Dr. Hodson settling in at Big Lake Clinic

Dr. Jessica Hodson is the new physician at the Big Lake Clinic,  succeeding the retiring Dr. Lola Sutherland.

Dr. Hodson hails from Michigan and completed her undergraduate work at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

“I went to medical school in Florida and did my residency in North Carolina, “ Dr. Hodson said. “But I wanted to come back to the Midwest.”

Dr. Hodson’s husband, John, is from a small farm town in New Jersey, so the couple was looking for a small town, hopefully near water, since Jessica grew up near the Great Lakes. They ended up in Aitkin, where she worked in family practice at the hospital, serving patients from birth through end-of-life, while he went to work for the school district. Then they had baby son Shaw, now two years old.

“John was looking for more opportunity for growth in his career,” Dr. Hodson said. “I was looking for a more suburban area for my son to grow up in, where he could have friends.”

So they moved south down Hwy. 169 to Otsego. Dr. Hodson came to work in Big Lake and John is now activities director for the Rocori School District.

“There are good schools here and we are a lot closer to the zoo and things like that,” she said. “It was a nice find.”

After one month on the job, Dr. Hodson says she loves working at the Big Lake Clinic. The staff are friendly, knowledgeable and supportive and work together as a team. 

She is taking Dr. Sutherland’s patients but she is also accepting new patients too and enjoys working with younger women’s health issues, adolescents and pediatrics.

Dr. Hodson says she knows it isn’t easy for patients to switch doctors.

“Some of my patients from my practice in Aitkin drive down here to see me,” she said. “I just want to find that niche for patients to offer services they don’t have here yet, and support for families.”

Families are uniquely dynamic, Dr. Hodson says. Treating one person often effects the other people in the family. She especially enjoys working with adolescents because they reflect who they are going to become later in life as adults, they are a challenge,  and because this is a great time to teach healthy habits to last a lifetime.

Her most important medical advice is preventative, quitting cigarettes, paying attention to diet and exercise and living a healthy lifestyle.

“I am a straight shooter but I am not a dictater,” Dr. Hodson said. “People have to be on board with your plan for them so it has to be a partnership. Sometimes that means we both have to compromise.”