She’s not retiring, but Sandy Stover, the longest-serving physician at the Sawtooth Mountain Clinic and North Shore Hospital, is leaving to teach at the University of Minnesota Duluth medical school.
Stover’s last day here will be Sept. 22. On Sept. 25, from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m., there will be a reception for Sandy at the Clinic.
This past week Stover took some time to reflect about her 29-year career as a rural physician in Cook County, and what she is looking forward to as she moves forward.
“I officially started full-time on July 1, 1990, but I helped on weekends in 1989-90,” she said.
At that time there weren’t as many doctors on staff at the clinic, and there was no separate emergency (ER) medical staff, so the doctors on staff were exceptionally busy.
“In 1994-95 there were only two doctors here,” said Stover. “We had to puzzle piece together the schedule. The clinic board did a good job of getting us residences and support staff, but it was a difficult time. Today there are six doctors and one nurse practitioner.”
Plus, there is now a separate team of ER doctors that work in the ER under contract. “Until 2008, for 19 years, I also worked in the ER. It was not a good lifestyle,” she said, adding, “Honestly, we couldn’t have done it without the great RNs we have at the hospital. The Cindy Doneks and Linda Petersons, I would put them up against RNs anywhere. They were the reason we could do what we did.”
Over the course of her career, Stover said the two most significant changes in her job have been in converting from paper records to electronic records and in outcome-based health care.
Outcome-based health care as taught in medical school was based on science, said Stover. But through the years the practice has evolved to outcome-based clinic care, which looks at how medicine makes a difference in a patient’s life.
Electronic records came to the clinic in 2008 and, said Stover, for “older” doctors like her the conversion was hard. “Newer doctors don’t seem to have any trouble with it,” she added.
Other changes, noted Stover, include the hospital dropping its birthing center and the additions of programs offered through Sawtooth Mountain Clinic. Today the clinic provides mental health services, outreach and community health programs, blood pressure screenings, foot care, flu shot clinics, childbirth education, WIC (Women Infants and Children program) as well as Moving Matters, which works to create safe and accessible walking and biking routes for all people.
“When we only had a couple of doctors, we couldn’t dream of doing all of the things the clinic is now doing,” she said.
As for her new career as a teacher, Stover said at UMD she would be working with first- and second-year medical students, teaching skills in small group settings and mentoring to them.
“Plus, I may do some research.”
The UMD medical school, Duluth campus was founded in 1972 to serve the needs of rural Minnesota and Native American communities. Today it graduates 60 rural physicians a year, the most of any medical school in the U.S.
Her plans are to work 5-10 years, “If they like me and I feel I can contribute,” she said with a smile.
She and her husband, Ralph Larsen, will keep their house in Grand Marais and come back some weekends. But Duluth is closer to their two children, Julie, who will be a sophomore at Bemidji State, her father’s alma mater, and Sarah, who is teaching in Willmar, which will be a handier location for everyone to see each other.
As for leaving, Sandy said, “I will miss my patients. That’s the hard part of this. I will also miss the clinic board and Rita Plourde, (CEO of Sawtooth Mountain Clinic). She was here before me.”
Two other doctors have been with Stover for much her career, Paul Terrill, who has 28 years and Jenny Delfs, who has been here 24 years. They too, will be missed.
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