Our Staff
Our Health Care Providers
Care Philosophy: It is our mission to improve the quality of life for those who suffer from chronic allergic and respiratory conditions through the delivery of exceptional state-of-the-art care and service provided by Dr. Ellingson and our outstanding and dedicated staff.
Amy Ellingson
"HELPING my patients enjoy life. . .
. . . and gain control of their disease is what I strive for every day. It's not just about a short-term answer, but about a commitment to understanding what is at the root of the problem and coming up with a life-long strategy to manage it."
JoLene Schlegel
JoLene Schlegel joined the Allergy & Asthma Specialty Clinic in 2017 as a Nurse Practitioner. JoLene earned her Nurse Practitioner degree in 2011 and has worked in urgent care and family practice clinical settings before joining the Allergy & Asthma Specialty Clinic. Recently JoLene earned her Certified Asthma Educator designation. She and her husband and their three children live on a farm south of Willmar.
Daniele Welvaert
Daniele Welvaert joined the Allergy & Asthma Specialty Clinic in 2019 as a Nurse Practitioner. She works closely with Dr. Amy Ellingson in the treatment of patients with allergies, asthma, and related diseases. Daniele earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Iowa in 2011 and her Nurse Practitioner degree from Frontier Nursing University in 2019. She and her husband and son live near Marshall.
Our Nursing Staff
Summer, Nikki, Molly and Jess
The skilled and caring nursing staff at the Allergy & Asthma Specialty Clinic guide patients through each office visit. Our nurses come from a variety of backgrounds and experiences and take great pride in providing our patients with compassionate and exceptional care.
You will see our nurses handle many of the aspects of a patient's visit. From taking a medical history and vital signs to performing skin testing, lung function testing, and allergy shots, our staff is second to none. The nurses also are a part of the chronic disease team providing education about the disease, trigger avoidance, use of medications, inhaler and peak flow meter techniques, and assist in formulating an action plan.
When our patients have questions about their medications, need medical advice, or need to address more acute problems, they can call our office and speak with one of our nurses or leave a message for a nurse to return a call. In most cases, nurses are able to return calls within just a few hours, and almost always within 24 hours.
Our Office Staff
Miranda and Alycia
The members of our friendly office and business staff provide many services for our patients.
The Front Desk staff answers phone calls, checks patients in, and directs the flow of visitors coming into the office. They are responsible for setting up patient appointments and take messages for the providers and nursing staff. They are our "clinic photographers" and also handle a number of "behind the scenes" functions that help the clinic run efficiently day after day.
Jim
Our Business department handles all of the patient accounts and health insurance issues. They answer patients' questions about their account balances, the status of their insurance claims, and eligibility for services. When it comes to problems with insurance claims, our business department is tenacious at investigating the claim and often advocates on behalf of the patient for payment of the insurance claim.
Insurances We Accept:
We accept virtually all insurance plans in the Southwest Minnesota region. The following is a list of just some of the insurance plans and networks we work with:
If your insurance plan is not on this list, please call or e-mail our office and ask about it. We do accept commercial insurance plans. These plans generally allow patients to see any physician they choose.
REFERRALS: If you don't know whether your insurance requires a referral, please call the number on the back of your card. Most BlueCross BlueShield policies do not require a referral, except the card with the state of Minnesota on the top right corner (example shown below):
