St. James Web: wellminded.org

Eunoia – a different sort of name, for a business Dr. Vetter hopes is making a difference in the communities it serves. “When creating Eunoia I wanted a company that could adapt to the needs of the communities in which we work and provide services that are meaningful to our clients. Thinking outside the box has helped us develop some wonderful programs to offer our patients. I challenge each employee at Eunoia to not just provide what is considered standard care, or even excellent care, but to actually care about the person in front of us.” Editor Lisa Cownie, also of KEYC News 12, writes from Mankato.

Well-Minded

Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) EAPs may be more common than many think both for large and small businesses. Two decades ago, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated that 58 percent of full-time employees had access to an EAP. Today, the Employee Assistance Professionals Association reports that 97 percent of corporations with more than 5,000 employees, 80 percent of those with between 1,001 and 5,000 employees and 75 percent of those with between 251 and 1,000 employees have such a program in place. What is behind the influx? Experts believe it comes down to one thing: The workplace can be a 52

stressful environment. Discontented workers may not work as hard as satisfied workers and might miss work due to unscheduled absences, such as calling in sick. So helping employees find ways to deal with that stress is an important part of maintaining productivity and job satisfaction. So, just what is an EAP? An employee assistance program is a benefit which usually provides short-term counseling for employees regarding issues that can affect their on-the-job performance, such as addictions, financial problems and emotional issues. If long-term counseling is necessary, EAPs offer referral services. Analysts have found that employers that invest in employees by providing EAP services see a high return on investment rate. According to Monster, each dollar put into establishing and maintaining an EAP saves as much as $5 to $16 in terms of absenteeism, accidents and increased costs in the form of medical benefits and workers’ compensation claims.

CONNECTING BACK

Read the entire articles at connectbiz.com

5 YEARS AGO

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011 Five years ago Marty Davis was the Connect Business Magazine cover story. The Le Sueur-based businessman is primarily responsible for Cambria, but as our 2011 story proved, he had his hands in many areas of the family’s multi-pronged business ventures. Other profiles that issue were Fostering Professional Development out of St. Peter and ABC Services of Le Center. 10 YEARS AGO

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2006 The November/December issue of 2006 featured Bob Wallace of the Fairmont Chamber and the Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation. Wallace didn’t want to talk about himself too much though, he wanted the focus to be on Fairmont. A special place, he said, to live, work, and play. The two company profiles were Jetter Clean in Mankato and Fairmont, as well as Stadium Pizza in Mankato and St. James. 15 YEARS AGO

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2001 Fifteen years ago Connect Business Magazine gave readers a special glimpse into Kraft’s largest process cheese plant with our feature on Sharron Moss-Higham. Profiled companies in the November 2001 issue were Palmer Bus Service and musician Henry Busse Junior. 20 YEARS AGO

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 1996 The year was 1996, the first time Glen Taylor graced our cover! Talking candidly, and enthusiastically, about how he grew Taylor Corporation into what was then an 8,000 employee enterprise. Precision Tool of New Ulm and Exclusively Diamonds of Mankato were the profile stories.

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OPINION

Checklist. Checkbook. Checkmate. None of the above. Tom Slunecka explains. Those of us who have spent a lifetime in agriculture have grown accustomed to the blank stares of the non-ag world when asked to describe the workings of a commodity checkoff program. I sometimes compare it to that reception moment when the person you thought was hanging on your every word is, in reality, actually looking for, a) the appetizer tray, or b) anyone they remotely recognize so they can move on from this conversation pronto. I still give it one more shot, bringing up the recognizable advertising campaigns of the past 20 years; the milk moustache, the incredible, edible egg, pork, the other white meat. But alas, I can’t hold a candle to the delicious crab balls that have just made their arrival. However, as one would expect, farmers know all too well the unique features provided

by a checkoff. It’s a business platform in which farmers have a voice in the marketing and profitability of their product. As the CEO of the Minnesota Soybean Research and Promotion Council, I’ve seen the collective efforts of our farmers make soybeans the number one export in the state. Each year farmers produce about 3 billion bushels of beans. About half of those soybeans stay here in the U.S. The other half is shipped overseas. There are approximately 580,000 soybean farmers in the U.S. and to put it in perspective, they are essentially small business owners. And that means they wear many hats: agronomist, grain marketer, equipment expert, accountant, just to name a few. There’s not enough time in the day to accomplish everything. A checkoff helps manage the big picture for farmers, researching new on-farm innovations and varieties, working on international trade issues, as well as assisting with domestic customers. So how does a checkoff operate? The soybean checkoff is federally mandated by the Soybean Promotion, Research, and Consumer Information Act. Every time a Minnesota soybean farmer sells soybeans, one half of one percent of the market price is collected. Half of the checkoff is utilized in Minnesota by the Minnesota Soy-

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bean Research & Promotion Council, while the other half is utilized on a national level by the United Soybean Board. On the state level, checkoff money is used to fund research for soybean profitabilTom Slunecka ity, increase markets for soybean markets and educate farmers and the consumer public about soybeans. When people think of soybeans, the first thing that may come to mind are soy foods or biodiesel. While soybeans are in several products we might purchase at the grocery store, they play a bigger role in our society. From using the oil of the soybean to create fuel or using soybean meal to feed animals, there are numerous ways each bean can be used. MSR&PC directs checkoff funds to the research and development of new uses for soybeans, such as cleaning products, cooking oil, carpet backing, ink, paint, fuel in the form of biodiesel and many more products that consumers unknowingly encounter everyday. Why? Because new uses for soybeans means beneficial products that increase demand for soybeans while reducing our dependence on petroleum, benefiting all of us. Furthermore, these soybean products are sustainable and have an incredible impact on the environment; from the air we breathe, to reducing runoff in our ditches and waterways.

A Global Market

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The world market is growing faster than ever before. Today’s farmer feeds 155 people compared to 26 people in 1960. To help develop markets at home and abroad, the soybean checkoff, funds projects that help develop new markets and strengthen existing markets for Minnesota soybean farmers. We also host many trade teams throughout the year, and sponsor trade teams to travel to overseas soybean markets to assess the value of the soybean checkoff at work abroad. Cultivating relationships is a key component to opening new markets for Minnesota soybean producers. This is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of resources provided by a commodity checkoff. Farmers working together, using their own funds, for the common cause. It may still not be enough to captivate someone in a social setting, but for soybean farmers in Minnesota, it has worked out pretty well. Tom Slunecka is CEO of the Minnesota Soybean Research and Promotion Council, based in Mankato.

HOT STARTZ!

Very New or Re-formed Businesses or Professionals New To Our Reading Area

LAKE CRYSTAL

Healthy by Nature, LLC

ART SIDNER

Lisa VanWatermulen enjoyed her work as a Registered Nurse, and a Family Nurse Practitioner. But when her young son became ill, she learned an entirely different side of health care. “During the time I was working for Mankato Clinic, my son was having digestive issues which led to slow growth and developmental delays,” VanWatermulen explains. “He was treated by a functional medicine physician who found allergies to dairy and gluten along with several nutrient deficiencies. His transformation was amazing and this experience is what got me interested in natural medicine.” Her interest continued to grow and in April of 2016 she opened Healthy By Nature. “My degree is Family Practice so I do pretty much anything! I try to have a focus on finding and treating the root cause of symptoms rather than masking symptoms with medications. The most common concerns I see are hormone issues, digestive concerns, poor sleep and unexplained fatigue,” she says. “I want to be able to have adequate time with patients and give them a comprehensive, attentive and consistent experience. My son’s experience really opened my mind to natural ways of healing.” She is located in Lake Crystal in the Deal Chiropractic Building. VanWatermulen says she is able to refer out to local health clinics for services and specialties not provided in her office. “I offer standard lab testing at the office as well as many specialty labs through several independent lab facilities.

The specialty labs include hormone & thyroid panels, food & environmental allergy panels, nutrient panels, and melatonin/ cortisol panels for sleep issues. I do not do any imaging studies at the office, but can give an outpatient order for patients to have them done at their usual clinic. I also work with Allergy Associates of La Crosse to desensitize allergies with oral drops.” Her biggest challenge so far in opening her own business has nothing to do with patient care. “Learning my accounting and bookkeeping program. My last accounting class was 11th grade and it shows!” HEALTHY BY NATURE, LLC Address: 101 West Robinson Street Telephone: (507) 726-2626 Website: healthybynaturellc.com

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HOT STARTZ!

Aventure Staffing When Iowa-based Aventure Staffing decided to open a Minnesota branch, it didn’t take them long to find what they consider the “perfect” location, Fairmont. The Aventure Staffing management team says there were several reasons Fairmont was a desired location for their next branch. It is one of Minnesota’s leading agricultural communities, but it also offers strong industrial and medical opportunities, all of which are Aventure Staffing specialties. In addition, the fact that Fairmont has so much to offer potential employees in terms of quality of life, also played into the decision. Aventure Staffing has other offices in small towns very similar to Fairmont, and have been successful because they can develop strong relationships with clients and a good reputation to bring in candidates. “On top of the vast employment potential, Fairmont is an almost idyllic place to live, raise a family, belong to a real community and experience all that nature has to offer,” says Gail Anderson, Regional Operations Manager. Aventure Staffing was founded in 1983 and has seven other branches throughout Iowa and Nebraska. In addition Aventure Staffing also provides on-site staffing assistance for a few large employers in Iowa. Aventure Staffing already had a relationship with a key employer in Fairmont and felt the timing was right to start building on that. “We love helping our clients grow their teams and become their partner in hiring decisions,” says Anderson. Aventure Staffing

provides human resources and recruitment solutions for employers in a variety of industries, such as industrial, medical and office, as well as executive-level placement. Aventure Staffing is hopeful the Fairmont office is just the beginning for the company in Minnesota. “Our goal is to bring integrity, honesty and loyalty into every partnership we have with clients in the Fairmont area. We want to help match job seekers in the Fairmont area with a job they will enjoy and stay with long term. Our hope is to expand into the area even more in the future.” AVENTURE STAFFING Address: 284 South State Street, Suite 270 Telephone: 507-399-2027 Website: www.aventure.com

Pictured from left to right: Gail Anderson, Patty Waters, Tabitha Johnson

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Very New or Re-formed Businesses or Professionals New To Our Reading Area

ST. PETER

On-Site Medical In-Services A registered nurse for 35 years, Terri Stratton Hickey’s retirement plan was not to stop working, but rather to take on a new challenge in her career. “I’ve enjoyed so many things about being a nurse, every day was always different,” she says. “I’ve met so many people and families over the years.” But what she had always aspired to be was a teacher. “Back in the ‘70s everyone told me ‘oh no you shouldn’t do that, there are way too many teachers already’. So as a young 18 year old I thought they must know best.” She married her high school sweetheart, had three children, and went to nursing school while raising them. In retirement she decided to marry her two passions, nursing and teaching, and started On-Site Medical In-Services, LLC. “I had attended numerous in-services during my career and found many of them to be very generic. Then you still had to figure out how to actually apply it for yourself or where you work. People are taught the basic concept and how to use certain equipment that they might not even have in the real world or at their job. My On-Site Medical In-Service is a medical class or course I will provide at the actual job site or location. I individualize it to be specific to the needs of each client. For example, a daycare provider’s needs might be CPR and First

Aid. But if I go to a welding shop, those needs will be very different. I love being able to be creative with my approach. Plus, employers like it as it is a lot easier to schedule people to attend when they don’t have to leave the workplace.” Stratton Hickey provides professional training in a variety of areas, including CPR and AED certificate and refresher classes. She also teaches OSHA required Infection Control or Blood Borne Pathogen classes. The list goes on and on. Right now, On-Site Medical In-Service targets an area within a 100-mile radius of Mankato. ON-SITE MEDICAL IN-SERVICES, LLC Phone: (507) 381-6736 Email: on.site.medical.inservices@gmail.com

ART SIDNER

To be considered for one of three spots in the January Hot Startz!, email the editor at editor@connectbiz.com. Businesses considered must have started—or changed greatly in form—within one year of our publishing date. Professionals chosen must be new to our reading area.

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Sam Bloedow CEO and Founder, Thriveon, New Ulm

Security Savvy Protecting Your Business Against Cyber Crime

Health care organizations expend a high level of energy and resources making sure that your personal health care information is available to you and those who are coordinating your care, while at the same time safeguarding it to protect your privacy. As medical providers have become more reliant upon technology for collection and storage of health information, and technology has become increasingly utilized for delivery of care, maintaining the confidentiality and security of that information has become more complex and more important than ever.

Compliance and Consequences

Regulations within HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996) regarding confidentiality of health information provides specifics about the limits and uses of information. Penalties for non-compliance include hefty fines and potential jail time. What is not spelled out in the regulations are the tools and methods that organizations should use to build their compliance programs. Consequently, organizations have had to find ways to acquire a high level of IT capability to interpret the technical aspects

of compliance, as Sleepy Eye Medical Center did in partnering with Thriveon, detailed in a recently published case study. Regulatory compliance is not just an issue for the health care industry. Personally identifiable information (PII) is now spread out across many networks and across the web where its confidentiality, accuracy and accessibility are at risk. While there are specific regulations that pertain to different industries, such as banking and financial services, all businesses are mandated to protect PII and are also subject to penalties for noncompliance. Yet many companies do not recognize the value of the information they gather and store, or their vulnerability to data theft or cyber vandalism.

Why Cybercrime is So Easy

Evolving and easily accessible technology has allowed businesses to be more productive and efficient, to collaborate more and to reach more people than ever before. But the same technology that enables our businesses, also enables cybercrime. The internet ecosystem of cybercriminals includes job postings and payment systems as well as

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