Joan M. Lunzer, M.D.

Dr. Lunzer is a board certified internal medicine physician and a member of the American Medical Association. She has over 20 years of experience in preventative and primary care including women’s health and diagnosing and treating a wide range of illnesses and diseases that often affect adults. As an internist, she has expertise in managing complex medical issues where multiple chronic conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, and high cholesterol may affect a single individual.

Dr. Lunzer has special interests and training in heart disease – including stress testing, diagnosing and managing peripheral artery disease, and pacemaker implants and follow-up. For patients who infrequently pass out or have unexplained cardiac symptoms, Dr. Lunzer can implant a loop recorder, Confirm Rx™ device to monitor patients and help diagnose the cause. It is the world’s first smartphone-compatible insertable cardiac monitor (ICM) that records heart rhythms on a long-term basis, up to two years.

She thoroughly enjoys caring for the elderly, those with multiple medical conditions, and patients who have special needs. Dr. Lunzer believes that every patient contact is a positive experience, and she treats them like they were family.

She has always been drawn to the potential and complexity of medicine. Dr. Lunzer graduated magna cum laude in biochemistry followed by medical school at the University of Minnesota. She completed her internal medicine residency at the University of Iowa. After five years of research, Dr. Lunzer realized she missed having patient contact and moved to rural Minnesota to practice primary care.

A sense of community, beautiful lakes, and small town living originally attracted her to this area. Upon visiting Glacial Ridge Health System in Glenwood, Dr. Lunzer saw that she could provide internal medicine services to enhance patient care while keeping patients close to home. The welcoming and friendly staff, caring team atmosphere, and high employee and patient satisfaction scores impressed her. She joined the team in April 2017.

Dr. Lunzer is very proud of her three adult children with degrees in veterinary medicine, biology, and biochemistry. Her hobbies include raising grass-fed beef, gardening, canning, boating and fishing, cooking, photography, traveling, and reading.