Healthfinders brings comprehensive services to community
What started as a free clinic in the basement of a Dundas church has grown into a nonprofit that provides comprehensive services to families in Steele and Rice counties who have limited healthcare options.
“The group that originally came together in 2002 was a mix of patients and community leaders, and they wanted to make something accessible to all of Rice County,” said HealthFinders Collaborative executive director Charlie Mandile. “From the beginning, we were meant to be accessible to everybody in Rice County.”
HealthFinders opened its doors in 2005, and by 2013, added a clinic in Northfield and moved out of the church basement. The nonprofit opened a new facility in late 2019, which Mandile called a “major step for our organization.”
The latest development happened in late 2020, when the Free Clinic of Steele County board approached HealthFinders about taking their existing partnership “to the next level,” Mandile said. Under consideration: everything from new partnerships to a merger.
Over the next 6-9 months, the boards considered the options and ultimately both decided on a merger that closed in June of 2021.
A little over a year later, Mandile said, “I think it's going really, really well. Our early work was really to stabilize their operations. Like all of us, they were affected by COVID, so our initial task was to develop a regular clinical schedule for both medical and dental clinics, as well as updating their infrastructure.”
Along with migrating patient charts onto HealthFinders electronic medical records, there were minor space enhancements and support for a regular clinical presence that has been slowly building over time. Once the medical and dental practices stabilize, HealthFinders will start adding in more programs, Mandile said.
An overarching theme for HealthFinders is that health happens out in the community, outside of the clinic’s four walls, “and there's so much more to health than clinical care,” Mandile said. “We’ve built programs that are as much community engaged and community based as they are clinical.”
Clinical programs including medical, dental, mental health, substance use and addiction services, are coupled with a broad array of wellness programs–chronic disease management, exercise, nutrition, cooking classes, and even Zumba classes.
Director of Operations and Community Health Daisey Sanchez oversees staff and facility management. A native of Faribault, she said she finds it rewarding to give back to the community she calls home.
“I think it makes things easier to gain trust in the community,” she said. “It’s easier when there’s a familiar face.”
Sanchez works with HealthFinders partners, which include Northfield Hospital & Clinics, Mayo Clinic Health System, Allina Health, and Sterling Pharmacy, as well a community partners Growing Up Healthy, Northfield Healthy Community Initiative, Rice County, and Rice County Mental Health Collective.
“Our partners identify that there are places they cannot reach because they have to be in four walls,” Sanchez said. “We can fill that gap.”
That’s accomplished with a cadre of Community Health Workers who provide “culturally appropriate” information, informal counseling, chronic disease management, and help with connecting to health care services.
“Community Health Workers can be deployed to counsel with the patient and so how the patient can meet their health care goals,” Sanchez said. “It’s kind of a neat tool in our toolbox.”
While many people see HealthFinders Collaborative as a clinic, the organization really has one foot in the clinical world and one in the community, with outreach, identifying the challenges young people face, and acknowledging that individuals and cultures often know what it takes for them to be healthy.
“Community Health Workers understand the language and the culture,” Sanchez said. “They have that life experience to share.”
There are many opportunities for health care professionals in the medical and dental fields, as well as those with language skills (Spanish and Somali), to volunteer through HealthFinders Collaborative. The organization has ongoing openings as well as one-off opportunities to get involved, Mandile said.
“If somebody's interested and just wants to learn more, I really encourage them to go to our website and fill out a very simple, brief form to talk about their interests, and we’ll follow up and see if there's an opportunity for them to be involved. We have a lot of community programming, so healthcare or dental experience isn’t necessary,” he added.
The organization is also largely driven by fundraising, whether through individuals, businesses, grants, or philanthropy. HealthFinders is in the middle of its annual fundraising drive, with a $50,000 match for new and increased contributions.
To donate, volunteer, or learn more, visit healthfindersmn.org.