Why I love my job: Uptown clinic team shares how dedicated teamwork leads to better care

A medical director who goes the extra mile to support his patients’ health goals. A clinic manager who focuses on elevating his team and overcoming obstacles. A hybrid nurse who loves connecting with patients.

Every member of the team at M Health Fairview Clinic – Uptown works together to support M Health Fairview’s mission to provide transformational care. Read on to hear from three dedicated individuals at the clinic, who share why they love their jobs – and why they are motivated to help others – through M Health Fairview.

Joel Wegener, MD
Medical Director and Family Physician  

One of the most rewarding parts of my job is helping someone who's gotten excited about working 

hard to improve their health. I love to do the little things to try to go the extra mile to help people achieve the health that they would like. As a medical director, I get to be involved in system improvement work, including developing new innovative ways to get our work done on a day-to-day basis.  

Some of the most challenging things about my job are the same things that are challenging to patients: navigating a large healthcare system, finding resources that are affordable for healthcare, navigating insurance rules, and keeping up with the mountains of notes and paperwork that come along with primary care. It is both challenging and rewarding work.

I love the people I work with. We have fun working hard and joking around every day.  As a group, we've come to enjoy and anticipate the daily appreciations shared by our clinic manager, Lawrence.  They are always insightful and strengthen the morale of our team. This has paid off – we currently enjoy one of the highest employee satisfaction rates at Fairview! 

Outside of work, I love to run and enjoy outdoor activities like hiking. I'm blessed to have a partner who loves to do these things as well.  

Lawrence Rabon
Clinic Manager

Being a clinic manager can be tough at times. A lot of our work revolves around bridging gaps and having difficult conversations. However, being a clinic manager for the Uptown clinic is nothing short of magical. I am honored to have a dedicated team that believes in me as a leader. No matter the barriers we are presented with, we come together to achieve whatever is asked of us. Ultimately, my time with M Health Fairview has made me a better leader and father. 

I’ve also appreciated the various leadership opportunities I’ve been provided to help shepherd robust initiatives in our system which ultimately impact the patient care we provide. The personal investment in my leadership journey from my leaders in primary care has been incredible.

When I’m not at work, I’m with my family. Much of that time is spent teaching my fur baby to not bark at Amazon drivers and teaching my son to walk before his first birthday. In my alone time, I like to watch history documentaries. If I did not discover healthcare, I would have been a history professor. 

Elyse Chezick, RN
Hybrid Nurse  

I enjoy connecting with patients while preparing them for their visit. This helps providers as well, as they have so much to cover during the visit, it improves overall efficiency. I can help educate patients on topics such as advanced care planning and preventative care. Developing this experimental role has been an exciting process to participate in. I look forward to adding more collaborative visit types in the future.  

My role was created to help during the shortage of medical assistant and rooming patients for their appointments. Since then, we’ve expanded the role to assist providers with Medicare Annual Wellness visits. Now that we have proven this model is successful, we’re researching other appointment we can expand this to, such as hypertension visits. 

Outside of the clinic, my husband and I enjoy traveling to new places and finding new restaurants to try, spending time with friends and playing board games. I’m also a volunteer in the Hennepin Master Gardener program.