Meet the experts working behind the scenes!

Dorie Oja

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Dorie Oja has been working at the Redwood Area Hospital as a Registered Dietitian, Certified Diabetes Educator for the past 23 years.  She has been involved in Wellness programs at the hospital and in the community.  She provides Medical Nutrition Therapy on an In-patient as well as an Out-patient basis.    Teaching about good nutrition in terms of wellness, disease prevention and good health are important as well as nutrition education to support healing and learning to live with chronic diseases such as heart conditions, diabetes and kidney disease.  She can be reached at the Diabetes and Nutrition Center at 507-637-4518.

Sandy Longie

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Though I have been working for RACC since September 2007, I have been teaching fitness classes for about 7 years.  I am also working on acquiring a degree in Exercise Science from SMSU.  When I was in the Navy, I used to work at the PT/WSI building doing fitness assessments for new recruits during boot camp.  During high school, I was on the swim/dive team and have taught swimming lessons for years.  I am ACE certified to teach yoga, group exercise, indoor cycling (spin), core fitness and pilates.

I enjoy teaching others to be active and to take charge of their fitness.  My experiences make me able to connect with people and I like working in a team environment.  The one thing I am looking forward to as a personal trainer is seeing the results of my clients, knowing that I can make a difference in how someone else feels.


Polly Bowen

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I have been active in sports and recreational activities all my life.  I taught/coached for 33 years in physical education.  I decided to take another avenue after retiring from education and received my ACE Certification in Personal Training in 2009. I enjoy the challenge of working in various capacities for the RACC and sharing my passion of being healthy with youth through seniors. 
 
I am also the BEFIT coordinator for the Redwood Area School District and encouraging the staff to take charge of their health and wellness.  
 
I created this program  (One Step Challenge) a year ago in a vision to make more people aware of their own wellbeing and making healthier choices.  You can join in and follow the participants each week with your own personal goals and active lifestyle.