‘Small-town’ health care

After spending several years as a practicing physician, Dr. Tracie Mallberg decided it was time to open her own clinic.

The Cogswell, N.D., native launched Lilycare, a West Fargo primary-care clinic at 550 13th Ave. E., in June 2008 with Dan Riehl, clinic director.

Mallberg graduated from the University of North Dakota Medical School in Grand Forks in 2002 and completed her residency at the Bismarck Family Practice Center in 2005.

She practiced for a year in Glenwood, Minn., before spending about three years as a partner in a staffing agency providing temporary physician services for rural North Dakota communities.

Mallberg owns Lilycare and oversees the clinic’s medical services. Riehl, who has a business degree from North Dakota State University, owns a separate business that oversees clinic staffing and management services.

Mallberg compares Lilycare to the small-town clinic she visited as a young farm girl.

“We have a lot of people coming here because they wanted a small-town doc,” Riehl said.

Q: What type of clinic is Lilycare?

A: We are a family practice clinic staffed by all-female providers.

We have developed a very strong following in women’s health and pediatrics.

I am also developing a bariatric or weight management program.

Are your clients primarily women?

Seventy-five percent of our patients are female. Seventy-five percent of our patients are 40 years old and under. It’s predominantly a young, female market.

Is that by design?

As a young, female provider, that’s what I’m going to get, like it or not. It’s what I do well. It’s who I relate to well. It’s the part I’ve always loved. Yeah, we did sort of market that way.

We’re not excluding men by any means. The men that we have, 89 to 90 percent of them are spouses of a female who was a patient to begin with.

Seven out of 10 people that come in that front door are a referral from an existing patient.

Why did you decide to become an independent provider?

I had been part of a group. I didn’t like the lack of autonomy, the fact that I had to see so many patients per day to meet quotas.

Has the business lived up to your expectations?

Everybody told us it’s going to be three years before you get this up and profitable.

We were to the point in under a year where we needed to add staff.

We started with one nurse, me, a receptionist and Dan.

Is the plan to expand the business and add staff?

Honestly, we didn’t think we would be this size in a year and a half. We had a series of good luck and a fantastic location.

We brought on a mid-level who brought some patients with her. We grew quickly.

We are working to a position where all of our providers will have a time slot in the day to handle a walk-in. As we start getting busier, we are adding staff to make sure that’s always the case.

There is a tremendous need in West Fargo. It is a huge, growing community with young families. We couldn’t have picked a better location.

How many employees do you have?

We have a doctor, one nurse practitioner and one physician’s assistant.

We have three nurses, one certified nursing assistant, two office staff and a clinic director.

How wide an area do you draw patients from?

We draw patients from within a 100-mile radius of West Fargo.

What are your business hours?

The clinic is open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Business profile

Lilycare Clinic

• Where: 550 13th Ave. E., West Fargo
• Ownership: Dr. Tracie Mallberg; Dan Riehl, clinic director
• Contact: (701) 356-5459
• Online: www.lilycareclinic.com

Readers can reach Forum Business Editor Craig McEwen at (701) 241-5502

Tags: west fargo, north dakota, lilycare, health, moms, business