Neurologist joins specialty clinic

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Rita Richardson

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Harvard-educated Rita Richardson is a fitness buff and a piano virtuoso. She’s also Westfields Hospital’s newest specialty clinic doctor.

A board-certified neurologist, Richardson has more than 10 years of clinical experience.

“When I considered the different disciplines, I wanted to be in an area of medicine that discoveries were yet to be made. I believed that neurology was still in its infancy and even into old age, I would be fascinated with the brain and the mind,” said Richardson. “I still am very excited to practice in neurology and look to the future in neuroscience.”

Richardson sees patients for a variety of reasons, including stroke, epilepsy, migraines and Parkinson’s disease. She sees mainly adults, as well as children while they are waiting to see a pediatric neurologist.

“I’m considered a general neurologist. As such, I see people with all neurologic problems. The most common neurologic health problems that patients ask advice for are headaches, seizures, Parkinson’s disease, strokes, multiple sclerosis and other less-defined problems such as numbness/tingling, dizziness and pain,” explained Richardson. “I also see people for problems from Botox injections such as eye twitching, cramping in hands, chronic daily headache and difficulties with head and neck movement.”

Richardson holds a Master’s of Science in Healthcare Management and Policy from Harvard University’s School of Public Health. She completed her residency in neurology at the Dartmouth-Hitch Medical Center in Lebanon, N.H., and is certified by the American Board of Neurology and Psychiatry Certification. She completed her pre-med education at George Mason University, and also holds a bachelor of general studies in communication from Kansas University.

She participated in the Bush Medical Fellowship in Health Care Management from 2005-07. Richardson is a member of the Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society, and received the American Medical Women’s Association award in 1999. Richardson was the chair of Department of Neurology as well as the medical director of the Musculoskeletal Division at Altru Health System in Grand Forks, N.D. before coming to Westfields.

“I visited the St. Croix Valley last year and felt that this was the place for me. I like the combination of small town communities and diversity of arts. I grew up in a small town in South Dakota,” says Richardson. “Although I’ve lived in cities on the East Coast in past years, I enjoy the people in the Midwest. I feel at home here.”

Richardson is available to see patients each week on Tuesdays and Thursdays at Westfields Hospital Specialty Clinic.

Westfields Hospital, located at 535 Hospital Road in New Richmond, is a full-service hospital offering emergency services, specialty clinics, and maternity services, as well as medical and surgical inpatient and outpatient care. Westfields Hospital is part of the HealthPartners family of care.

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