BELLE FOURCHE—Tri-State Chiropractic has welcomed a new intern, Holly Munsterman, to work under Supervising Doctor, Dr. Doug Larson.
Munsterman is planning on a long career here in the Belle Fourche area. She said, “I started here at the beginning of May and I’ll be here until December, interning, and then plan to be in the area for forever!”
The Brookings native found the Northern Hills area as an undergraduate at Black Hills State University. “I just fell in love with the area ever since then and always knew that I wanted to come back to this area and plant my roots out here,” Munsterman explained.
Finishing her internship is the last obstacle she has to overcome in order to graduate. “I go to Northwestern Health Sciences University out in Bloomington, Minnesota. I’m done with all of my classes and my national boards exams and everything, and I’m set to graduate and officially become a Doctor of Chiropractic in December.”
While Munsterman is under the guidance of Dr. Larson, she is able to see patients on her own. “I can see people on my own, but if I have questions, I just go to Doug and we talk about cases together and I pick his brain—he’s been at it for many years and he has lots of wisdom and lots of skills to teach me,” she said.
And wisdom and experience Dr. Larson has! He has had his practice in Belle Fourche for 38 years, spending all but one year of his professional life here. He shared, “I spent a year in Sioux Falls right out of Chiropractic college, but then after that, I moved to Belle.”
Dr. Larson has had an intern one other time before Munsterman. “I have only supervised one time before, that was about eight years ago, and her and her husband have a practice in Whitewood now,” he said.
As the Supervising Doc, Dr. Larson sees providing hands-on learning as a necessity in the educational experience. “It is beneficial for her because she can see the hands on—I mean they can tell you so much in books and in lectures, but until you experience it, it’s a whole different ball game,” he said. “And she can see patients here as long as I’m in the building, so that if she runs into something that has her concerned, I can go in and steer her in the right direction.”
Intern Munsterman works full-time and is available during all of the regular office hours, when she is not in the office she enjoys outdoor activities. She says, “I like running. I like hiking, golfing, reading, and you find me outside all the time!”
Her first month in Belle Fourche has been great so far! “I really like it! I just like the people out here. My first days out here I’m like yep, this is home,” explained Munsterman. “Everybody is just so nice—the small town community—everybody knows everybody, I kind of like that!”
Tri-State Chiropractic is a family business, with Dr. Larson’s wife Jami working the front desk and greeting patients daily. His son, Jade followed in his shoes and became a chiropractor as well. He worked in the Belle office for nine years and has since moved to Sioux Falls to start his own practice. His daughter is an RN in Oregon. He is the proud grandpa of five grandkids, with one more on the way!
Dr. Larson and Jami are grateful for their patients. “We have had a busy practice and we’re blessed to have the patients trust us and come to us. If we can’t figure it out, we do refer to other providers to find out where they need to go to get well. That’s our major objective, our patients wellness.” Jami added, “We love our patients, some have been with us from when we opened and so we know about their families and we visit, it’s just great!”
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