Well-child visits during infancy

At Welia Health, we’ll be with you through every important first in your child’s life with frequent well-child visits for infants from birth to 9 months.

Choosing your baby’s provider is one of the most important decisions you’ll make as a new parent. The best time to start looking is between 28 and 34 weeks into your pregnancy.

Tips for selecting a provider for your baby

• Start by asking your friends and coworkers for recommendations.
• Check the credentials of potential healthcare providers.
• Look for a clinic that is convenient for you.
  • Welia Health has locations in Mora, Hinckley and Pine City.
• Set up some time to speak with the provider you are considering and talk to other parents and caregivers, asking them about their experiences with Welia Health.
  • Have a list of questions or topics to discuss.
  • Be sure to ask about issues and preferences that are important to you – such as immunizations, breast or formula feeding and circumcision.

We want you to be comfortable asking questions and confident in the answers you receive because they will become your trusted partner as your child grows!

Well-child visit schedule for infants

• 48-hour well-baby visit (after discharge)
• 2 weeks after birth
• 2 months
• 4 months
• 6 months
• 9 months

Assessments at each visit

• Measurements to monitor growth: head circumference, height, weight, and weight for length percentile that documents growth patterns)
• Health history
• Complete exam
• Immunization review

Age-specific assessments

• Hearing risk assessment (24 hours after delivery)
• Ages & Stages Questionnaire (ASQ)* for development (completed 5x between 0 and 5 years)
  *The ASQ is a tool used to screen for developmental delays during the first five years of your child’s life. 

Oral health recommendations

• Recommended at when fist tooth appears or no later than 12 months of age
• Fluoride varnish application (FVA), starting at the eruption of the first tooth

Well-child visits

Well-child visits are essential to ensure your child is achieving their potential. During each visit, a Welia Health provider will:

• Review your child’s medical history
• Track growth and development, including milestones, social behaviors, and learning
• Assess oral health
• Recommend appropriate preventative screenings and immunizations

These visits also offer parents an opportunity to address health-related concerns and ask specific questions about their child’s health.

Preventive health checklists by age

Well-child visits are recommended annually from birth through age 20 and are typically covered by insurance. To review preventive health checklists specific to your child’s age, select from the links below:

• Infancy (0–9 months)
• Early childhood (1–4 years)
• Middle childhood (5–10 years)
• Adolescence (11–20 years)

Well-child visits are offered by our family medicine providers in Mora, Hinckley and Pine City. Call Welia Health at 1.800.245.5671 or schedule an appointment using MyChart.

Medication therapy management

Medication therapy management (MTM) is offered through a one-on-one appointment with a Welia Health pharmacist to help you get the most out of your medications to meet your healthcare goals.

During your MTM appointment, a specialty-trained pharmacist will conduct a full review of all of your medications, including prescriptions, over-the-counter medications, and any herbal or other supplements. The review will assess:

• The necessity and effectiveness of the medications
• Potential for any interactions or allergies
• Safety issues
• Dosages and potential adjustments
• Recommendations for laboratory testing, if necessary

Appointments

Take control of your health and medications by scheduling your appointment today. Choose the appointment type that works best for you.

In-person clinic visits

• Call 1.800.245.5671 to schedule an appointment in Mora, Pine City or Hinckley.
• Please arrive 15 minutes prior to your appointment time.
• Check-in at the clinic registration desk.
• Remember to bring your medications (pills, vitamins, herbals, inhalers, eye drops, creams, ointments and injections) and medication lists with you to your appointment
• We recommend you also bring your caregiver or anyone who helps take care of your medications at home.

Telephone visits

• Your pharmacist will call you at your scheduled appointment time.

Virtual visits

• Follow these step-by-step instructions.
• You will need to have access to a smartphone, tablet or computer with a camera and microphone and be required to install the Zoom app on the device you’ll be using.

At the end of your appointment, you will receive a care plan and an updated medication list. Rest assured, our pharmacists work closely with your provider to help you reach your health goals.

Podiatry

It’s no wonder that nearly 75 percent of Americans will experience some type of foot-related pain or injury in their lifetimes. On an average day of walking, our feet absorb a force equal to several hundred tons. Healthy feet are indispensable in keeping us active and moving.

But our feet are complex. They are stabilizers, shock absorbers, and propulsion engines that are instrumental to overall health and well-being. They require expert care. 

Welia Health podiatrist Corey Valentine, DPM, provides that expert care. As a doctor of podiatric medicine, he is a physician and surgeon who treats the foot, ankle and soft tissue problems up to the level of the knee. In his clinical practice, he sees patients for the following:

• Bunions
• Plantar fasciitis
• Hammertoes
• Neuromas
• Fractures
• Wound care

Many procedures used to treat these conditions are minimally invasive and performed on an outpatient basis.

A referral may be required from your primary care provider, please check with your insurance carrier. For more information or to schedule an appointment, call Welia Health at 320.679.1313.

Ear, nose and throat (ENT) surgery

Welia Health offers expert care for disorders and conditions of the ear, nose, and throat. Our board-certified otolaryngologists, ENT specialists, evaluate, diagnose, and treat an array of conditions of the ear, nose and throat, and more. 

Common ENT conditions

• Opening pathways of the sinus
• Removal of nasal polyps
• Sinusitis issues: pressure, stuffy nose, running nose, nasal discharge, postnasal drip, blocked ears, deviated septum
• Recurring strep throat, enlarged or chronically infected tonsils or obstructive sleep apnea
• Chronic middle ear infections (otitis media)
• Dizziness (vertigo)
• Hearing loss
• Peritonsillar abscesses (also known as quinsy) – infection in the tonsils
• Blepharoplasty
• Vertigo
• Snoring
• Allergies
• Tinnitus – ringing in the ears
• Dry mouth

ENT services

• General otolaryngology
• Pediatric tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy (Pediatric T&A) – removal of the tonsils and adenoids
• Adult paranasal sinus surgery
• Myringotomy – ear tube surgery
• Blepharoplasty – eyelid surgery

To schedule an appointment, you will need a referral from your primary care provider.  Please call 320.679.1313 or log onto MyChart.

Colorectal health

Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States. According to the American Cancer Society (ACS), the lifetime risk of developing colorectal cancer is about 1 in 22 (4.49%) for men and 1 in 24 (4.15%) for women. These numbers highlight just how critical it is to be proactive with preventive measures to reduce your risk.

Check your risk level by completing this National Cancer Institute assessment.

The best way to determine early changes in your colon and catch polyps before they turn into cancer is to schedule routine colon cancer screenings at age 45 and every ten years after. If you have a strong family history or other risk factors determined by your provider, you may need to schedule more often.*

* The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force suggests beginning colorectal cancer screenings at age 45. Some insurance companies begin coverage for colorectal cancer screenings at age 50. Please get in touch with your insurance carrier about what your plan covers.

Types of colorectal cancer screenings

Colonoscopy

One of the most effective ways to prevent colon cancer is through early detection, which means regularly scheduled screenings. Among the most common screening for colorectal cancer is a colonoscopy.

Learn more about colonoscopies.

Stool-based screenings

• Fecal Occult Blood Test (FOBT)

  A lab test performed at Welia Health, a Fecal Occult Blood Test (FOBT), looks for hidden or invisible blood in your bowel movements. This test finds tiny amounts of blood that can’t be seen by looking at your bowel movements.

• Cologuard

  Your provider may prescribe Cologuard, an at-home test shipped directly to your home. There may be additional out-of-pocket expenses incurred with Cologuard. Please call your insurance company to learn if your insurance policy covers it.

• Flexible sigmoidoscopy

  An outpatient procedure in which a thin, flexible tube with a light and tiny camera on one end, called a sigmoidoscope or scope, looks inside your rectum and lower colon.

You’ll need a referral from your primary care provider to schedule a colonoscopy or stool-based test. To make an appointment with one of our Family Medicine providers, call Welia Health at 1.800.245.5671 or log onto MyChart.

Wound care

Welia Health offers specialized wound care management treatment plans for patients having slow or non-healing wounds that are closely monitored by your provider, nurse team and physical therapist.

Wound care plans focus on the following:

• Healing your wound and keeping it healed
• Preventing future wounds and infections
• Increasing your comfort, safety and mobility
• Preventing complications
• Improving circulation
• Managing swelling

Our team treats wounds resulting from conditions such as:

• Diabetes
• Pressure ulcers/sores
• Venous disease
• Arterial disease
• Non-healing surgical complications
• Trauma
• Infection
• Complex, underlying medical conditions or diseases

To promote optimal healing, our treatment services include:

• Radiographic testing and imaging to identify the causes of wounds
• Lab analysis
• Debridement (removal of dead tissue from wounds)
• Suitable dressing options
• Infection identification and management
• Compression therapy
• Physical and occupational therapy
• Patient education
• Offloading techniques to decrease the pressure on a wound
• Surgical intervention

Wound care management is available in Mora, Hinckley and Pine City. To learn more, call Rehabilitation Services at 320.225.3356.

Welia Health’s rehabilitation team offers a wide range of services from sports medicine and athletic training, physical and occupational therapy, specialty care for cardiovascular and respiratory patients, pediatric therapy, hand therapy, speech-language pathology, wound care, and sleep medicine.

Speech-language pathology

Welia Health’s speech-language pathologists assess, diagnose, treat, and help prevent communication and swallowing disorders in patients who are suffering from a stroke, brain injury, hearing loss, developmental delay, cleft palate, or other disorders. As part of Welia Health’s team approach, our speech-language pathologists work closely with your primary care providers, audiologists, dietitians, social workers, and other rehabilitative therapists.

Speech-language disorders

• Cognitive aspects (attention, memory, problem-solving)
  Concentrated areas include organization skills, planning skills, insight, judgment, immediate recall, spaced retrieval techniques, money management, and sequencing
• Speech (articulation, fluency)
  Concentrated areas include speech intelligibility, dysarthria, stuttering treatment and strategies, and articulation (difficulty with specific sounds)
• Language (phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, social language)
  Concentrated areas include auditory comprehension, language expression, reading comprehension, written expression, age-specific pragmatic language and social skills, aphasia
• Swallowing (exercises and compensatory strategies to reduce risk of aspiration/penetration)
  Concentrated areas include diagnosis with video swallow study, training in feeding and swallowing techniques, proper body positioning, feeding techniques for self-help, safe food and liquid consistencies, safe-swallowing strategies, oral sensitivity training, vital stimulation certification
• Voice (hoarseness, poor volume, abnormal vocal quality)
  Concentrated areas include vocal quality, vocal hygiene behaviors, loudness/pitch, vocal cord damage
• Sensory awareness (related to communication and swallowing)

LSVT Loud®

Our speech-language pathologists are certified in the Lee Silverman Voice Treatment, also referred to as LSVT LOUD®. LSVT LOUD improves vocal loudness by stimulating the muscles of the voice box (larynx) and speech mechanism through a systematic hierarchy of exercises. Focused on a single goal which is to “speak LOUD!” The treatment improves respiratory, laryngeal and articulatory function to maximize speech intelligibility

Speech-language pathology services are available in Mora, Hinckley and Pine City. To learn more, call Rehabilitation Services at 320.225.3356. A referral may be required for speech-language pathology services, please check with your primary care provider and your insurance carrier.

Welia Health’s rehabilitation team offers a wide range of services from sports medicine and athletic training, physical and occupational therapy, specialty care for cardiovascular and respiratory patients, pediatric therapy, hand therapy, speech-language pathology, wound care, and sleep medicine.

Sleep medicine

Change your life overnight at Welia Health. The medical professionals in our Sleep Center focus on helping patients identify and overcome sleep disorders that can decrease health status, alertness, and safety.

Sleep disorders

Obstructive sleep apnea, one of the most common sleep disorders, may cause a person to stop breathing 20 to 60 (or more) times per hour during the night. Due to these periods of non-breathing, people may experience snoring, gasping or choking sensations, daytime sleepiness, mood swings, weight gain, excessive sweating during sleep, high blood pressure, and morning headaches.

When breathing stops during the night, blood oxygen levels drop, and most don’t even know it is happening. This repeated stress on the heart, brain and other organs may cause a number of negative health problems in people with undiagnosed sleep apnea.

Diagnosing sleep disorders

Through clinical studies conducted in the Sleep Center or through a home sleep study (HST), Welia Health care providers can help patients uncover what barriers are preventing them from getting the good night’s sleep they need and deserve.

More information about sleep education can be found by visiting the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.

To learn more, call Rehabilitation Services at 320.225.3356. A referral may be required for sleep medicine services, please check with your primary care provider and your insurance carrier.

Welia Health has partnered with PDS, Inc., a diagnostic testing company nationally recognized for its leadership in sleep diagnostics.

Welia Health’s rehabilitation team offers a wide range of services from sports medicine and athletic training, physical and occupational therapy, specialty care for cardiovascular and respiratory patients, pediatric therapy, hand therapy, speech-language pathology, wound care, and sleep medicine.

Respiratory care

Respiratory therapists provide care and support to patients of all ages with problems related to breathing, such as asthma, COPD, pneumonia, and other lung diseases. The respiratory therapists at Welia Health provide a variety of treatments.

Treating respiratory conditions

• Medication, aerosol and oxygen therapy. Includes Pentamidine.
• Care plans designed to facilitate the removal of secretions from the lungs
• Mechanical ventilation (invasive/noninvasive)
• CPAP therapy
• COPD education
• Cardiovascular services
• Physical therapy
• Occupational therapy
• Speech-language pathology
• Respiratory rehabilitation
• Asthma education
• Pulmonary function
  • Tests assess breathing patterns, lung size, and how well the lungs function. Includes spirometry and nitric oxide and blood gas determinations.
• Pulmonary rehabilitation
  • A 36-session program involving breathing retraining, improving exercise tolerance, and forming knowledge of lung diseases

Welia Health’s Lung Disease Support Group meets to help support and educate people with lung diseases. Friends and families are welcome to attend.

To learn more about the lung conditions listed above, please visit the American Lung Association.

Respiratory services are available in Mora. To learn more, call Respiratory Services at 320.225.3645. A referral may be required for respiratory therapy services, please check with your primary care provider and your insurance carrier.

Welia Health’s rehabilitation team offers a wide range of services from sports medicine and athletic training, physical and occupational therapy, specialty care for cardiovascular and respiratory patients, pediatric therapy, hand therapy, speech-language pathology, wound care, and sleep medicine.