Nurse practitioners to open ANOVA Family Health Center
By Kate Ruggles
Farmer Staff Writer
Anita Pedersen and Vonnie Johnson have decided to start a health center. With Watford City’s rising population needs, this the right time and place for these two ladies to ‘reach for the stars.’
Vonnie Johnson worked as a registered nurse in the McKenzie County Hospital for 30 years before going back to school at the University of Mary to become a Nurse Practitioner, which she has been for the last 14 years, practicing in Stanley, Kenmare, Indian Health Services, Williston and Watford City.
Anita Pedersen has been a registered nurse for 16 years, working in Neonatal Intensive Care Units, Labor and Delivery, Pediatric Home Care Manager and as a Director or Nursing. She recently went back to graduate school where she received her Nurse Practitioner degree from the University of North Dakota.
“I had heard that Anita wanted to operate a health clinic,” states Johnson. “That had been a dream of mine, so I called her up and here we are.”
After what has been a year in the making, their clinic, the ANOVA Family Health Center, is almost set to open for business. According to Pedersen and Johnson, just a few finishing touches are all that stand between them and opening day.
“We are renting space from the Boomtown Executive Suites, located in the old B&H Body Shop building,” states Johnson. “We hope to be open after Labor Day.”
The ANOVA Family Health Center will be Nurse Practitioner owned and operated.
According to Johnson and Pedersen, as the expanding needs of healthcare evolved, the Nurse Practitioner program was created.
“Nurse practitioners are under the jurisdiction and licensed by the State Board of Nursing,” states Pedersen. “Nurse Practitioners practice independently under their own license.”
Pedersen and Johnson state their clinic will be a family practice and primary care clinic with an emphasis on health promotion and disease prevention.
The ANOVA Family Health Center will be doing acute, urgent and chronic health management for all age groups. According to Pedersen, they will be by appointment and will take walk-ins as their schedule allows. They will not be doing emergency room type visits.
The ANOVA clinic will have two exam rooms and another room for infants and pediatrics. There will be two part-time nurses and one clinic manager, Amy Houle, who is also a registered nurse. Houle plans to go back to school to get her Nurse Practitioner degree, and join Pedersen and Johnson as a provider in the clinic.
Johnson and Pedersen also state that they visited with McKenzie County Healthcare Systems CEO, Dan Kelly, last September to talk about a collaboration agreement for utilizing some of their services, such as x-ray, ct scan, cardiac rehab, physical therapy, etc. They have also visited with Dr. Ramage regarding protocols for potential hospital admissions.
The ANOVA Family Health Center is a for-profit business. Parking will be limited, but signs will be placed for handicapped persons and clinic patients. Office hours will be 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. Their office number is 701-842-6400.