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A new Family Nurse Practitioner is starting at Mountrail County Medical Center in Stanley this month, helping to fill a need at the facility.

Jessica Charon, DNP, FNP-C, is originally from Carrington, graduating from Carrington High School. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing at the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks, graduating in 2014. After working as an RN in Glasgow, MT for three years at a critical access hospital, she moved to Bismarck, where she continued her education and worked as an emergency room nurse at St. Alexius. She graduated in April of this year from the University of Mary with her doctorate of nursing practice (DNP) with a focus on family nurse practitioner (FNP).

Choosing MCMC for the next step in her career, Charon says that she has always loved rural health. Growing up in a small town, she says that practicing in a rural setting allows her to practice medicine in a setting she passionate about. While you see a is little bit of everything, patients also become like family to you. When she graduated, she knew she wanted to stay in North Dakota. Visiting Stanley, she says that she really liked the facility. The flexibility of the position, makes this job a great fit for her family.

Charon started at Mountrail County Medical Center a few weeks ago with her hire date of December 1. She is filling a gap for providers by becoming an exclusive emergency room provider. That means that she will be working eight twenty-four hour days per month. She is currently training with ENP-FNP Rich Laksonen as she prepares to take on her role. She says that with her previous experience she is more comfortable in the role as an emergency provider. She says that she loves coming into work in this setting and the challenge of not knowing what will be coming in the door with each patient. That, she says, keeps you on your toes and makes you learn.

She has signed a three year contract with MCMC and says that she is happy to be there. She points to the working relationships and a great work environment as a breath of fresh air. She credits great upper management on all levels for making that possible. She says that having great management and younger management staff means a more progressive attitude towards health care. Forward thinking and innovative medical care means the facility is doing great things for the community and she looks forward to being part of that.

Signing with MCMC, she says, is giving her the opportunity to fulfill what she sees as her professional long-term goals. She wants to establish a role she can stay in, providing good patient care while becoming more confident in her job. She believes that Stanley is a fantastic place for her to continue her journey. She is looking to certify as an ENP, specializing in emergency care. Following Rich’s training and skills in Stanley is something she believes will allow her to meet those goals.

Her current schedule does not have set days, but rather it is those eight days per month. That could be split over different times throughout the month, depending on facility needs. She says that Rich Laksonen does his days in a stretch, traveling as he does each month. She says that living closer to Stanley allows her to split those days up to meet staffing needs for the facility.

Her husband Benjamin works doing fiber installation and property management in Bismarck. The couple has two children, three year old daughter Kinley and four month old son Lincoln. The couple will continue to live in Bismarck for now. In the off time, the family enjoys traveling, being outdoors, camping and hunting.

“We are very excited to have Jessica join our MCMC family. The minute we met her we knew she would be the perfect fit to round out our team of Providers. We now are fully staffed with exceptionally qualified and caring Providers for our patients. And we look forward to working together as a team to position ourself and start implementing our vision that will propel MCMC to the next level,” says Steph Everett, MCMC Administrator/CEO/Foundation Director/PR and Marketing Director.

Mountrail County Medical Center released the following information this week.

With the number of COVID-19 cases continuing to rise, not just in our state, but also right here in Mountrail County, many of us are rightfully concerned. Just this week, Mountrail County’s risk designation changed from “moderate” to “high” risk. We have 96 active cases of COVID-19 in our county alone, as of Monday, October 19, 2020. North Dakota and Mountrail County are seeing higher numbers of COVID-19 than at any time during the previous months of the pandemic.

This has many of us anxious and concerned. We are concerned about our own health, the health of our children, our elderly parents and grandparents, our teachers, our healthcare providers, our friends and fellow community members. We worry about our jobs, whether our daycares will get shut down, whether our children will be able to stay in school, whether we will be able to visit our elderly family members. All of these are legitimate concerns.

Unfortunately, as our numbers of COVID-19 rise, these threats to our loved ones, our jobs, our schools, daycares, and communities rise as well. What can we do to help mitigate these risks? The answer is simple… MASKUP Mountrail County.

Coronavirus is spread by respiratory droplets that are expelled into the air when we talk, breathe, cough and sneeze. A mask acts as a simple barrier to help prevent these droplets from traveling into the air and onto the people around us. There is growing evidence from both clinical and laboratory studies that demonstrate that masks reduce the spray of these respiratory droplets when worn over the mouth and nose.

When we combine wearing a mask with other simple but effective infection control measures such as frequent hand washing, avoiding close contact, regularly cleaning and disinfecting, and staying home when we are ill, we have the power to DRASTICALLY reduce the risk of transmission COVID-19 and the subsequent consequences to our community. We want our children in school, we want to be able to continue to go to work, we want our parents and grandparents healthy. We as a community have the power to keep each other safe and healthy. It starts with you. #maskupmountrailcounty.

Dr. Tracy Tomjack will start seeing patients at Mountrail County Medical Center in Stanley starting on Thursday, Nov. 5.

Originally from Parshall, Tomjack graduated from Parshall High School in 1999. She attended NDSCS in Wahpeton for one year, studying computer programming and then spent two years at Northwest College in Powell, WY, earning an associate degree in photography. She moved on to an undergraduate program at Minnesota State University in Moorhead in exercise science which is when she started looking into medicine as a career. After attending medical school at Des Moines University in Iowa, she did a general surgery internship with UND for one year and a family medicine residence at Big Stone Gap, VA.

She came back to North Dakota and spent three years in family practice in Hettinger before deciding she wanted to specialize and did a fellowship in primary care sports medicine at Geisinger in Wilkes-Barre and Scranton, Pennsylvania. Following that she returned to North Dakota and took a position with McKenzie County Healthcare System in Watford City.

Her practice is primary care sports medicine, focusing on nonoperative orthopedics. That includes a multitude of services including casting, splinting, arthritis injections, helping patients with back or neck pain, concussion treatment, ligaments and tendons. She says that includes any ache or pain along a muscle, bone or joint area.

Working hand in hand with Dr. Joshi she says that is good for patients. She can help expedite the visits as a patient gets ready for surgery or get them on the surgery schedule if needed, as well as helping with postoperative visits.

She also says that she looks forward to offering advanced technology and newer ways to help patients. In addition to injections including steroids and gels, she says that platelet-rich plasma should be available in the next few months. It takes your own blood and spin it down to isolate the platelets which they then inject into the sore spot – joint, tendon, etc. The platelets release growth factors which can help in the healing and pain process. She also says that using ultrasound guidance for injections allows her to look at the injury and provide better diagnostics and treatment. A DO, she says that she also uses osteopathic manipulative therapy, which is similar to chiropractic therapy. While she likes to specialize in the bones and muscles, she wants to look at all the different ways she can help her patients feel better.

Her schedule has her in Watford City on Mondays and Fridays, Tioga on the fourth Thursday of the month and now will include Stanley on the first Thursday of the month. She hopes to start seeing patients in New Town as well, but says that is still a work in progress. To schedule an appointment with Dr. Tomjack patients will call McKenzie County Healthcare Systems.

Adding Stanley to her schedule, she says, makes sense. With Dr. Joshi already established seeing patients here, they work well together but she has a unique niche to add to treatments. She also says that being closer to home is awesome and she likes being able to offer services to patients closer to home. While they may need to travel for surgery, they can have their follow up appointments at home. Stanley also feels, she says, like a hometown crowd, where she knows the people. She also says that small towns deserve good medical care without having to go to larger cities.

Tomjack will also be working closely with the MCMC physical therapy department, saying that the facility and resources available are amazing for a small town. As for the sports side, she says that she looks forward to helping high school athletes get back to playing as soon as they can.

She and her husband, Cameron, are living in Parshall where they are also helping her parents Jan and Greg Boschee on the family farm. Tracy says that she knew she wanted to come back to North Dakota. This is home and she enjoys the rural, country atmosphere. With family here and the farm, they are also able to do some of the farming as well.

Her husband Cameron came from Nebraska with the oil boom as a landman. He lived in Stanley for close to eight years during that time. The couple has been married for about four years.

“Partnering again with McKenzie County Healthcare Systems came naturally,” says MCMC CEO Steph Everett.  “We already had the collaboration and strong working ties with them starting with Dan Kelly being my Preceptor to working with them to bring Dr. Joshi to Stanley.  We look forward in future endeavors of working hand and hand with MCHS to ensure the future of Critical Access Hospitals.”

This article is republished with the gracious consent of the Mountrail County Promoter.

For patients with hearing aid needs or services in the Stanley area, a new service will be available starting on October 6. Hearing Dynamics, formerly The Hearing Aid Co. of Minot, will be utilizing space at the Mountrail County Medical Center Clinic.

Owner Lisa Risovi brings the ability to test hearing in Stanley. She sells Audibel, a Starkey family, hearing device. She can also repair and clean all brands of hearing aids. She says that she is proud to be selling the Audibel brand hearing aids, a USA made product manufactured in Minneapolis, MN.

Born and raised in rural North Dakota, Risovi started working in the hearing aid business with Arlynn Hefta at The Hearing Aid Company from 2013 to 2016. While he continues to own the location in Devils Lake, he offered her the Minot business. With twenty years of other business experience in customer service, she was excited to take on this new venture. Since taking on the business, she has been looking forward to not only serving customers in Minot, but also expanding that business to rural areas.

The Minot office is located in the Renaissance Center. By also expanding to other communities, she says she believes she can reach people in need in not only Stanley but also the surrounding areas. Risovi says that as a company, they have territories. Her territory is from Rugby to the Montana border and north to the Canadian border.

When asked how she connected with Stanley and MCMC, she says that she is friends with Doctors Joshi and Brewster. In conversations, they discussed the opportunity of adding to the services offered to Stanley area patients. She reached out to MCMC and is now renting space as an independent office in the clinic. She will handle her own billings and insurance if applicable, although most insurances do not cover hearing aids.

She will be in Stanley at the clinic two Tuesdays each month, with October 6 and 27 set for dates next month. She takes patients by appointment only. You can call 701-839-8964 to schedule an appointment.

“Hearing services is something we have been trying to get back into our clinic for quite a while,” says Steph Everett MCMC CEO.  “With the rapport already built with Doctors Joshi and Brewster, we are confident that Lisa will be the perfect fit for our patients and the residents of Mountrail County and we look forward to a long lasting relationship.”

This article is republished with the gracious consent of the Mountrail County Promoter.

Mountrail County Medical Center’s Abbey Ruland was named the PA of the Year by the North Dakota Academy of Physician Assistants last week. The award was scheduled to be presented at the organization’s Spring Conference but was cancelled due to the pandemic. It was rescheduled for the Fall meeting, but that too has been cancelled.

Cheryl Ulven of Ray, who served on the board as the head of the scholarship and legislative committees, was in Stanley on Wednesday, Aug. 19 to present the award. Abbey serves on the board as a Public Relations person and had volunteered at their last meeting to help judge the three candidates nominated for the award, unaware she herself was one of the nominees.

Nominations are made by a PA’s peers, physicians, clinic staff or hospital staff. The nominations are then reviewed and voted on by the six officers, eleven committee chairs and three national delegates of the NDAPA Board.

To be nominated, they must be a Physician Assistant who works or resides in North Dakota. The nominator may feel the PA deserves recognition because they provide excellent patient care, are well respected by the medical community as well as patients, and/or are considered to be an asset to the community and the PA profession. They might be someone who has been involved in medical education, dedicated to improving public health by involvement in community education in addition to patient education. They may be involved in humanitarian projects, giving of themselves in service to others above and beyond their normal daily responsibilities.

A nearly unanimous selection by the board, Ruland checks all those boxes based on the letter of nomination by Mountrail County Medical Center CEO Steph Everett.

Abbey started with MCMC in 2013. In 2018 she took a hiatus serving the residents of New Town at the Trinity Clinic. Ulven says that Abbey was her replacement in New Town. MCMC set out  to get Ruland back on staff. The letter says that without her, “the void created in our team without her devoted and kindhearted nature was palatable”. With a provider not fulfilling their contract, they reached out and were lucky enough to get her back in the fall of 2019.

She hit the ground running on her return, stepping back in with her patients, sitting as an active member of the medical staff council, taking Emergency Department call, and filling in for Dr. Longmuir in reviewing and accepting patients for the Swing Bed and Nursing Home program. The letter says, “Abbey is always willing to go the extra mile to make sure our patients are getting excellent community based care”.

She has spearheaded the Quality Improvement process in the Rural Health Clinic. She oversees documentation of care for one doctor, two nurse practitioners and two physicians assistants.

The nationwide opioid epidemic is apparent in our local area, including with patients in and around New Town and the TAT reservation. Although the reservation has built up their capability to treat drug and alcohol use disorders with inpatient treatment centers, there was still a large portion of the population that was not able to get treatment or did not know how to seek treatment appropriately. Seeing this gap in care, Ruland undertook the additional responsibility by completing training to offer Medication Assisted Therapy through the clinic. This is the only PCP driven MAT program within 100 miles.

“Abbey is always willing to go above and beyond the call of duty to serve her patients,” stated Rich  Laksonen, FNP, ENP in the letter. “She’s a pleasure to work with, always willing to lend an ear or a helping hand. Her work ethic, and knowledge of the latest in evidence based care ensure that her patients receive compassionate care close to home, be it through the rural health clinic or emergency department.”

CAH Director and former ER Nurse LaRae Rudolph had this to say. “Abbey has a wide knowledge base and a positive energy and drive in healthcare always going above and beyond using both an individual and/or team effort approach to deliver optimal patient care to whomever is in need.”

Everett said this at the end of the nomination letter. “The bottom line is that Abbey is an esteemed member of our MCMC family and the compassionate community based care we provide here in Stanley is a result of Abbey’s hard work.”

The mission of NDAPA is to promote quality, cost-effective, accessible health care to enhance the health and well-being of the people of North Dakota and to promote the professional and personal development of Physician Assistants.

This article is republished with the gracious consent of the Mountrail County Promoter.

When the Coronavirus hit North Dakota, schools closed, and businesses closed or altered their business model. Daycares were impacted and many in Stanley chose to close. This created a challenge for staff at Mountrail County Medical Center. A cooperative effort between Ragamuffins Ranch Daycare and the Mountrail County Health Foundation worked to fill that need over the last two months.

MCMC Administrator Steph Everett says that the process started on March 23. She began receiving texts from staff expressing their concerns about what they would do as they faced closing schools and daycares. She said that she reached out to Carol Maurer at Ragamuffins Ranch who opened their arms to the staff’s children.

Everett says that each request was met with a “we’ll figure it out” response that was amazing. As they began the conversations, Everett says they had no idea how many staff members would need daycare. Based on the texts from staff, she knew it would be more than just a few.

As they received the guidelines from the state regarding daycares, working together the daycare was ready to start taking students by the weekend of March 27. Working hand in hand, they were ready for the first children on March 30.

Ragamuffins Ranch Daycare owner Carol Maurer says that working on the Bright and Early curriculum and achieving the Step 3 designation made the process easy. The assessments and training she says that by the blessing of God helped them be prepared to take on the challenges.

She says they were already set up to the new standards and guidelines set up by the state for childcare facilities in response to the Coronavirus. That includes the way they use spaces in the daycare, their sanitizing processes and the separations for age groups they already had in place.

They already were separated to eat in smaller groups and play in smaller groups and different areas. The babies, toddlers and older children already interact in their own groups on a regular basis.

Maurer says that the biggest challenge was to bring in children that didn’t know them or their environment. She says they wanted to make sure that each child felt safe and comfortable during this stressful situation. They wanted them to feel at home and happy, knowing this was a safe place to be.

The children coming into the daycare have moms and dads that work on the frontline during this virus fight. Life can be stressful, and children often pick up on that stress.

The staff put their heads together, even knowing it might not be easy, but knew they could do it and come out for the better. Maurer says they really stepped up to the plate and did a great job.

As they got ready to add new children to their groups, Ragamuffins reached out to their parents. For some, they were already planning on keeping their children home with schools and businesses closing or reducing staff. Others offered to keep theirs home to make room, saying that it was important to take care of first responders’ families. She says she gives credit to those families for giving the okay to use their spots.

With some of their kids not coming because of the virus, Maurer said they missed their kids. It was hard emotionally on everyone, but at the end of the day they came back and grew a whole new family with these new children.

As for helping out staff at the medical center, Maurer says that they knew the needed the help and they were ready to do it. It was amazing to watch, she says, and now as the two months come to a close, they will be missing these children that will be going back to their former providers.

Looking back now, Maurer says that everything was a learning curve with stepping stones at the right time with the right help to set up this difference to succeed. She said, “I do it this way and it works. Sometimes you pray and ask God to show you the way. My heart is put into this and we have invested so much of ourselves.”

Everett says that for the two months Ragamuffin met their needs, they were a lifesaver. Eight families with eleven children were helped during this time. Mountrail County Health Foundation, along with grant funds from the NWND Community Foundation helped cover some of the costs.

While many families will be returning to their previous providers this week as daycares resume operations, a few will be staying at Ragamuffins Ranch enjoying the new relationships they have formed.

Steph Everett says that they just knew at the beginning they had to do something to help their staff. All of this was so new to medical facilities. They had heard about the first stories with coronavirus coming from a nursing home in Washington. The focus became on what if it happened here.

“For medical staff, there is no choice but to be at work. The last thing we wanted was for staff to have to make a hard choice. We needed them here, for Health Centers never shut down. Some of our Staff made shifts from their clinic positions to helping at the nursing home, for they were needed there to ensure our nursing home residents were cared for,” said Everett.  “The partnership with Raggamuffin Ranch allowed us to take one huge stressor off our staff. Especially through this, maneuvering through unchartered territories over the last few month,” Everett said.

The two month partnership between the medical center and Ragamuffin Ranch is just another example of small towns pulling together to help each other through these challenging times. It is also an example of meeting critical needs through collaborative effort.

This article is republished with the gracious consent of the Mountrail County Promoter.