News & Events

A new leadership team is taking the reins at Mountrail Bethel Home as a new Director of Nursing and Assistant Director of Nursing started their positions on Monday, Sept. 28. A new MDS Coordinator started on Monday, Sept. 21.

Alyssa Zaun is the new Director of Nursing at Mountrail Bethel Home. As DON her responsibilities will including making sure that everything runs smoothly at the nursing home, while following all rules set by the state and making sure the home is staffed to take care of the residents there.

When asked why she was interested in the  position, she said she knew she wanted to advance her career, and this was an opportunity to do that. It will allow her to move to the management/business side of nursing.

She says that she is excited to learn about this side of nursing. As they start everything new with the new leadership positions, it will be a clean slate as they “introduce a new positive attitude into the nursing home” to make it a happy place for staff and residents.

Originally from Minnesota, she has been in North Dakota for a little over three years. For the past two and half years she has worked in the Emergency Room at MCMC, having worked in Minot for a year and as an LPN and CNA at her hometown Nursing Home. Her degree comes from Moorhead State in Moorhead, MN.

She and her husband Zach live by Van Hook. He works for Petro Hunt. They have a ten month old baby boy and she is stepmother to his two daughters, ages 5 and 8.

Jill Zurawski will be the new Assistant Director of Nursing. As ADON, her job is to support Zaun. That means helping in any way she needs. It also allows Zaun to spread responsibilities so that neither is spread too thin by the job. She will take over scheduling for the CNAs and nursing staff.

A nurse for ten years, she attended school in Minnesota. She moved to North Dakota in 2014 with her husband as he worked in the oil field. They started in Watford City and Dickinson before calling Stanley their home. She has been working in the ER at MCMC and also as an MBH nurse for the last two and a half years. She has been cross-trained between the two facilities, which she says has allowed her to get to know more people.

She says that she enjoyed working at Bethel Home, saying it has such a good crew and relationships with the residents they served. It was nice getting to know people and build those connections. As ADON, she says that she would like to see everything run smoothly enough that when employees go home, they are not stressed or worn out. She says that one goal is to set up systems to make it easier for all the nurses, CNAs and residents.

Jill and her husband Rick have two daughters, ages 24 and 25, that live in different parts of the country.

Carissa Sorenson will be the new MDS Coordinator at Bethel Home. MDS stands for Minimum Data Set, a federal system that sets forth the information on level of care for nursing home residents. The information is entered into the forms and creates a payment model.

Sorenson is originally from Minot, but moved to Berthold after the flood. She has worked at Trinity for 26 years, starting at the old St. Joseph’s hospital. She worked through the buyout and transfer and then went to work at Trinity Nursing Home. She was there for fifteen years, which she says was awesome because she found she loves “old people”.

When asked why she was making the change, she said that things she heard about MBH excited her. The team atmosphere and positive changes were things she wanted to do and be part of. She says that bringing a clean slate to the table with all three positions means they will be building together. Teamwork is important on all levels of nursing and she says it will be nice to be part of building a new team.

She says that she is really excited to be at MBH. After 26 years it can be scary to make the change, but she says that she finds herself weirdly at peace with it and ready to take on the challenge.

Carissa’s husband Travis owns a small construction business. They have a daughter age 17, son age 14 and foster son age 14.

All three of these RNs taking on these leadership positions are cross trained to the floor. That means if they are needed, they can go from the office and be a part of the services needed as fast as possible.

MBH Administrator Steph Everett says that she is excited for the growth and camaraderie in the building. These three new leaders are not afraid of growth and taking things to the next level while thinking outside the box.  She says they will be an amazing addition to the current leadership at MBH, as well as working with the other leadership in the building; LaRae Rudolph, DON at the hospital, Lauren Hysjulien, DON at Rosen Place and Janel Borud, DON at the clinic.

The three also share that excitement about the friendship in the facility, where they are not just co-workers but also friends that have each other’s backs and share a passion that has them there for the right reasons. They look forward to growing in their positions and making MBH that much better, saying the residents will thrive because of it.

For patients with hearing aid needs or services in the Stanley area, a new service will be available starting on October 6. Hearing Dynamics, formerly The Hearing Aid Co. of Minot, will be utilizing space at the Mountrail County Medical Center Clinic.

Owner Lisa Risovi brings the ability to test hearing in Stanley. She sells Audibel, a Starkey family, hearing device. She can also repair and clean all brands of hearing aids. She says that she is proud to be selling the Audibel brand hearing aids, a USA made product manufactured in Minneapolis, MN.

Born and raised in rural North Dakota, Risovi started working in the hearing aid business with Arlynn Hefta at The Hearing Aid Company from 2013 to 2016. While he continues to own the location in Devils Lake, he offered her the Minot business. With twenty years of other business experience in customer service, she was excited to take on this new venture. Since taking on the business, she has been looking forward to not only serving customers in Minot, but also expanding that business to rural areas.

The Minot office is located in the Renaissance Center. By also expanding to other communities, she says she believes she can reach people in need in not only Stanley but also the surrounding areas. Risovi says that as a company, they have territories. Her territory is from Rugby to the Montana border and north to the Canadian border.

When asked how she connected with Stanley and MCMC, she says that she is friends with Doctors Joshi and Brewster. In conversations, they discussed the opportunity of adding to the services offered to Stanley area patients. She reached out to MCMC and is now renting space as an independent office in the clinic. She will handle her own billings and insurance if applicable, although most insurances do not cover hearing aids.

She will be in Stanley at the clinic two Tuesdays each month, with October 6 and 27 set for dates next month. She takes patients by appointment only. You can call 701-839-8964 to schedule an appointment.

“Hearing services is something we have been trying to get back into our clinic for quite a while,” says Steph Everett MCMC CEO.  “With the rapport already built with Doctors Joshi and Brewster, we are confident that Lisa will be the perfect fit for our patients and the residents of Mountrail County and we look forward to a long lasting relationship.”

This article is republished with the gracious consent of the Mountrail County Promoter.