Welcome Back, Sonja Warner, FNP!

If you’ve tried to get a same-day appointment with your family medicine provider lately, you’re not alone. Dr. Marissa Wheeler and Dr. Allison Juba are both busy. This fall, Sonja Warner, MSN, APRN, FNP, is joining their team to open up more room on the schedule, without losing the personal, know-your-history care patients expect from a family practice.

Care is in Her DNA

Sonja’s path to healthcare started in high school in St. Paul, when a classmate had a seizure in the middle of class. Sonja was surprised to note that her instinct is to not shy away from action. “I don’t freeze, I don’t run—I just jump in and help,” she says.

She earned her nursing degree from North Dakota State University, a competitive program she chose specifically to build her own path outside her hometown crowd. It’s also where she met her husband, Derek, a Long Prairie native.

Warner spent her first years as an RN in the pediatric ICU in Fargo, caring for critically ill kids and walking their families through complex care. About five years ago, she and Derek moved to Alexandria to be closer to family and the lakes, and she joined Alomere—first in med-surg and pediatrics, then in the ICU, and most recently in the Birth Center, caring for new moms and babies.

A New Level of Care

While working at Alomere, she completed her Family Nurse Practioner degree through the University of North Dakota, intentionally working at the hospital throughout school. “The more you’re exposed to, the more you learn,” She says of pairing her coursework with real patient cases.

Warner’s new role will look a lot like the partnership between Dr. Emma Erickson and Kelley Mikkelson, CNP—a model already proven to give patients more access without disrupting continuity of care (Click to read their story). In fact, Warner spent this past summer working alongside both to see the team-based approach in action.

Her role with Dr. Wheeler and Dr. Juba will include seeing patients directly, managing inbox messages and refill requests, and helping triage same-day concerns—freeing up both physicians to focus on their more complex patients. “Providing more appointment availability for our patients will be a priority,” she says.

Ask Warner what she wants patients to know before their first visit, and her answer is immediate:

When she’s not at work, Sonja is usually outside. She loves to garden and be active. She and Derek travel togetther whenever they can, enjoy the lakes during the summer and winter, and spend time at their land. Chevy (their yellow lab) tends to be along for the ride.

Sonja’s parents and sister still live in St. Paul, but they’re hoping to find a lake cabin near Alexandria of their own soon.