Meet Laurie O’Leary, Family Nurse Practitioner, Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist

Laurie O’Leary was born and raised in Benson, Minnesota and graduated high school from Benson in 1999.  Her maiden name is Claussen.  She completed her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Minnesota State University, Mankato, MN in 2004.  She began her nursing career at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN on a Thoracic and Vascular ICU floor.  She was very active in numerous councils during her time there.  She was a nursing preceptor, education council member and Magnet Hospital champion.  She was also a presenter at the NTI for Critical Care in Atlanta, Georgia.

While in nursing school, O’Leary decided she wanted to become a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist.  She graduated from St. Mary’s University, Minneapolis, MN in 2010 with a Master’s Degree in Nurse Anesthesia.  O’Leary began her Nurse Anesthesia career at Douglas County Hospital in Alexandria, MN.  She became Assistant Chief of Anesthesia while at Douglas County Hospital.

O’Leary decided to move back to her hometown in the fall of 2018 as her husband had been commuting to Danvers daily for the past 8 years.  She is currently a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist at Swift County Benson Health Services.

In the summer of 2020, O’Leary decided to pursue additional education.  She completed her Master’s Degree as a Family Nurse Practitioner in December 2021.

O’Leary has an interest is in continuity of care and seeing patients for their pre-op evaluations in clinic and providing anesthesia in the surgical environment.

“I have found that when I meet patients in the clinic for their pre-ops and later in the surgical environment for their procedures, their anxiety is much decreased,” explained O’Leary.  “I have the opportunity to discuss their health problems and concerns and inform them of what to expect on their surgical or procedure day.  It has been amazing to see the change in anxiety levels of some patients as I am a familiar face and they are much more at ease.”

Since May 2022, O’Leary has been seeing patients at the SCBHS Clinic in the Urgent Care until she was recognized by the insurance companies as a credentialed family medicine provider in our clinic.  This is in addition to her career as a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist.

“I have enjoyed the opportunity to get to know patients in the clinic environment.  The Urgent Care environment is great way to begin my career as a Family Nurse Practitioner.  I look forward to developing my career as a Family Nurse Practitioner,” O’Leary said.

Laurie and her husband, James, have been married for over 15 years and reside in Benson.  They have two children.  A 10-year-old boy and eight-year-old girl.  James is a farmer near Danvers, MN.  O’Leary enjoys gardening, puzzles, cooking, walking, and reading.