Author: JBrown@welia.org

Peggy Peterson

Meet Peggy Peterson
Position: Dietary Aide
Start Date: 4/25/16
Birthday: 4/10
Background/Educations: Grew up in Ogilvie, graduated from Ogilvie High School. Married with 3 children and have 7 grandchildren. Worked with adults with disabilities for 13 years.
What are you excited about working at Welia Health? Working closer to home, less hours so I can spend time with family.
What are your three favorite movies? 1. Titanic 2. The Proposal 3. Safe Haven
What is your favorite color? Blue
Do you have a nickname? No
What are your hobbies?: Gardening, camping, spending time with grandkids, and traveling when possible.

Melissa Hermanson

Meet Melissa Hermanson
Position: Occupational Therapy Assistant
Start Date: 4/25/16
Birthday: 12/17
Background/Educations: I grew up in Eau Claire, WI where I graduated from Memorial High School. After high school I moved to Champlin and attended OTA school at Anoka Technical College in Anoka, MN.
What are you excited about working at Welia Health? Working in a more complex medical setting
What are your three favorite movies? 1. Hunger Games Series 2. Divergent Series 3. A League of Their Own
What is your favorite color? Purple
Do you have a nickname? Missy
What are your hobbies?: Our family loves being outdoors - camping, fishing, hunting, making maple syrup, and ice skating on our pond in the winter. Also, I love to run. I love spending time together with my children and husband.

Meet New Anesthesia Student – Jeremy Pangerl

Meet Jeremy Pangerl
Position: Anesthesia Student
Start Date: 4/11/16
Birthday: 7/10
Background/Educations: ASN North Hennepin Community College, BSN at Metropolitan State University, MSN at Minneapolis School of Anesthesia.
What are you excited about working at Welia Health? Independent anesthesia
What are your three favorite movies? 1. Watchmen 2. All Star Wars Movies 3. Hero
What is your favorite color? Gray
Do you have a nickname? None
What are your hobbies?: Golf, down hill skiing, soccer (watching/playing), video games, hockey, going to movies, running, biking, lifting, and eating.

Meet New Referral Specialist – Lindsey Thompson

Meet Lindsey Thompson
Position: Referral Specialist
Start Date: 4/11/16
Birthday: 11/17
Background/Educations: Graduated from Elk River High School Class of 2000. Obtained my AAS Degree in Medical Assisting from Rasmussen College, St. Cloud in 2011. Worked as a restaurant manager after high school and through college, then worked as a Medical Assistant at Little Falls Orthopedics and Fairview Northland.
What are you excited about working at Welia Health? I am excited to be part of an amazing healthcare team. I look forward to learning new things as well as developing my existing skills for providing quality patient care and experiences.
What are your three favorite movies? 1. Transformers 2. National Lampoon's Xmas Vacation 3. Despicable Me
What is your favorite color? Red/Orange
Do you have a nickname? None
What are your hobbies?: Reading, pallet wood crafts, and boating/fishing

Meet New Rehab Services Assistant – Dawn Crain

Meet Dawn Crain
Position: Rehab Services Assistant
Start Date: 4/11/16
Birthday: 7/24
Background/Educations: Last 14 1/2 years I have worked for PDR - Physicians Diagnostic Rehabilitation. 13 of those years was I ran the front desk and the last 1 1/2 years I was doing insurance verifications.
What are your three favorite movies? 1. Green Mile 2. Shawshank Redemption 3. Pearl Harbor
What is your favorite color? I like fall colors
Do you have a nickname? None
What are your hobbies?: I like crafting, but cost $ so I don't do a whole lot. Gardening/planting, float/play in the lake.

Meet New RN Student – Bethany Johnson

Meet Bethany Johnson
Position: RN Student
Start Date: 4/5/16
Birthday: 9/17
Background/Educations: Graduated from Ogilvie High School, attended St. Scholastica and transferred to Pine Tech where I graduated with my LPN. I currently work at the Kanabec Sheriffs Office as a 911 dispatcher and Mora High School as a softball coach. I am also going to school full-time at Fond du Lac Tribal Community College where I will graduate with my RN in May.
What are you excited about working at Welia Health? I am excited to learn the culture of rural nursing and nursing care in the community I live in.
What are your three favorite movies? 1. Grease 2. For Colored Women 3. Friday Night Lights
What is your favorite color? Blue
Do you have a nickname? Beth or B
What are your hobbies?: I have a 5 year old son I enjoy spending time with, hiking, kayaking, playing volleyball and softball, hunting, fishing, and being with my friends and family.

Meet New Surgical Tech Student – Kelsey Scofield

Meet Kelsey Scofield
Position: Surgical Tech Student
Start Date: 4/4/16
Birthday: 5/22
Background/Educations: Graduated High School from Superior High School in Superior, WI. I attended North Hennepin Community College for my generals and Hennepin Technical College for my CNA. I currently attend Rasmussen in St. Cloud in the surgical technologist program and will be graduating in September.
What are you excited about working at Welia Health? I am excited to be able to use what I've learned and apply it to the real world and for the great learning opportunity under the guidance of an awesome staff!
What are your three favorite movies? 1. Bridesmaids 2. American Sniper 3. Blind Side
What is your favorite color? Purple
Do you have a nickname? None
What are your hobbies?: Spending time with my family, reading, bike riding, and camping.

W.O.W Tip of the Week

Most of us know that processed foods are not ideal for our health and that we should cut down on them, eat more fruits and vegetables and prepare our own food. However, with our busy lives we need to rely on food that can be prepared fast. Most food additives that are in these processed foods are considered safe but there are a few we need to be cautious of and those we should avoid all together.

The go to source for food labeling is an organization called the Center for Science in the Public Interest. Their website has a great guide on food additives, which ones are safe, those we should cut back on and those we should avoid all together.

http://www.cspinet.org/reports/chemcuisine.htm

Some of the food additives we should avoid, according to this organization, are trans fats, food coloring, nitrites and high fructose corn syrup just to name a few. Most food additives are needed to improve the safety and freshness of our food or improve or maintain the nutritional value, however there are some that can cause problems for some people. What is interesting about those food additives we should avoid is that the foods they are in have little to no nutritional value anyway and there are healthier alternatives to these foods.   I encourage you to check out the above website and find out for yourself which food additives are safe and which ones to avoid.

Melissa Merrick, RD, LD