Accessible, transparent care without the red tape
By Robert Williams – Editor

Owner and Physician Assistant-Certified (PA-C) Ashley Schultz just celebrated the first month of being open for business at her new cash-pay clinic, Lakes Country Healthcare, in Detroit Lakes.

“We’re getting going,” Schultz said. “It’s not steady or predictable, yet.”

Lakes Country Healthcare (LCH) is a complete departure from what patients are used to in standard medical care and a new branch in the field that gained popularity in Minnesota in the early 2020s. The model has accelerated since COVID and is beginning to appear in more rural areas.

Schultz created LCH with a common sense approach and lowered costs for single people and families, including her own.

“I have four kids and we live on the farm so my husband is self-employed,” Schultz said. “Even working in healthcare, my healthcare deductibles were outrageous. With that, I wouldn’t bring my kids in. My daughter walked on a broken ankle for two days before I would bring her in. It costs so much, just a visit. Let’s say you have a cold, no infection or anything, but you want to make sure you don’t have something. Just to see a provider, no testing or anything else, runs you right around $200-$300 and that’s after running in through the insurance with a high deductible.”

Schultz expounded on the continually rising costs of healthcare and new costs like having to pay for sending a MyChart message. Being able to control costs and help families access more affordable healthcare is exactly what LCH is about.

“I went into medicine because I genuinely want to help people; I want to help people feel better and live their life how they want to live it and be happy and comfortable and not in pain and sick,” Schultz said.

The common sense approach especially applies to families with children.

“Like a family comes in and one of them has tested positive for strep; there are three other kids in that room and two of them have fevers,” she said. “This one has strep, these two have fevers, we’re treating them. I’m not charging you for another visit and a whole new round of tests. It’s the way healthcare should be.”

The standalone clinic model and getting away from the dominance of the insurance industry allows a more sensible pricing structure working away from all the middle men and having less overhead. There is also the whole, up-front and honest approach.

“You know, before I do anything, how much it costs,” she said.

Listening to Ashley talk about her idea of healthcare is a breath of fresh air, especially for patients who have found themselves in the often frustrating process of seeking care from traditional hospitals and the mandatory dealing with insurance companies. 

“I think that there is a big change that is going to be happening in healthcare because of all of this,” said Schultz.

She described a recent patient who came in for a physical and some lab work. Each portion of the visit was described with a total cost.

“Are you okay with that?” Ashley said. “They were like, the total is less than one test somewhere else, so yes, do it all!

“Everyone is going to know what they’re paying before I do anything. I want to get people feeling better and not be scared to come in because they’re going to go into debt because of it. That’s my goal here.”

The clinic currently does not have imaging, so things like a broken bone is not something that can be treated at LCH.

However, most non-life threatening urgent care needs can be cared for.

For more information, visit the company website at  lakescountryhealthcare.com, along with two social media sites: facebook.com/LakesCountryHealthcare and instagram.com/lakescountryhealthcare 

“Everyone I’ve talked to…I’ve had such a great response, but if you’re not sure, call me, I clearly love to talk,” Schultz said.

Reach the front desk at 218-844-5871 or email care@lakescountryhealthcare.com

LCH is located at 920 McKinley Ave in Detroit Lakes, on the retail floor of the McKinley Plaza. 

Aside from Schultz, there are currently two other employees: registered nurse Shania Roggenkamp, another local from the Deer Creek area, and in-person visitors will be greeted by Alayna Moe, a 2025 Perham graduate.

Schultz is also a Perham alum (2004). She earned a BS in Biology at the University of Minnesota in 2007 and holds a Master of Physician Assistant Studies degree, (MPAS), from the University of North Dakota School of Medicine & Health Sciences, which she earned in 2018.

Schultz and her husband Jake live on a family farm just outside of Vergas between Sybil and LIttle McDonald Lake. Jake grew up on the farm; Ashley was raised a few miles away on Little McDonald.

“Actually all of our parents and grandparents graduated from Frazee or Perham,” Schultz said.

Ashley was pursuing a standard med-school route through college when she and Jake got engaged. She switched gears and got a teaching license and taught seventh and eighth grades in Pelican Rapids.

“I really didn’t have a plan; I didn’t want to move away to med school for four years and residency,” she said. “I just wanted to be here and Jake farms, so he’s not going anywhere.”

Upon completing her Masters degree in Grand Forks, Ashley started working at Tri County in Wadena working in family medicine for three years while working emergency shifts. In 2021, she transitioned to Perham Health’s emergency and urgent care.

In 2025, Schultz began initial planning of Lakes Country Healthcare while working ER locums assignments in Fosston.

“I would do mainly 96-hour shifts up there,” she said. “You have to want to do that. You can go 8-12 hours without a patient and then you can get woken up in the middle of the night.”

Schultz is not a doctor, she is a physician’s assistant.

“But I have a lot of experience in the emergency and primary care; I’m very comfortable with my limitations,” she said. “If we’re talking through something, I will say no, you would be better off here because you need X, Y and Z and I can’t get those for you today. But if it’s something like my kid twisted their ankle at practice and I don’t really know if they need an X-ray. I don’t have X-ray, but we can try some things. I hope to add that in later.”

LCH is not like a standalone ear, nose and throat clinic, as they still operate under insurance. 

An itemized receipt is given at payment that can be submitted to insurance to go towards a deductible or be covered.

All standard forms of payment are accepted at LCH, cash, credit card, debit card, Health Savings Account (HSA), or Flexible Spending Account (FSA).

“It’s actually very simple; a lot of people have been using HSA, because they’re on a high-deductible plan and they can pay with their HSA card,” she said.

Optional membership plans are also available and offer additional savings and value.

“We’re excited to provide this for the area,” Schultz said.

Walk-ins are welcome. There is no appointment needed for urgent care during business hours.

Current hours of operation are 7 a.m. – 9 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday; noon – 6 p.m., on Saturday and Sunday. The office is closed on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Call or email to make an appointment for hormone optimization or medical weight management services.