ALEXANDRIA
— Opening her own business was not something Lindsey Buttweiler had been planning for years. The mom of four from Alexandria said just like many things in life, it came from an unexpected turn. That turn gave her an opportunity to step back and ask herself what she truly wanted the next chapter of her career to look like
“I chose that moment to see it as an opportunity, to build something that reflected my own values and the kind of care I wanted to provide women,” said Buttweiler. “So looking back, what initially felt uncertain became the push I needed to create Clara Women’s Health.”
Clara Women’s Health, located at 404 2nd Avenue East, Suite 101 in Alexandria, is expected to be opening this fall. The clinic will be in the lower level and backside of Woodland Dentistry, which is in 3rd Avenue
Buttweiler shared how she came up with the name for her clinic. It comes from her daughters’ names – Claire Julianne and Reese Madeline
“Once I saw what Clara, Claire and Reese and all their names meant, it was a perfect way to honor them while creating something dedicated to helping women,” said Buttweiler. She added that the combined name, Clara, represents strength, compassion, resilience, honesty and hope
Buttweiler, who has been a nurse for more than 20 years and a women’s health nurse practitioner for about five years, said that throughout her career, she has seen too many women accept the symptoms of feeling exhausted, gaining weight, struggling with hormones, losing confidence and simply just not feeling well or feeling like themselves
Women do this, she said, because they’ve been told it’s just part of being a woman, that it’s just a part of aging or it’s just because their hormones are wacky
“For far too long, women have felt dismissed or have felt left feeling like their symptoms are simply something they have to live with,” said Buttweiler. “I don’t believe that has to be their story. So, Clara’s was created to change that.”
Buttweiler said women deserve more, they deserve to be heard and it is her goal for every woman who walks through her doors to know that their concerns matter and their symptoms are worth investigating
Why choose a career in health?
Born and raised in Alexandria, Buttweiler said that her journey into healthcare unexpectedly began after her first daughter, Reese, was born in 2003. Reese spent the first five and a half months of her life in the pediatric intensive care unit. There, she underwent her first two of what would eventually become seven open heart surgeries over the course of the last several years, said Buttweiler
“Watching the compassion and dedication of her healthcare teams during that time inspired me to go back to nursing school when Reese was one,” she said. “And over the past 23 years, I’ve experienced healthcare from both sides, not only as a nurse and as a provider, but also the mom of a kid with complex medical issues and needs.”
Those experiences, Buttweiler added, taught her how deeply that people need compassion, transparency, trust and someone who truly listens. She said it is essential for all patients to feel safe, heard and respected throughout their healthcare journey. And since that time, she has dedicated her career to caring for women throughout many stages of her life by becoming a nurse, a board certified women’s health practitioner, a menopause certified specialist and also, an aesthetic injector.
“Now, I am just so incredibly grateful that I get to bring Clara Women’s Health to the community I call home,” said Buttweiler
Women don’t have to ‘just deal with it’
Menopause is just one women’s health issue that Buttweiler will be focusing on. In the last several years, menopause has become something more women have been openly talking about. Previously, Buttweiler said that people would say, “It’s menopause. Just deal with it.” But the thing is, she added, is that women all go through it as they grow older
Providers have been scared to prescribe hormone replacement therapy for all the wrong reasons, said Buttweiler, adding that there is nothing to be scared of
“Of course there was a black label warning on these medications but it is being removed because hormone replacement therapy has been that it’s not only going to help our symptoms, but it is also going to help our health health, our brain health, our bone health and so many different things that are going to help us live longer,” Buttweiler stated. “They prevent things like heart disease, osteopenia, osteoporosis and so many other different things. Women need these hormones in their bodies.”
She also explained that there was a study called the Women’s Health Initiative that was the reason behind providers and patients being scared to take replacement hormones. But, the thing is, she stressed, is that the hormones were synthetic
They worked, she said, but now they’ve been replaced over the course of several years by bioidentical hormone replacement therapy. Basically, said Buttweiler, it just means progesterone and estradiol, which can come from a pharmacy
“It’s made identical to the hormones in our body. It’s not synthetic,” she said
Buttweiler also stressed that if there is family history of someone using hormone replacement therapy before and it caused issues, it doesn’t mean that someone today can’t take it or use it. She said it is really important for providers to go through a full health history and make sure your provider knows the right testing because hormone replacement therapy helps
Services provided at Clara Women’s Health
When Clara Women’s Health opens, Buttweiler said she will be provided several healthcare services that focus on hormone health, including perimenopause, menopause, PCOS, PMDD, sexual wellness, metabolic health and weight management. In addition, she will also offer wellness services including IV therapy, vitamin injections, aesthetic treatments like Dysport, which is similar to Botox, and Sculptra, which is a collagen building product. She will also have skin pen microneedling, chemical peels and medical grade skincare and supplements.
“I will be offering both in-person and telehealth appointments, making care accessible to women in Alexandria and throughout Minnesota,” said Buttweiler
Currently, the website for Clara Women’s Health is being built and there is not a Facebook page. But, Buttweiler said people can follow along with the progress on Instagram at instagram.com/clarawomenshealth to see when the clinic will open and for more information
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