Mayo adds Senior Services provider, adjusts clinic schedules

Mayo Clinic Health System in Albert Lea and Austin, Minn., announced it will add a Senior Services provider to its staff, Wednesday, Oct. 31. Certified Nurse Practitioner Allison Berg Heinemann will work alongside Dr. Steve Wiese and visit select skilled nursing facilities across the southeast Minnesota area to provide medical supervision and care for patients in the comfort and familiar surroundings of the facility where the patient lives.
“This model has been very successful in other parts of our region,” says Berg Heinemann. “As a provider who specializes in geriatric care, I will be able to develop relationships with the patients and staff, and of course it is much more convenient for older adults to be visited by the provider than to have the patient travel to an office visit.”
Berg Heinemann is currently the provider for the Mayo Clinic Health System clinic in New Richland. Her transition to a new role opened up opportunities for other providers, who have chosen to move to new locations.
• Wendy Cadwell Trihus, C.N.P., currently the provider at the Wells clinic, will become the New Richland provider on Nov. 1.
• Heather Obermeyer, C.N.P., currently the provider at the Alden clinic, will move to the Wells clinic on Nov. 1.
At the same time, long-time Kiester clinic provider Lanice Engebretson, C.N.P., announced her plans to retire Nov. 16.
“The employment changes with our smaller clinic providers mean we need to take a fresh look at how we can best provide care to patients across our service area,” said Jay Mitchell, M.D., chair of outpatient practice for the health system’s Southeast Minnesota region. “As we shared in meetings with our local communities last summer, significant challenges in recruiting are common in rural areas across the country and we are currently facing it here. And it’s not just the nurse practitioners and other providers—we have not been able to fill a number of open positions for nurses, lab techs and other important support positions.”
In the face of these shortages, Mayo Clinic Health System will reduce its hours in Alden and Kiester to one day per week; the Alden clinic will be open 8 a.m.–5 p.m. on Friday beginning Nov. 2, and the Kiester clinic will be open 8 a.m.– 5 p.m. one day a week, beginning Nov. 19. The reduced clinic hours will be in effect through the end of December. There are no changes to clinic hours in New Richland, Wells and Lake Mills.
“Patient data shows that more than half of the patients using the Alden and Kiester clinics come from other communities—places such as Wells, New Richland and Albert Lea, where health system clinics are available to meet their needs,” says Dr. Mitchell. “Based on the number of patients who actually live in the Alden and Kiester service areas, operating the clinics one day per week will provide adequate appointments to meet the needs of the local community members.”
Nurses and other support staff members at the Alden and Kiester clinics have been notified of the changes, and will be able to move to open positions in other Mayo Clinic Health System clinics in the surrounding communities or Albert Lea. There will be no job losses associated with these clinic changes.
“We are using the transition period of November-December to work with our communities to understand residents’ needs and discuss alternative solutions,” according to Annie T. Sadosty, M.D., regional vice president for the health system’s Southeast Minnesota region. “We are eager to work with both Alden and Kiester leaders and community members to consider how we can best serve them after Jan. 1, when we will no longer have a provider on-site in the clinics. We want to work collaboratively in thinking of options that could best serve the communities and our patients.”
Patients whose providers are re-locating or retiring will receive letters in the coming weeks with options for continuing their care with Mayo Clinic Health System. They will also be informed about non-traditional care options such as the 24/7 nurse line, Express Care clinics, and Express Care Online, which allows patients to submit their symptoms or requests online and receive treatment, including prescriptions, without leaving home.

Lake Mills Graphic

204 N. Mill Street
Lake Mills, IA 50450

Office Number: (641) 592-4222
Fax Number: (641) 592-6397

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