Caring for their community: Three Essentia doctors have been treating patients in International Falls for combined 70 years

When Dr. Sam Crossley set out to begin practicing medicine, she wasn't sure where the journey would take her. But there was one key attribute her future employer had to possess.

More than simply joining a health system, Dr. Crossley wanted to be part of a team, where camaraderie and collaboration fostered excellent patient care. Judging by her longevity, she found that at the Essentia Health-International Falls Clinic.

Hired in 2002, Dr. Crossley is into her third decade as a family medicine provider at the clinic.

"That's what I was looking for when I came here, where people weren't in competition with the folks next to them," she says. "Where they were all working together for the community, to make things better, and that's very much what I have here. Not just from the providers, but nursing staff, front-desk staff — it all feels like a team. We're out to help the patients, however we can make that happen."

Experience is a staple of Dr. Crossley's team. Dr. Anthony Stone started at the International Falls clinic in 2004, or nine years after Dr. Jeri Vergeldt. Collectively, the three clinicians have been caring for patients in International Falls for about 70 years. They moved to the region from different parts of the country and liked it so much they decided to stick around.

Dr. Crossley's father was in the Air Force and her family moved often — "I've lived here three times as long as I've lived anywhere else," she said. Dr. Stone, meanwhile, was born and raised in northern California, while Dr. Vergeldt grew up in Worthington, Minnesota. Asked what has kept them in International Falls all these years, the outdoors was a common theme. They like the remoteness of the area and the recreational opportunities afforded by Rainy Lake, Voyageurs National Park and their proximity to the Boundary Waters.

"I like the smaller community. I think people are very warm and welcoming," Dr. Stone said. "I think the safety of the community, too. Crime's almost unheard of. It's a place where people don't lock their doors. Driving into work, it's not uncommon to see 20 deer, a fox, maybe a bear or an eagle. Living amongst this beauty is something my wife and I really love."

Similarly, the three appreciate practicing medicine in a small town. High-quality health care often isn't as accessible in rural areas. So the ability to provide it close to home for their patients is rewarding.

"Being out here, a hundred miles from the nearest big hospital, knowing that I'd be able to provide that care locally, was important to me," Dr. Stone said.
Relationships, often across generations of the same family, can run deep.

"I'll see patients, young adults, and they'll say, 'You delivered me,' " Dr. Vergeldt said.

Added Dr. Crossley, who knits "little baby hats" for the women to whom she provides prenatal care: "You get a chance to really know your patients incredibly well, especially when you stay for a long time."

Dr. Crossley was a psychology major in college. A research project, in which she spent a summer tagging along with an EMS crew while studying people's reactions to stressful situations, prompted the career pivot. Upon earning her degree in psychology, Dr. Crossley began working toward medical school.

As a family medicine doctor, as well as in her role as an Episcopal priest, the psychology background has proven beneficial.

"It helps you think of people as whole people and not medical problems," she explained.

Growing up, Dr. Stone — whose father was a physician and mother a nurse — was keenly interested in the military. Attending the Uniformed Services University in Washington, D.C., afforded him the best of both worlds. Graduates of the school complete a residency, then practice medicine while serving as active-duty officers for seven years. During this time, Dr. Stone lived on several Air Force bases around the country. He flew on Blackhawk helicopters, rode in Bradley Fighting Vehicles and went on night maneuvers. He became interested in family medicine while working at Fort Benning, Georgia, where he'd encounter Rangers lined up on the runway as he arrived to work each morning.

"It filled that need for service to my country," Dr. Stone says.

Dr. Vergeldt says she was drawn to health care at a young age. She served as a lifeguard in both high school, in Worthington, Minnesota, and college, in Morris, Minnesota. Dr. Vergeldt also became an EMT at the age of 18 and joined an ambulance crew.

"I just always liked health care," said Dr. Vergeldt, who later on in her career has started doing immigration physicals for people hoping to become U.S. citizens. "I've really enjoyed that part of my practice. You hear lots of different languages; I'm getting to know Google Translate pretty well."

Those three divergent paths converged in International Falls. Drs. Vergeldt, Crossley and Stone have treated countless patients since finding their way to the "icebox of the nation" all those years ago. Just as they did early on, the trio continues to bounce ideas off each other. So their individual expertise is supplemented by that of their colleagues.
And patients benefit.

"Just having the confidence knowing that I'm surrounded by veterans and can ask them, 'Am I looking at this problem right,' " Dr. Vergeldt said. "Or if I'm going to refer this patient, which specialist should I refer them to."

The others agreed.

"It's one thing that I like about this clinic," Dr. Stone said. "We all have our niches, and we can go to each other and say, 'Hey, what would you do in this situation?' That's not an uncommon thing for us to do. It's nice to be able to have someone to talk to, when you have something that's a little bit puzzling. Medicine is not nearly as black and white as many people think."

Added Dr. Crossley: "It's crucial to have people that you can trust and that you can just go talk to. It doesn't necessarily mean a question; just talking through things is incredibly helpful."

All three doctors admit that parts of their profession have changed since they first started. Technology has improved dramatically. Dr. Crossley recalls "looking stuff up in a book" as opposed to online, and that paper charts were still the norm. To Dr. Stone, the patient-provider relationship is more of a collaboration than it had been. For Dr. Vergeldt, as the only female physician at the International Falls Clinic in the late 1990s, she was responsible for all Pap smears and well-child checks.

While some things change, the basic principle of health care remains the same. It's still about helping people get well and live their best lives. That's always been the goal of these three physicians as they look after their patients in International Falls and beyond.

"The medicine, the nature of people, that doesn’t change," Dr. Crossley said.