News Releases

RPAP Students Witness Occupational Health Up Close
April 16, 2008
On Wednesday, April 16th, five Rural Physician Associate Program (RPAP) students training in Willmar, Granite Falls and Benson, spent the morning touring a Jennie-O Turkey Store processing plant in Willmar to observe the working conditions and potential risks encountered by employees engaged in food processing work. 

Following the tour, the students met with four of the JOT-S Occupational Health nurses and the Medical Director, Dr. Dennis Peterson, to learn about company policies and procedures designed to reduce work accidents and repetitive stress injuries and to support injured employees in their rehabilitation and return to work. Dr. Peterson talked about the role of a community physician in caring for a patient with work-related injuries covered by Workers’ Compensation insurance.

In addition to serving as Medical Director of Jennie-O Turkey Store, Dr. Dennis Peterson is a family practitioner at the Family Practice Medical Center in Willmar and a frequent preceptor of RPAP and other health professions students. RPAP students participating in the tour included Jennifer Fish, Thomas Hauth, Nathan Liu, Katie Reigstad and Laamy Tiadjeri.  They were accompanied by Dr. Kathryn Nelson of ACMC Clinic-Willmar and Kathy Huntley, Executive Director of Southern Minnesota AHEC.

Rice Regional Dental Clinic Students Offer Community Education
February 14, 2008
Four students from the Rice Regional Dental Clinic brought education about dental care and healthy teeth to the sixth grade students at Roosevelt Junior High in Willmar on Thursday, February 14^th. The presenters were dental hygiene students Sarah Sakara and Erin Sikkink and dental students Dustin Hollevoet and James Johnson.  This was the first of many community educational activities that will be provided by the students of the dental clinic. On February 28^th, four more students in dentistry and dental hygiene will bring tips about how to have healthy teeth to the 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd graders at Jefferson School. 

Each student of the dental clinic is expected to engage in a community service activity while training at the Willmar site. The students use age-appropriate presentation materials developed by the American Dental Association, Southern Minnesota Area Health Education Center and the University of Minnesota School of Dentistry, with support from the Rice Health Foundation. For more information or to request a presentation, contact Southern Minnesota AHEC at 320-231-4376.