FamilyHealth Clinics | Northfield Hospital & Clinics

    Northfield Hospital Auxiliary recently announced a $150,000 commitment over five years to help with the Northfield Hospital’s plans to expand clinical space for Infusion Services, including medical oncology, and Sleep Medicine.

    The $2 million remodeling project, which will receive its final review by the Hospital Board at their March meeting, will reconfigure the space on the south side of the main corridor, replacing offices that have largely been used for medical records and business functions. The new clinical space will improve the patient experience for those receiving infusion services and for those having diagnostic sleep studies by making these clinics more accessible to patients and more removed from other patient populations.

    “We are excited to be part of this effort,” said Joan Pralle, co-chair of the Northfield Hospital Auxiliary. “Our board and membership feel this is a critical medical service to have in our community. We whole-heartedly support the planned improvements.”

     The clinical expansion at the hospital will be coordinated with the hospital’s recent purchase of the former Village School at 1100 Bollenbacher Drive in Northfield. It will be the new home to Patient Financial Services, Health Information Services and Financial Services.

      The clinical expansion is being undertaken in concert with Mayo Clinic’s construction of a new radiation oncology center, which is scheduled to open in July.

     “Our medical oncology upgrade will be a very nice complement to the new radiation oncology services Mayo Clinic is bringing to our community,” said Mark Henke, CEO and President of Northfield Hospital & Clinics. “We are grateful to the Auxiliary for their shared vision and their commitment to comprehensive cancer care in Northfield.”

      The Auxiliary’s main source of funds is its annual Great Northfield, Minnesota Book Raid. This is the 50^th anniversary of the event. Sale dates are Tuesday, April 26 through May 1 at the Northfield Ice Arena.

FamilyHealth Medical Clinic, a full service clinic operated by Northfield Hospital & Clinics with locations in Northfield, Lonsdale, Farmington and Lakeville, is offering free heart health screenings to area residents by appointment between 6:30 and 8:30 a.m. on the following dates:

• Northfield: Tuesday,  Feb. 22, and Tuesday, March 1
• Lonsdale: Wednesday, Feb. 16
• Farmington: Thursday, Feb. 17, and Thursday, Feb. 24
• Lakeville: Tuesday, Feb. 15, and Wednesday, Feb. 23

The screening includes a fasting blood draw test, blood pressure check and height/weight measurements. All of the data will be compiled and reported back to participants so it can be shared with their primary medical provider. Participants will also receive important educational materials with tips on how to lead a heart-healthy lifestyle. A light breakfast will be provided.

Advanced registration is required. To make your appointment, call:

• Northfield: 507-646-1494
• Lonsdale: 507-744-3245
• Farmington: 651-460-2300
• Lakeville: 952-469-0500

Physicians recommend these strategies to help prevent heart disease:

1)    Don’t smoke or use other tobacco products;

2)    Get active. Adopt a regular exercise regimen;

3)    Eat a heart-healthy diet. Build your diet around foods that are low in fat, cholesterol and salt and rich in whole grains, fruits, vegetables and low-fat dairy products;

4)    Maintain a healthy weight.

5)    Get regular health screenings.

Andres Gonzalez Sanchez stole all of the suspense from this year’s New Year’s Baby watch. He was born to Elizabeth Sanchez Rhodes and Arnold Gonzalez at 3:15 a.m. New Year’s Day, just hours past his due date.

Andres weighed in at 8 pounds, four ounces and was 21 inches long.  He is Elizabeth’s third child.  He will have two older brothers awaiting him when he goes home to Faribault.

   FamilyHealth Medical Northfield will be closed Monday evening, Dec. 20, due to inclement weather.  The clinic will reopen Tuesday at the regular time.

A gas leak on an outside gas meter at the Center for Sports Medicine & Rehabilitation, 1381 Jefferson Road, forced staff to evacuate the building for 20 minutes Monday morning.

The leak was detected at 7:50 a.m. The Northfield Fire Department and Xcel Energy were notified, and staff from both CSMR and Orthopaedic & Fracture Clinic were evacuated to the parking lot.

The leak was located in a meter outside the building. The building was cleared for occupancy at 8:10 a.m. and normal operations were resumed. Xcel finished making the necessary repairs at 9:20 a.m.

FamilyHealth Medical Clinics in Northfield and Lakeville will be closed Saturday, Dec. 11, due to the anticipated heavy snowfall.  They will open on Monday, Dec. 13, at 8 a.m.

The Northfield Hospital & Clinics car seat clinic scheduled for Saturday morning at CarTime in Dundas has also been canceled.

An ammonia leak in Randolph, Minn., has resulted in 21 patients being transported to Northfield Hospital. As of mid-morning on Wednesday, five have been admitted to the hospital, three have been discharged, nine are still being examined, four remain for observation. Only one of the 21 required decontamination.  Northfield Hospital is on an Orange Alert and our Incident Command System has been activated.

For breaking updates, follow Northfield Hospital & Clinics on Facebook or Twitter, via the links at left.

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Update: The Orange Alert at Northfield Hospital was called off at 11:30 a.m. At that time, six pediatric patients had been admitted for observation. All others were treated and released.

  Northfield Home Care and Northfield Hospice, services of Northfield Hospital & Clinics, are celebrating National Home Care and Hospice Month with an open house Thursday, Nov. 11, 1-3 p.m. at their offices, 700 Division St.

   Visitors will be able meet the staff, learn more about both home care and hospice services, have their blood pressure checked, and learn more about advanced directives from Karen Gervais, director of Minnesota Center for Health Care Ethics. Refreshments will be served.

Timothy Gronseth, a healthcare finance professional with more than 25 years of experience, has been named Northfield Hospital & Clinics’ next Vice President of Finance and Chief Financial Officer (CFO).

Gronseth will succeed Roger Stapek, who is retiring at the end of 2010. Stapek served as the hospital’s chief financial officer for 30 years.

 Most recently Gronseth served as Vice President and CFO at Mary Lanning Memorial Hospital in Hastings, NE, an 183-bed acute care hospital with 12 clinics. He previously worked in a variety of finance leadership positions with Owatonna Hospital — Allina, Prairie Lakes Health Care Systems in Watertown, SD, and Ridgeview Medical Center in Waconia, MN.

 Gronseth holds a BA in business administration, accounting, and hospital administration from Concordia College in Moorhead, MN, and an MBA from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul.  He also has additional Six Sigma process improvement training from the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota.

 “Tim is an experienced professional, and we are delighted to have him join our leadership team,” said Mark Henke, President and CEO of Northfield Hospital & Clinics. “His expertise and his knowledge of our service area will be a great benefit to our organization..”

 Gronseth will begin work on November 15.

Northfield Hospital & Clinics will celebrate its 100^th anniversary Sunday, Oct. 31, with a concert dedicated to healing performed by the Cannon Valley Regional Orchestra. The concert will begin at 3 p.m. at St. John’s Lutheran Church, Friendship Hall, 500 Third St. West in Northfield. 

The orchestra, directed by Paul Niemisto of St. Olaf College, will play six pieces selected for their reflective and comforting qualities. They are: Beethoven Egmont Overture; Vivaldi D Major Guitar Concerto (Randy Ferguson, soloist); Debussy, Danses Sacrée et Profane for Harp and Strings (Elinor Niemisto, soloist); Vaughan Williams – Lark Ascending for violin and orchestra (Gail Nelson, soloist); Brahms, Four Serious Songs (Deesa Staats mezzo soprano); Brahms, Variations on a theme of Haydn.

Northfield Hospital & Clinics began in 1910 in a wood frame house on the corner of Eighth and Water. The 12-bed facility served 5,700 patients over three decades. Nine hundred and two babies were born there.

 In 1934, the City of Northfield accepted responsibility for the hospital, and in 1939 a new facility was built on West Second Street. It served the community for 63 years until a new hospital opened on North Avenue in 2003.

In a retrospective published by Northfield Hospital & Clinics earlier this year, it was written that a hospital is a reflection of a community’s best instincts, representing concern for neighbors and hope for a better future.

Tickets are $10, $5 for students. They are available at the door, at Present Perfect or the Northfield Arts Guild in downtown Northfield or at the Kaleidoscope Gift Shop at Northfield Hospital.