RiverView Health is one of 78 critical access hospitals in Minnesota, and one of only 40 that continue to offer labor and delivery services thanks to the family practices of Dr. Saravana Balaraman and Dr. Erik Kanten. Now, RiverView is pleased to announce the addition of obstetrics services – the field of study concentrated on pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period – by Dr. Kari Wessman.
A Crookston native, Dr. Wessman is now a full-time member of the RiverView medical staff. She has offered gynecological services at RiverView in Crookston and East Grand Forks on a part-time basis since 2009. She will continue to offer those services with the addition of obstetrics.
“Women delivering at RiverView have a distinct advantage over larger facilities because we, as providers, follow them all the way through their prenatal care and 90 percent of the time their provider is there for the delivery,’’ she shared. “That’s not usually the case in bigger facilities where you may deliver with the doctor on duty instead of your doctor.’’
Along with her additional obstetrics services, Dr. Wessman plans to expand her gynecology services to work with RiverView Urologists Dr. Samy Heshmat and Dr. Eric Schommer on pelvic floor issues. Pelvic floor muscles help control the release of urine, feces, and flatus, among other things. She will also increase her offering of neuromodulation therapy to help those who experience bladder and bowel incontinence issues. Another focus will be on the adolescent population regarding first gynecology visits, contraceptive counseling and STD screenings.
Dr. Wessman is a graduate of the University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, and the University of Duluth School of Medicine. She completed her residency at Oakwood Hospital in Dearborn, Michigan. She is certified by the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
“It is an honor, as well as an amazing opportunity, to return home and give back to a community that has given me so much,’’ she shared.
If you would like to make an appointment with Dr. Wessman, call 218-281-9595.
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