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| Dr. Elizabeth A. Larson |
COLUMBUS — Elizabeth A. Larson, MD, is a Catholic physician who will bring her beliefs into her work in Columbus. Dr. Larson will be opening her own independent practice in family medicine with a focus in obstetrics in Columbus starting on October 15.
Why Columbus?
She chose Columbus for several reasons. As an independent physician and the only non-Dean employed family physician in the area, she will provide a unique service.
This will allow Dr. Larson to accept a wider variety of insurance programs so that patients can find care closer to home, but also give her flexibility to provide quality care at affordable prices for her self-paying patients.
Furthermore, as a female physician who will be offering obstetrical (OB) services, she will be one of only four OB providers and one of only two female OB providers in the area as well.
There is also the fact that she has the unique ability to work alongside her father, Dr. John E. Walz, who is an independent general surgeon practicing in Columbus. “This is not only a father-daughter dream, but also a unique chance to provide quality healthcare in a mutually Catholic environment,” said Dr. Larsen.
Relies on Catholic teaching
Most important to Dr. Larson is the fact that, as a Catholic physician who holds firm to the teachings of the Church, she will be an available resource for patients who seek medical care from doctors they can trust to help make ethical medical decisions.
“In the technological and cultural age we live in, I understand the myriad of questions, choices, and dilemmas we face as patients,” she said. “From family planning, difficulty pregnancies, prenatal testing, treatment and counseling of adolescents, care for the poor, to end of life issues, I will not only provide honest, accurate, and nonjudgmental information and care to all of my patients, but I will also advocate from a sound understanding of Catholic teaching regarding medical ethics.”
Dr. Larson understands how important it is to have a doctor you can trust. That is why she decided to pursue family medicine with a focus in obstetrics.
Her background
She graduated from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls, cum laude with a degree in biology and biochemistry.
She married her husband, Peter, shortly after graduation and worked at 3M Pharmaceuticals for about 15 months.
Around that time, the Larsons suffered the loss of their first child. “That experience of having some doctors who respected all life, including our daughter’s, and some who felt she would not be worth saving due to profound brain damage, is a large part of what led me to pursue a vocation in medicine,” she said.
She attended the University of Wisconsin-School of Medicine and Public Health in Madison.
“Again, there were many plain and visible differences in the care and respect given to patients based on the treating physician’s overall respect for life that strengthened my resolve to become a family physician so that I could be a physician my patients could trust,” she said.
She recently completed her residency in Family Medicine at the UW-Health Fox Valley Family Medicine program in Appleton.
Starting her own practice
“I am excited to be starting my own practice on October 15th in Columbus and welcome patients of all ages, health condition, insurance or payment type, or even ability to pay,” she said.
She and her husband, Peter, have four children. Their oldest two attend St. Jerome Catholic School in Columbus. Son Anthony is a Wolf Cub in the Columbus Cub Scout Pack 99.
Peter operates his own business raising and selling rabbit meat.
Dr. Larson said, “One of my goals is to start a maternity home, similar to the Elizabeth House in Madison, and work closely with crisis pregnancy centers to not only preserve vulnerable life at the beginning, but also to work to build stronger families for a better future for those lives.”
She said, “I have eight brothers and sisters. My dad has always been an inspiration to me as not only a Catholic but as a physician. We grew up in rural northern Wisconsin, where dad always struck me simply as a neighbor helping to take care of his neighbors, and this is something I strive for in my practice of medicine.”
To inquire into services and office hours, or to schedule an appointment, call Dr. Larson at 920-623-3040.