Three’s Company

Recent Northwestern Graduates Bring Integrated Natural Health Care to Rural Wisconsin

By Jaime Hunt, BA, editor

In the rural Wisconsin town of Chippewa Falls, there is just one acupuncturist — 2005 Northwestern Health Sciences University graduate Kari A. Laufenberg, MaOM, L.Ac. When she opened the Acupuncture Natural Care Center in the town in 2006, she set a one-year goal for patient volume. Within six months she had exceeded her goal. She now treats a steady flow of grateful patients, many of whom previously traveled as far as 200 miles round-trip to see a practitioner in Minneapolis, Minn., area.

“It’s amazing how receptive people have been,” says Laufenberg. “I didn’t expect my practice to progress so fast. I am as busy as I want to be.”

Laufenberg didn’t expect to be such a great success so quickly. But she soon discovered that people were clamoring for information about acupuncture, and quickly responded by offering educational seminars at the local university and technical college, public library, and fitness centers. She credits her success to help from family and friends, persistent hard work, positive patients, faith, boldness and many answered prayers.

Laufenberg has even inspired one of her patients to go back to college to earn the pre-requisites needed to attend Northwestern’s Minnesota College of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (MCAOM). Because she is so busy, she hopes that patient will one day join her practice as a practitioner.

Two other Northwestern graduates are benefiting from Laufenberg’s success. Drew Kaminski, DC, another 2005 graduate of Northwestern, co-leases space with Laufenberg to house Back on Track Family Chiropractic. The clinic offers both chiropractic care and massage therapy, provided by Dr. Kaminski’s wife, Lyra (Knippel) Kaminski, CMT, a 2003 graduate of Northwestern.

The three alumni work closely together to offer Wisconsinites in the area the best possible natural health care, referring patients to one another. Dr. Kaminski often sees Laufenberg’s patients if she believes they would benefit from chiropractic care. Meanwhile, he often calls her into his office to offer immediate acupuncture for patients suffering from acute injuries and refers patients for long-term care if they suffer from chronic pain.

“Honestly, I can’t imagine operating a clinic without Kari,” says Dr. Kaminski. “I can’t imagine not having that immediate access to acupuncture for my patients.”

Meanwhile, Laufenberg loves having the ability to refer her patients to both Dr. Kaminski and Lyra Kaminski, who is currently taking a break from her massage therapy practice to care for the couple’s infant daughter.

“The three modalities work so well together,” says Laufenberg, “which is extremely beneficial to our patients.”

Already beginning to outgrow their current space — Lyra’s massage therapy room has been converted to storage space while she is on her maternity break — Laufenberg and the Kaminskis hope to find a large office when their lease is up 18 months from now. Laufenberg hopes to add an additional practitioner and Dr. Kaminski hopes to have enough patient volume to hire his younger brother, who just began his chiropractic studies at Texas Chiropractic College. The Kaminskis also hope to add more space to make massage therapy more prominent in the practice.

“For a lot of doctors, massage therapists are seen as helpers first and then as therapists,” says Dr. Kaminski. “That needs to change.”

Miniature Horses Bring Practitioners Together

So how did the three find one another in a small town 100 miles from Northwestern? Through miniature horses.

While the Kaminskis were attending Northwestern, the couple trained two miniature horses for therapy work. Originally from Stevens Point, Wis., they knew that after graduation they wanted to move back to Wisconsin, but to a town closer to the Twin Cities than Stevens Point. Chippewa Falls seemed like a good choice, so Dr. Kaminski opted to do his 10th-term preceptership in the town. Liking the town’s atmosphere, the couple decided to make the move, but needed a place to board their miniature horses.

Meanwhile, Laufenberg was making a four-hour round-trip commute from her farm in Jim Falls, Wis., to Northwestern. Having both horses and beef cattle, Laufenberg had plenty of space to board animals. Lyra, who met Laufenberg while she was a student, called her to see if she could house the horses. From that conversation, a partnership was born.

“We got to know her and really liked her,” says Dr. Kaminski. “Looking back, I can’t imagine doing this without her. I’d be very lonely. It’s been great to have someone else around to bounce ideas off, and I get a lot of referrals from her, which is great.”

Adds Laufenberg, “Sharing ideas with each other is great. It gives me that extra push to go out into the community, which has been a great way to bring in patients.”