Homegrown Care
By Stacy Kusler on
When Kalvin Slaubaugh was growing up on a farm near Leeds, North Dakota, he wasn't dreaming about practicing medicine in a major metropolitan hospital. Instead, he imagined himself becoming exactly what rural communities need most – a family physician serving people much like those he grew up with.
From the time I decided I wanted to be a doctor, it was, 'I want to be the family medicine doctor in a small town.'
"From the time I decided I wanted to be a doctor, it was, 'I want to be the family medicine doctor in a small town,'" Slaubaugh said.
This fall, that vision becomes reality.
After completing medical school in 2023 at the University of North Dakota (UND) School of Medicine & Health Sciences (SMHS), and his family medicine residency earlier this summer at Altru Family Medicine Residency in Grand Forks, Slaubaugh will begin practicing at Towner County Medical Center in Cando – fewer than 30 miles from the community where he was raised.
His return, scheduled for early September, represents more than a career choice. It is the culmination of years of intentional investment by his family, mentors, rural healthcare providers, and the state's only medical school. It is also a powerful example of what happens when North Dakota grows its own healthcare workforce.
A Calling Rooted in Community
Slaubaugh's journey toward medicine began long before medical school.
As a teenager, he volunteered with his local ambulance service and later worked as both an EMT and certified nursing assistant. While his emergency medical service work allowed him to help people during critical moments, he found himself wanting something more.
"On EMT calls, you'd take someone to the hospital, but I always wondered what happened next," he said. "I wanted to do more than just give someone a ride. Continuity of care was something I was always looking for."
That desire only grew stronger while working in long-term care.
"I saw the same residents, day after day, month after month," Slaubaugh said. "I got to know them really well. That really cemented rural medicine – and continuity of care – was the track I wanted to be on."
Those experiences ultimately led him to family medicine, where long-term relationships are at the heart of patient care.
Building a Rural Workforce
Slaubaugh's story also illustrates why North Dakota continues to invest in educating physicians within the state.
Years before applying to medical school, he contacted Grant Lannoye, a physician assistant and now clinic operations manager at Towner County Medical Center, asking if he could shadow in a rural healthcare setting.
Grant Lannoye, PA-C.
Lannoye welcomed him.
Seven years later, that student returned – not to shadow, but to join the healthcare team as the community's first full-time physician in more than a decade.
"It was a no-brainer," Lannoye said. "We have a local physician who wants to work rural health – you have to take that opportunity."
The hospital had not actively been recruiting a physician, having successfully relied on experienced physician assistants and nurse practitioners. But Slaubaugh represented something different.
"We've definitely figured out that the way you keep providers long-term is to train local providers," Lannoye said. "There's not a lot of draw to come to Cando if you didn't grow up in an area like this."
That lesson has shaped the organization's recruitment philosophy. Providers with local ties understand rural life, relate more naturally to patients, and are more likely to build lasting careers in the communities they serve.
The UND Difference
For Slaubaugh, attending medical school in North Dakota reinforced the career path he had envisioned from the beginning.
He credits UND SMHS with preparing him for the realities of rural practice through broad clinical experiences and rural rotations that emphasized comprehensive care.
"UND does a wonderful job preparing students for rural practice," he said. "It provides a well-rounded education so graduates can come back to rural communities and do everything that's needed."
Participation in the RuralMed Program also helped make that path financially attainable, allowing him to focus on becoming the physician he wanted to be rather than worrying about the cost of medical school.
The RuralMed Program absolutely makes a difference. The financial relief lets you focus on learning instead of worrying about how you're going to pay for school.
"The RuralMed Program absolutely makes a difference," he said. "The financial relief lets you focus on learning instead of worrying about how you're going to pay for school."
Lannoye believes keeping students in North Dakota during their education is equally important.
"The importance of having a medical school in the state is we are keeping our local people local," he said.
Opening the Door for More Physicians
Slaubaugh's arrival brings immediate benefits to Towner County Medical Center.
For the first time in nearly 11 years, the organization will have a physician on staff, allowing additional services to be provided locally and reducing the need for patients to travel hundreds of miles for care that can often be delivered close to home.
But Lannoye believes the greatest impact may still lie ahead.
Without a physician, the hospital has been unable to host medical student rotations. Slaubaugh's arrival opens the door for future UND students to train in Cando, exposing another generation of physicians to the rewards of rural medicine.
"I'm really hopeful that we can get some medical students out here under Kalvin," Lannoye said. "This is what we need."
For Slaubaugh, returning home is about more than geography.
"I like being able to help," he said. "That's why I do what I do."
He also believes patients benefit when they know their physician shares their community background and understands their way of life.
Patients are more open and trusting with a provider who they believe is going to stick around and be their doctor for the next 20 years.
"Patients are more open and trusting with a provider who they believe is going to stick around and be their doctor for the next 20 years."
For Slaubaugh, returning home means caring for the people and communities that helped shape him. For Towner County Medical Center, it means welcoming a physician with deep roots and a lasting commitment to rural North Dakota. And for UND SMHS, it is a tangible example of its mission in action – educating physicians who choose to serve where they are needed most.
As North Dakota continues working to strengthen its rural healthcare workforce, stories like this offer encouragement and inspiration. They also provide a roadmap. Because the future of rural healthcare isn't built through recruitment alone – it's built by local providers inspiring, educating, and supporting the next generation of hometown physicians.
is the connection between rural healthcare facilities in North Dakota and qualified health professional job seekers. As the workforce specialist, she assists rural facilities to attract medical providers and other health professionals to their communities by sharing job opportunities. Through her position, Stacy is working to reduce the healthcare workforce shortages throughout the state.
