A local couple’s career dreams are coming true as they prepare to serve the community that helped raise them.
Chris Little, MD and Katie (West) Little, PT, DPT, are two of Rainy Lake Medical Center’s newest employees, both bringing critical services to the community they call home. Chris will serve as a family practice physician at Rainy Lake Clinic and will begin seeing patients at the end of this month. Katie will join RLMC’s Therapy and Wellness Center as a physical therapist.
“I went into medicine knowing this was my end goal to come back here,” Chris said. “I’m looking forward to getting to meet all the wonderful residents we have in I Falls.”
Katie agreed.
“It will be rewarding to see so many people I already know and to meet new people, too,” she said. “I’m looking forward to expanding my skillset.”
Chris graduated from Falls High School in 2010 and went on to attend the University of Minnesota Medical School, graduating in 2021. He then served as a resident physician at the St. John’s Family Medicine Program in St. Paul until he completed his training in June.
“As a resident, I cared for patients of all ages in the clinic and hospital setting,” he said. “I had the opportunity to see all aspects of medicine in both urban and rural settings.”
Chris spent time at RLMC as a summer intern in 2015, as well as intermittently between 2017-2018 as a medical student for the Rural Medical Scholars Program. The program is a longitudinal experiential rural curricular offering providing basic skills building, hands-on patient care and the beginning steps of integrating the basic and clinical sciences. The inter-professional learning occurs in rural family medical preceptors’ offices, hospitals and communities.
“Some of the most memorable experiences were spent at Rainy Lake Clinic, seeing patients with Dr. (Jay) Knaak,” Chris said. “This exposure to rural family medicine solidified my decision to return home to practice after finishing my training.”
Katie, a 2014 FHS alum, graduated as a Doctor of Physical Therapy in May of 2020 from the University of North Dakota, and has been working in the physical therapy field for the past four years. She, too, spent some time as a student at RLMC doing clinicals with the Therapy and Wellness Center in 2018. The experience has given her a glimpse into what to expect when she becomes a fulltime employee.
“I’m looking forward to doing a little bit of everything,” she said, noting she’ll spend some time working with students in local schools as well as patients on site at RLMC.
RLMC CEO Robb Pastor said the addition of the Littles to the RLMC team will be a significant asset to the community and organization and is looking forward to their contributions.
“We recognize professionals in each of these fields are in high demand, and we’re thrilled the Littles are choosing Rainy Lake Medical Center to provide care,” Pastor said. “They both understand our mission and vision and are a perfect fit with our culture. They will do an outstanding job of caring for our patients, and we’re really excited to welcome them into the RLMC family.”
The couple, who celebrated their second wedding anniversary in September, are each other’s biggest fans.
“I always like to get Katie’s expertise on things,” Chris said as his wife smiled at his side.
“I’d say it’s pretty balanced,” she added. “We’re both really excited.”
To schedule an appointment with Dr. Chris Little, contact Rainy Lake Clinic at 218.283.5503.
To schedule an appointment with Katie Little, call Rainy Lake Medical Center’s Therapy and Wellness Center at 218.283.5420.
About Rainy Lake Medical Center
Rainy Lake Medical Center stands at the forefront of delivering exceptional medical services to the Borderland communities. With a comprehensive range of offerings, including emergency care, surgery, cardiology rehab and diagnostics, chemo and infusion therapy, family medicine clinics, radiology, obstetrics and gynecology, therapy services, sleep studies, laboratory services, respiratory therapy, and orthopedics, RLMC continues to excel in providing compassionate care for all. RLMC is also dedicated to offering both acute and skilled nursing services through its swing bed care program. For more information about RLMC, visit: rainylakemedical.com.
