Dr. Milan Schmidt
Although he has been at Sawtooth Mountain Clinic since August 2011, Dr. Milan Schmidt is still considered the “new doc” by some. But this long-time visitor to the Arrowhead region has found a home at Sawtooth—and in the community.
Dr. Schmidt attended medical school at the Medical University of South Carolina – Charleston, graduating in 1976. He completed his undergraduate work at Clemson in Macon, Georgia, where he met his wife, Carolyn. They stayed in the south while Schmidt completed his training, and in 1979 moved to Farmington, Minnesota where he had his first practice. Schmidt said he enjoyed working in a family medicine setting. And he enjoyed working in the small community—Farmington has a population of about 5,000.
However, the family gave up small town life for a while to return east while Carolyn attended seminary. They lived in the Northern Virginia area—near Washington DC—while Carolyn attended seminary from 1985 – 1987. Dr. Schmidt found a new interest there—he ran a weight loss and wellness clinic at Bethesda Rehabilitation Hospital and a VA regional hospital.
Then they came back to southern Minnesota, to another small town, Montgomery, MN. The nearest, likely more recognizable town is New Prague. There Dr. Schmidt worked in a variety of medical settings, including a solo practice for 5½ years. “That was tough. I was seeing 150 – 160 patients per week, with no time off,” he recalled.
So, he joined a group practice in New Prague, where he enjoyed working for about 12 years. Near the end of his time there, he received a Bush Fellowship to continue his work in weight loss and wellness, focusing on traditional and alternative therapies in obesity in adults and kids, a three-year project.
Also during that interesting and challenging time, the New Prague hospital was merging with Mayo. To get away from the stresses of both their careers, Milan and Carolyn began traveling north to enjoy the beauty of the Arrowhead region. They purchased land on the Camp 20 road almost 20 years ago. Dr. Schmidt smiled and said, “My wife started nagging me to move up here then.”
It didn’t take a lot of nagging. Dr. Schmidt also loves the Northland and to start the transition, he began working occasionally in the emergency room at North Shore Hospital as a locum tenant. Not his first love, he admits. “I’ve done a lot of ER work over the years, but I enjoy lifestyle modification more,” he said.
Which is something he has been doing for the last four years with an Episcopal wellness program, CREDO. Schmidt said he works with members of the church on their physical health, as well as their spiritual. He travels to conduct retreats with members of the Episcopal Church twice a year. In September 2012, he will be traveling to Richmond, Virginia and then to a place to be determined in Arizona.
“It’s pretty phenomenal,” he said. “They have been able to make some lasting lifestyle changes.”
He has been able to continue his work with CREDO as he made the permanent move to the North Shore and to Sawtooth Mountain Clinic, because of the support of his coworkers. “Working with the other practioners is great. The collegiality is exceptional,” he said.
Milan and Carolyn are still not living at their Camp 20 Road property. They’ve purchased a home in Croftville where they both can be closer to work—Carolyn has become involved with the Spirit of the Wilderness Episcopal Church. And in Croftville, they have indoor plumbing. “We’d been here enough to know the winters are long and you can’t quickly get to a mall. But we didn’t want to live without plumbing. So—we have a place by the lake and our get-away in the woods,” he said.
They’ve enjoyed Boundary Waters trips and they are looking forward to the arrival of winter so they can get out and snowshoe. “We like being in the wilderness and just being outside,” said Dr. Schmidt.
He notes that the tradeoffs of living far from many amenities are more than compensated by all the activities—and dining— in the Cook County community. “The food here is phenomenal,” he said, adding with a chuckle, “I enjoy it too much.”
But mostly he is enjoying working at Sawtooth Mountain Clinic. He said there has been a push lately in the medical industry to create a “medical home” for patients, working with patients to develop continuity of care. “It’s what they’ve been doing for years at Sawtooth Mountain Clinic,” said Dr. Schmidt, adding, “I like this clinic setting where patients have their medical home.”
It looks like Dr. Schmidt has found his as well.
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