Meet MedWell | The Heart Behind the MedSpa
It's not every day two high school best friends reunite decades later to build something meaningful together. Risa has been immersed in the dermatology and skincare world since 2007, and Lori was one of her most devoted patients. In fact, Lori would make the trek to the Twin Cities just to be seen by Risa. But she had bigger plans. Lori, self-proclaimed "bug in her ear," made it her mission to convince Risa to come back closer to home, open her own practice, and let Lori handle the coffee.
It took a lot of patience on Lori’s end, years down the road she would get a text from Risa, just a simple meeting that ignited the flame to create something that was needed for their local community. Lori went from simply saying she would serve the coffee, to being Risa’s business partner. “It was a passion and a thing that we had always talked about. We all have dreams, and you never know if you’ll actually pull the trigger on them, but I’m so thankful we did.” said Risa.
So the idea jotted on a paper napkin in 2008, finally opened its doors in 2023.
These two friends bring far more than warm smiles to MedWell, they bring a depth of expertise and heart that shapes every patient experience, Risa’s roots in medical dermatology run deep; she continues to lend her expertise and the local hospital to this day. Yet for years, she found herself sending aesthetic patients to medspas miles away, out of the community they called home. MedWell changed that. Now, that gap has been filled and patients don’t have to go far to find exceptional care. Lori brings her own quiet superpower to the practice; a natural ability to listen, to sit with someone’s concerns, and to meet them with genuine compassion.
From their doors opening in 2023 to three years of serving the community, Risa and Lori have built something worth celebrating, though they’d be the last ones to take the credit. Each would tell you the other is the reason it works. In three years, they’ve grown their services, expanded their team, and deepened their medical expertise, all while staying true to what matters most: making every patient feel heard, At MedWell, there are no cookie-sutter responses or one-size-fits-all treatment plans, Every concern is met with intention.
“In a world where everything is convenient, when it comes to your medical care there’s something to be said for not just checking boxes or going with the cheapest option,” says Risa. “There’s a place where people can receive real care and real follow-up.” That philosophy isn’t just a tagline, it’s the foundation MedWell was built on.
So whether you’re walking through the doors for the first time or you’ve been a familiar face since the beginning, know this: MedWell exists because two friends refused to let their community go without. And that, more than anything, is what makes this place different.
