Dr. Ingrid Kaijage has joined the family medicine department at the Essentia Health-International Falls Clinic. In addition to caring for patients of all ages, Kaijage will also provide obstetrics care.

“I was looking for a rural family medicine practice where I would have a wide scope of practice and could also use my obstetrics skills. This opportunity feels like a perfect fit for me,” Kaijage said in a news release. “I have a passion for obstetrics and taking care of families, from bringing new lives into this world to caring for the elderly. I love to build relationships with people over time and watch families grow.”

Kaijage earned a medical degree from Muhimbili University College of Health Sciences in Dar-es Salaam, Tanzania, where she also completed a residency in obstetrics and gynecology. She completed a family medicine residency with the Smiley’s Family Medicine Clinic, which is part of the University of Minnesota Medical School. She is certified by the American Board of Medical Specialties in family medicine.

“I am an advocate for all my patients and I make sure to carefully listen to them and hear their concerns and questions,” Kaijage said. “I treat the whole person, and we work together to make decisions that will improve their health and well-being.”

Essentia Health has been recognized by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Million Hearts initiative as a Hypertension Control Champion for its success in helping patients control high blood pressure.

“Being a leader in hypertension control is truly being accountable for the health of our population,” Dr. Patrick Twomey, Essentia’s Chief Medical Quality Officer and Chief Medical Officer, said in a news release. “This Million Hearts recognition of our efforts shows one of the many ways that we are fulfilling our vision of being a nationally recognized leader in high quality, integrated healthcare services.”

To qualify for the Million Hearts recognition, the health system was required to meet a hypertension control rate of 70 percent or more among those patients with high blood pressure. Within Essentia’s approximately 63,000 patients with hypertension, the control rate was 82 percent.

“There are so many people in our health system who have had a hand in getting us to our current hypertension performance,” Twomey said. “It starts, of course, with our dedicated primary care physicians, but also includes cardiologists and nephrologists. Their supporting cast includes clinic leadership, clinic assistants, nurses, pharmacists and registration staff.”

The 2014 Hypertension Control Champions include private and tribal clinical practices and health services, ranging from solo practitioners to large systems and representing both urban and rural areas. Together they care for more than 3.5 million adult patients in 19 different states.

“This year we have more Champions than ever before, demonstrating that high performance is achievable and that we are on a path to better heart health across the nation,” HHS Secretary Sylvia Burwell said in a news release. “More and more practices are using evidence-based strategies to help patients keep blood pressure down — a strong sign that we’re making progress in preventing heart attacks and strokes.”

Nearly one in three American adults has hypertension, also known as high blood pressure. Only half have it under control, putting them at greater risk of developing heart disease or stroke – two of the leading causes of death in the U.S.

Katie Clark Sieben

Minnesota companies exported $5.5 billion in agricultural, mining and manufactured products in the fourth quarter of 2014, which brought the year to a record $21.4 billion in exports, according to figures released by the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development.

In 2014, state exports grew 2.9 percent from the prior year and beat the previous high of $20.8 billion in 2012. U.S. exports climbed 2.8 percent last year.

“Minnesota has a diverse and robust export economy, with more than 930 different products going to 192 countries in the fourth quarter,” DEED Commissioner Katie Clark Sieben said in a news release. “More than 8,600 Minnesota companies are exporting, most of them small- and medium-sized businesses.”

Export growth to North America grew 7 percent to $7.8 billion and was fueled by exports to Mexico, which grew by 52 percent to $2.2 billion in 2014, leading Mexico to become the state’s second-largest market.

For 2014, Canada remained Minnesota’s largest export market at $5.6 billion, with exports to China in third place at $2.23 billion. Japan followed China with $1.2 billion, Belgium at $886 million, Germany at $749 million, Korea at $712 million, the Philippines at $571 million, Singapore at $531 million and United Kingdom at $529 million.

Export growth exceeded 10 percent in four of the state’s top 10 markets in 2014, including Mexico, up 52 percent; Japan, up 14 percent; Belgium, up 23 percent; and Korea, up 14 percent.

The largest gains in 2014 exports were in optics/medical, up $317 million; electrical machinery, up $188 million; plastics, up $167 million; wood pulp up $138 million; and miscellaneous grains, up $132 million.

Q4 export summary

The state’s fastest-growing export market in the fourth quarter of 2014 was Mexico, which increased by $186 million from the same period a year earlier — the most among all countries. The total fourth quarter exports to Mexico came in second place at $625 million.

Other exports were to Canada, $1.37 billion, down 8 percent; China, $574 million, down 23 percent; Japan, $293 million, up 7 percent; Belgium, $222 million, up 16 percent; Korea, $206 million, up 29 percent; Germany, $187 million, down 11 percent; the Philippines, $150 million, up 27 percent; the United Kingdom, $137 million, up 2 percent; and Singapore, $125 million, up 19 percent.

The state’s top export was optic/medical products, which climbed 7 percent to $948 million. Other major exports were machinery, $884 million, down 7 percent; electrical machinery, $711 million, up 8 percent; vehicles, $558 million, up 5 percent; plastic, $295 million, up 10 percent; food byproducts, $134 million, down 17 percent; miscellaneous grains, seeds, $134 million, up 99 percent; aircraft, spacecraft, $132 million, up 17 percent; meat, $103 million, up 13 percent; and cereals, $99 million, up 99 percent.

Miscellaneous grains, seeds, including soybeans and soybean flour, surged 99 percent behind growth in two major markets: Mexico, up 1,662 percent to $43 million; and China, up 17 percent to $36 million and in smaller countries such as Israel, up 3,071 percent to $9 million; and Indonesia, up 866 percent to $6 million.

Cereals also jumped 99 percent, driven by explosive growth in sales of wheat, grain, sorghum and rice. Wheat exports were up 161 percent, led by a $24 million increase in sales to Algeria. Virtually all grain sorghum was sold to China, up $14 million and virtually all rice was sold to Turkey, up $12 million.