Feeling Like Yourself Again Is Possible with LPH Physical Therapy Services

If you feel like pain or lack of mobility is hindering your ability to live life the way you would like, physical therapy services from Langdon Prairie Health can get you back on track to a healthier and happier version of yourself.

The LPH physical therapy team utilizes their expertise to help people of all ages recover function, regain movement, relieve pain, and prevent future problems. They can provide care for many conditions, including:

• Back and neck pain
• Edema
• Joint replacement recovery
• Neurological disorders
• Orthopedics
• Osteoporosis
• Post-surgical care
• Soft tissue injuries
• Sports injuries
• Vertigo

Sarah Badding, PT, DPT, CSCS, Director of Rehab Services, shared, “When it comes to our physical therapy patients, we really see it all every week. Fortunately, we’re able to offer a variety of services to meet the variety of care needs.”
In addition to more traditional forms of physical therapy, the LPH team also offers some specialized treatment options. These include:

• Dry Needling: Treats painful muscle tissue by inserting thin, stainless-steel needles into trigger points (tight bands of muscles located in larger muscles that disrupt function, restrict range of motion, or cause pain or localized tenderness). Often used for patients suffering from shoulder, back, neck or knee pain; fibromyalgia; muscle spasms and strains; and other muscle tissue pain.
• Graston Technique: Uses a metal instrument to massage areas where there is chronic, acute, or post-surgical soft-tissue pain. This technique accommodates faster rehabilitation and is often effective in eliminating pain and restoring range of motion and normal function. Used to treat ankle, wrist, back, neck, knee, and hip pain; fibromyalgia; hamstring and rotator cuff injuries; post-mastectomy and caesarean pain; and many other conditions.
• LSVT BIG: People living with Parkinson’s disease or other neurological conditions often move with gestures and actions that become smaller and slower. LSVT BIG teaches patients to use large, exaggerated movements to improve the mismatch between what they feel like they are doing and what they are actually doing. This can make everyday activities easier to perform—such as buttoning a shirt or maintaining balance while walking.
• Lymphedema Therapies: Treatments to reduce swelling caused by the removal or damage of lymph nodes.

To ensure the most successful patient outcomes, all physical therapy at LPH is one-on-one with a patient’s physical therapist. Before starting a physical therapy program, they will take time to understand the patient’s health history and what their specific goals are for physical therapy treatment.

“We provide patient centered treatment that is most appropriate for their return to function,” Sarah explained. “Each treatment session is catered to their unique needs because we listen to the patient describe their symptoms, ask appropriate questions and perform tests and measurements to guide care and progress a patient through their rehab. It’s completely individualized.”

Each member of the LPH physical therapy team is dedicated to seeing their patients function and overall quality of life improve. Each provider’s deep knowledge of and passion for physical therapy means patients have a true partnership with them—and can trust that they will help them achieve better health.

“We have highly qualified professionals who truly care about each individual patient and their goals. Our goal is to be able to provide patients with the same rehab services they would expect from a larger facility, but closer to home,” Sarah said. “It is so rewarding to see a patient progress and help them return to the activities they want to and need to be able to do.”

The physical therapy team at LPH is here for you when you are ready to start your journey to less pain and better health.

Labs: Testing for what ails you

Living in a rural community definitely has its perks: fresh air, wide open spaces, and a tight-knit community. However, when it comes to healthcare, things can get a bit tricky. Access to medical services can be limited, and sometimes it can be difficult to find the care you need close to home. That's where lab services come in!

In a hospital setting, lab services are a crucial part of patient care. They help doctors and nurses diagnose and treat illnesses, monitor patients' health, and ensure that medications are working as intended. But in a rural community, lab services can be even more important.

Langdon Prairie Health provides lab services in a rural setting and the lab team knows firsthand just how valuable this service can be. For starters, many people in rural areas must travel long distances to get to a hospital, so having lab services available locally can save them time and money. Instead of making a long trip just for a blood test or other diagnostic procedure, patients can get what they need right in their own community. Lab services aren't just convenient – they're also essential for maintaining good health. Regular lab work can help identify potential health issues before they become serious, which can lead to more effective treatment and better outcomes. Having lab services available locally can make it easier for patients to stay on top of their health and make informed decisions about their care.

Of course, providing lab services in a rural hospital isn't always easy. There can be logistical challenges to overcome, such as making sure samples are properly collected and transported and ensuring that lab equipment is up-to-date and functioning properly. But despite these challenges, Langdon Prairie Health is dedicated to providing the best possible care to our patients.

One of the things about working in a rural hospital is the sense of community that comes with it. We may not have all the resources of a big city hospital, but we make up for it with our dedication to our patients and our commitment to providing high-quality care. When we see a patient come in for lab work and leave with a smile on their face, we know that we're making a difference in their lives.

Types of Tests Offered

Laboratory services in a small rural hospital offer a wide range of tests. These include blood tests and urine tests. In addition, they can perform tests to detect infectious diseases such as influenza or tuberculosis.

The lab technicians at Langdon Prairie Health are certified to provide excellent service. Clinical laboratory technologists typically need a bachelor’s degree. Technicians usually need an associate degree or a postsecondary certificate.

Swing Bed Program Ensures a Safe Return Home

Skilled Rehabilitation Services Available at Langdon Prairie Health

Short-stay, hospital-based care situations are ideal for patients who no longer need inpatient care but still require rehabilitation or skilled nursing before returning home.  

Health events that often require or benefit from swing bed care are: 

  • Heart attack 
  • Stroke 
  • Traumatic fall 
  • Scheduled surgery 
  • Pneumonia 

Langdon Prairie Health’s swing bed services, which are sometimes referred to as skilled rehabilitation services, are also a convenient choice for patients who need short-term rehab care.  

“When someone experiences a serious health event, they often need transitional care between an inpatient hospital stay and being fully ready to return home,” explained Angela Booker, LPH Interim CNO. “Swing bed refers to patients who need care that ‘swings’ between acute hospital care and independent living. People can get the physical and occupational therapy they need right here in the hospital before returning home.” 

Swing Bed Patients at LPH Receive: 

  • 24-hour nursing care 
  • On-site, customized treatments, therapies and services, including: 
    • Physical, occupational, and speech 
    • Infusion   
    • Pharmacy 
    • Nutrition  
  • Care in a visually appealing, comfortable facility  
  • Spacious private rooms 

One of the biggest benefits of swing bed services at LPH is that patients can get the care they need without having to travel—this makes it easier for them and anyone who may help care for them. 

“Take for example a married couple—one has a stroke, but even after their hospital stay, they can’t come home yet. Rather than transferring to a facility outside Langdon, they can stay right here in town and their spouse can easily visit them, provide support, and remain up to date on their condition,” Angela said. 

Additionally, patients who needed to travel farther away for their initial care can finish their rehabilitation at LPH—allowing them to return to their community more quickly. 

Each patient who participates in the swing bed program will have a treatment plan tailored specifically to their needs and carried out one-on-one by their providers and therapists. 

Additional Benefits of Swing Bed Services: 

  • Nursing support to help patients fully recover from illness or injury 
  • Receive continuity of care – close to home 
  • Assist with daily living activities, helping patients reach their highest potential for self-sufficiency 
  • Allow patients to return home with the education they need to live safely and independently 
  • Reduces the risk of relapse and returning to the hospital for additional care 

“Your provider will meet with you to create your care plan, order the rehab services you need and ensure that you are meeting the goals set to return home safely and comfortably,” Angela said. 

There is always an RN in the building who can attend to swing bed patients at any time of the day and a provider is always on call. This allows LPH to provide an exceptional level of care that helps ensure patients successfully transition out of the program. 

“To put it as plainly as possible, swing bed services at LPH are designed to get people back to their ideal living situation safely,” Angela said. “I have witnessed many patients be able to return to independent living due to their time in swing bed—as a nurse that is a very rewarding thing to see.” 

OB-GYN Care Returns to LPH

Dr. Setness Hoefs Welcomed as Visiting Specialist

After several years without regular OB-GYN care in the immediate area, Dr. Tana Setness Hoefs has joined Langdon Prairie Health as a visiting OB-GYN specialist; she will see patients for a range of gynecological concerns.

“I am a non-interventionalist by nature,” said Dr. Setness Hoefs in regard to her care philosophy. “I don’t want patients to ever feel pushed toward medication or procedures; I want to guide you to a lifestyle path that will allow you to be your healthiest self so that you don’t need medical interventions.”

A resident of Grand Forks and employed with Altru Hospital, Dr. Setness Hoefs already has a significant number of patients from Langdon and the surrounding areas who have been traveling to see her at Altru for several years, and she says that she is looking forward to saving them the four-hour round-trip drive.

“Both of my parents grew up in a small community outside Langdon, so I have roots and a lot of family in that area who have to travel to get medical care,” explained Dr. Setness Hoefs.

“There are families in small communities that have lost their hospitals, their clinics. I didn’t grow up in a big city, and I have family members that live that life – I know the hardship that has come for them because of that. I know how important it is for doctors to be willing to travel to offer services – that’s important to me.”

Dr. Setness Hoefs has been practicing in Grand Forks for 20 years, and said that during that time, three hospitals in the surrounding area have stopped delivering babies.

“So now patients are looking at a two-hour drive to have their babies,” she said. “Or when you need an appointment every single week at the end of your pregnancy, four hours for an OB appointment is a lot – I get the hardship that patients have to go through when they have to travel for care.”

Instead, Dr. Setness Hoefs will be doing the commuting, along with nurse Carly Bjerke, who has worked with Dr. Setness Hoefs for more than two years.

“The good news is that I will be traveling with my own clinic nurse,” explained Dr. Setness Hoefs. “She’ll drive and I’ll have remote access to the EMR [electronic medical record], so on the way there, I will be going through notes and documenting on charts. Coming back home, I’ll be documenting what I did that day – and there’s other work-related activity that I can do in the car.”

When it comes to work, Dr. Setness Hoefs pointed out that having OB-GYN care in the Langdon area is good not only for the patients themselves, but also for the community: “I think any time a person doesn’t have to take four hours off of work to travel to an appointment, that’s a good thing – instead, they can be productive for their employers, which is a benefit to the community.”

In addition, Dr. Setness Hoefs noted that it’s always an advantage to keep health care dollars in the community, which helps keep hospital and clinic doors open.

“We’ve seen what happens when hospitals and clinics close: Too often, patients don’t want to travel until they have to, and sometimes that means they’re really sick by that time – and that puts patients at an increased risk of bad outcomes,” she said

Initially, Dr. Setness Hoefs plans to work at LPH one full day each month, with the potential to increase the number of days if there’s enough demand. At LPH, she will provide basic OB-GYN care for a variety of gynecological concerns and conditions, as well as prenatal care up to 36 weeks, including:

  • D&C (diagnosis or therapeutic)
  • Endometrial biopsies
  • Colposcopy - a procedure in which a lighted, magnifying instrument called a colposcope is used to examine the cervix, vagina and vulva
  • Insertion of IUD

Dr. Setness Hoefs will also provide consultation for:

  • Hysterectomy
  • LaForte vaginal repair
  • Tubal ligation
  • Laparascopy

After earning her medical degree at the University of South Dakota Sanford School of Medicine, Dr. Setness Hoefs completed her residency in Obstetrics, Gynecology and Women’s Health at the University of Minnesota. She also received the 2022 Dean’s Special Recognition Award for Outstanding Volunteer Faculty from the University of North Dakota.

More than Meds

Too often, patients hear “pain management” and think that’s just another way of saying “here’s a prescription.”

But pain management is really the opposite of that; what pain management actually focuses on are a variety of ways to control pain, which might include medication, but first centers on therapy, hands-on treatments, injections and exercise with the goal of reducing pain and improving function.

Reduction of pain can help people get back to doing their regular, daily activities – and back to the things they love to do – without as much pain. This includes simple things that we don’t even think about when we do them without pain such as walking and sleeping.

Pain management allows people to have an overall better quality of life. Unfortunately, too many people – of all ages – are suffering without realizing that there’s help for their condition.

As I’ve learned from the folks at Holistic Pain Management (HPM), LPH’s pain management partner since 2021, many people:

As I was putting together my ideas for this blog, I sat down with HPM’s Chief Clinical Officer Amanda Bisby, NP, to discuss what pain management is, how it works, and who can benefit from it.

According to Amanda, there are many treatments that can be done to help the cause of a patient’s pain in the spine, joints or muscles. She added that HPM is dedicated to the patient experience, which means ensuring that all patients are educated on what their diagnosis is – and the options available for treating it.

“We are going to spend time with you, helping you understand what is causing your pain and how the proposed treatments will help reduce pain and improve function,” said Amanda. “We want a patient’s visit with one of our providers to really stand out in a crowd: We see the whole patient and not just the pain they are dealing with.”

“For us, that means we allow patients the opportunity to share their pain story – with no interruptions, no rushing them out the door. Just a quiet presence and the opportunity to let us know what pain issues have been plaguing you."

“We realize that pain is complex and that the use of multiple approaches to managing pain produces better outcomes.”

An Uncommon Approach to Common Concerns

When you see one of our providers in LPH’s Pain Management department, here’s what a typical, one-hour appointment for a new patient looks like, according to Amanda:

Amanda added that pain management also requires consistent follow up and good communication between the patient and the provider to ensure that the patient achieves good outcomes.

“Just like anything else, I believe you get out of pain management what you put into it,” said Amanda. “Our team is passionate about helping people identify the underlying issues causing their pain symptoms and looks forward to presenting treatment options available through pain management.”

“Low back pain is one of the most common pain issues in the United States,” explained Amanda. “Millions of people miss work or are unable to work due to this issue, and that it’s a common diagnosis to see in pain management.”

According to Amanda, it’s most common for patients to feel pain in the following areas:

“We go above and beyond to ensure that we have the correct diagnosis and have tried the appropriate interventions before seeking alternatives to interventional pain management,” said Amanda.

When the “Just Deal With It” Treatment Fails

Nothing makes a situation clear like a story, so I asked Amanda if she could share a patient success story with me that I could pass along to you in this blog – and she followed up via email with this heartwarming story about a suffering grandpa who regained control of his back pain – and rediscovered his joy in his grandkids.

Read on; it’s a great story that really showcases how pain management can turn a life around and bring patients back to the things they love best:

We had a patient who presented to clinic with complaints of bilateral low back pain that had been bothering him for more than 10 years. He was a farmer, and, like a lot of us with demanding jobs and busy schedules, didn’t always make time to pursue issues related to his own health.

His back pain had finally become unbearable, and he was brought in to HPM by his wife to discuss his pain and, they both hoped, determine treatment options.

As we started to talk, he reported pain when standing for too long, walking even short distances and, occasionally, with sitting. He said that he had to take several sit-down breaks during the workday to alleviate the pain, and he felt that it took him twice as long to do his daily work as it had in the past.

He had not tried physical therapy or any other treatments over the years, other than the all-too-familiar to many of us treatment known as “just deal with it.”

His wife mentioned during that initial appointment that they had two grandchildren, a boy and girl, who were 4 and 6 and loved to play at Nana and Papa’s farm; however, as of recently, Papa had been unable to play with his grandkids and often needed to sit down in a chair instead of chasing them around the farm or helping them complete chores like he used to.

This was something that really bothered the patient – even more than his inability to perform his normal farm duties.

After allowing the patient to tell his pain story, I performed a thorough head-to-toe assessment to figure out what was causing his pain. We determined that the best first course of action was to have some imaging done of his low back and then a six-week course of physical therapy.

“Papa” returned to his follow-up appointment, feeling that physical therapy had helped quite a bit in managing his pain, but he was still noticing pain with normal activities and still didn’t have the stamina to play with his grandkids. We later provided the patient with injections for management of arthritis in the joints of the low back.

He returned to clinic for his two-week follow-up appointment with tears in his eyes as he told me about the relief of pain he had noticed – and the upcoming camping trip he was taking with his grandkids!

He explained that for the first time in a very long time, he was able to stand up straight and could finish all of his farm chores without needing to take a break. He felt that his quality of life had significantly improved, and he was so happy to get his life back.

I’ll never forget him saying, “I didn’t truly grasp just how much pain controlled my life. I would plan my whole day around what would cause the least amount of pain, whether it be chores on the farm, time with my family or simple daily tasks, or how I could complete a task without being laid up in pain for days.

“It was exhausting to always have pain and to have my life centered around it.”

This is a common story we hear in pain management: People just looking to have some relief of the pain that controls even the smallest aspects of their lives. And this is where pain management comes in.

If we can help reduce pain even a little, it can make a world of difference in a person’s life. We are passionate about bringing pain management services to rural America and serving communities throughout the country.

We want to keep people local in their communities and prevent long drive times for specialty care. We look forward to helping the LPH community reduce pain and improve their function. We are going to treat you just like we would our own family.

Next Steps For Relief

I don’t know about you, but “Papa’s” story really hit home with me – ten years is a long time to suffer, when pain management treatment is available right here in Cavalier County.

“I Care” Values reflect mission of Langdon Prairie Health

An organization’s culture is a set of shared values, goals, attitudes, and practices that guide all team members. The Langdon Prairie Health team worked to redefine our culture in 2017 by creating a “Living the Mission” initiative. Together, we established our mission, vision, and values for all staff to work by. No person is to be treated differently based on title, position, or community ties.

At Langdon Prairie Health, each team member is vital not only to the success of our organization, but also to upholding our mission, vision, and values while providing care for our patients and community.

Our mission:

Standing proudly on the traditions and perseverance of our many hospital founders, LPH is dedicated to excel at providing high-quality, compassionate, healthcare to all that we serve.

Our vision:

We will provide healthcare that exceeds our customers’ expectations through excellence in stewardship and associate satisfaction.

Our values:

Integrity, Compassion, Accountability, Respect, Excellence – I CARE

So, what do the I CARE values mean to our community and patients?

Integrity: We weave what’s right into all we do. We focus on ethical, honest, respectful interactions.

Compassion: We focus on our patients first. We understand the value and fragility of trust. We appreciate one another and enjoy our work together.

Accountability: We take responsibility for our actions and deliver what we promise. We always look for ways to improve our services and care.

Respect: We deeply admire the qualities and skills that each of us offer to our organization. We demonstrate this in all our actions.

Excellence:  For us, good is not good enough. We consistently surpass ordinary standards in delivering exceptional service, clinical quality, access, and care.

Every day, we strive to achieve these values. We are offering new services to our patients and expanding our existing services to offer greater availability to our community. These things not only ensure the future of LPH but offer greater opportunities for growth in our team that desire new and exciting challenges at work while enhancing their skill sets.

John F. Kennedy once stated, “There are risks and costs to action, but they are far less than the long-range risks of comfortable inaction.”

We know that there are challenges, but we also know our team is dedicated to excelling at providing high-quality, compassionate, healthcare to all that we serve, exactly as our mission states.

Our patients deserve the highest quality that we can obtain, and we know each of our team members is dedicated to achieving our mission, vision, and values. I am excited about our future and proud to be a member of the LPH team.

Your partner in health,

Jeff Stanley, CEO