Sawtooth Mountain Clinic medical staff takes a break from the busy clinic. (L-R, seated) Dr. Milan Schmidt, Nurse-Practitioner Lisa Zallar, Dr. Paul Terrill. (L-R, back) Dr. Michael Sampson, Dr. Sandy Stover. (Not pictured: Dr. Jenny Delfs) The clinic is hosting an open house from 4:00 – 6:00 p.m. on Thursday, September 1. Stop by and say hello to our family physicians.
Sawtooth Mountain Clinic is hosting an open house for its doctors on Thursday,
September 1 from 4:00 – 6:00 p.m., inviting the public to stop by the lower level of the clinic and visit with the family practice physicians who keep our rural clinic going. The Cook County News-Herald sat down with the community doctors recently to find out what it is like to be “our doctors.”
The doctors gathered in Clinic Director Rita Plourde’s office to visit. One of the first questions that comes to mind looking at the group that is so familiar to most of us is how long have they all been working at the clinic?
Dr. Sandy Stover is the longest serving doctor with 21 years. However, she looks at the clinic’s newest doctor—Dr. Milan Schmidt—and grins. “I’m not the oldest doc anymore.”
Schmidt, who came on board just this August (after working as locum tenen at the hospital for two years) replaces Stover as the “oldest doctor” and replaces Dr. Michael Sampson as the “newest doctor.”
Sampson joined the Sawtooth Mountain staff two years ago.
Dr. Paul Terrill is the doctor with the second-longest tenure, recently celebrating his 20th year at the clinic. He is followed by Dr. Jenny Delfs who has been with the clinic for 16 years. Delfs, who was taking a rare day off, was not available for this interview.
Nurse Practitioner Lisa Zallar, who has been on staff for four years now, rounds out the medical staff. The doctors are very appreciative of Zallar’s work.
“She’s incredibly knowledgeable,” said Dr. Schmidt, who said he has worked with a number of nurse practitioners over the years and said she is the most helpful.
Dr. Stover noted that it is very nice to have a younger medical staff member. “I hardly ever see teenaged girls anymore,” she said.
All of the physicians are family practice doctors, which means they see patients for every medical condition imaginable.
“When a specialist says, ‘That’s not my specialty,’ the patient comes back to us,” said Dr. Terrill.
Asked how things have changed over the years, Dr. Stover said when she and Dr. Terrill first came to the clinic, they spent a great deal of time on urgent care. “It has evolved to where we are now more of a long-term management and chronic care facility,” said Stover, noting that the new concept of a “medical home” that many medical facilities are working toward is something that already exists at the clinic.
Dr. Terrill enods, “You don’t just know the illness, you know the person.” That feeling of community is what attracted Dr. Schmidt. “Some places have ‘community’ in their ename, but there really is a team here tfor our patients,” ohe said, noting that there is also a sense of working outside of traditional medicine. He points to local chiropractic offices, massage therapy and physical etherapy as examples.
“We have a lot of resources for a small community,” said Schmidt.
Dr. Stover said the nursing staff is an invaluable resource and all of the doctors nodded agreement. Dr. Sampson added that Director Rita Plourde has set up a very effective system, including a specialized position to assist patients with referrals to specialists. That position is currently held by Nancy Rude, who, said Sampson, is “the godess of referrals.”
“Patients don’t realize how lucky they are to have that,” said Sampson.
Dr. Stover said the clinic has also been lucky to have a good working relationship with most Duluth physicians. “We do a lot of stuff by phone with ‘curbside consults,’” she said.
Dr. Terrill said the clinic doctors try to do all the tests and procedures they can locally to make it easier when a patient must travel to Duluth. Terrill notes that the services the hospital lab and X-ray departments now offer are vastly improved. Patients can now have CT scans and even MRIs locally, as well as colonoscopies. “We haven’t been lost in technology,” said Terrill.
Sawtooth Mountain Clinic also has an excellent relationship with North Shore Hospital. So good, in fact, that there is frequently confusion over the relationship between the two entities. “There is a very close working relationship, but the clinic is a separate corporation—a federally assisted, completely independent facility with two separate boards,” said Terrill.
It was easier to understand, laughed Stover, when the clinic was an entirely separate building. “I remember sending people to the hospital from the old clinic building for labs, across the freezing parking lot,” she said.
So although there is sometimes confusion, the doctors overall are happy to share the building with the hospital. And the doctors are happy to be where they are, serving the community. For the longtime doctors, it has been rewarding to see patients from birth through college years. Although it is bittersweet, as the patients they met in middle age are now the patients they see at the Care Center.
“This is one of the healthiest work environments I’ve ever worked in. Whether you are a doctor, nurse, receptionist or medical records specialist, your opinion is sought out and respected,” said Dr. Sampson, adding impishly, “Sometimes it’s frustrating because everyone has an opinion.”
Another benefit is the beautiful clinic building. “This is one of the nicest waiting rooms I’ve ever seen,” said Sampson. “Sometimes after work, I just take some time to pause and enjoy it.”
"And the windows!” added Dr. Terrill. “The building offers some amazing views.”
It sounds like the doctors—not just the patients—have found their medical home at Sawtooth Mountain Clinic.
Stop by on Thursday, September 1 to visit with “our” doctors at Sawtooth Mountain Clinic. The occasion will also be a rededication of the clinic’s lower level space in honor of the late Frank Hansen, who was on the clinic board. It will also be Frank’s wife Mary Alice’s birthday. Dr. Stover said, “Rumor has it there will be cake.”
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