HOT PURSUIT
Healthcare, or lack thereof, is a universal issue that impacts everyone for obvious reasons. Sadly, many people struggle to find the healthcare they need to lead a healthy life.
I attended the annual spring gala, “Lights, Camera & Action,” for HealthFinders Collaborative Saturday night in Northfield. HealthFinders serves residents with offices in Owatonna, Faribault and Northfield.
Their mission is pretty straightforward—ensuring health care access for everyone. HealthFinders provides safety, hope, access, community, support and family.
“We live in a world that’s often confusing and dark,” said Mark Brown, board chairman for HealthFinders. “We try to provide the light for people.”
HealthFinders is a community health center providing access to health and wellness services for underserved people in Steele and Rice counties. In addition to primary medical, mental health and dental care, HealthFinders has a range of chronic disease management and wellness programs, medication assistance, mental health support and substance use services.
Charlie Mandile is the executive director of the nonprofit organization, which operates on a budget of about $1.5 million per year. Saturday’s fundraiser was expected to fund approximately 25% of the budget, though no numbers were available when this edition went to press.
An anonymous local donor gave $25,000 at the gala.
“We turn $1 into $5,” Mandile told the audience. “We have the luxury to do what the healthcare system can’t do.”
An independent study found that every $1 donated to HealthFinders generates $16.50 in impact to the community.
Mandile, who has been on the job since 2010, said the organization started back in 2002 in the basement of a church in Northfield. HealthFinders has grown ever since and expanded into the Owatonna area in 2021. The organization currently serves about 5,000 patients each year.
“We are supporting folks to be healthy,” said Mandile. “We are changing lives by supporting folks who are gainfully employed. We provide critical support to do what nobody else can do.”
Luisa Gaona has been working in the Owatonna office for three months after a stint at Owatonna Middle School as a community health worker. She recommended many families to HealthFinders even before joining the organization.
“It’s so beneficial to many uninsured families who just came here (to the U.S.),” said Gaona, noting HealthFinders is mostly for immigrants, migrant workers and refugees. “The healthcare system is so different from where they came from,” she said. “Healthcare is so expensive they can’t afford it.”
HealthFinders lives by the fundamental truth that gives us hope for the future. Together, we can do extraordinary things. The gala shed light on how as a community we can come together, stand up, give back and care for one another.
It’s remarkable to see how HealthFInders allows patients to live healthier lives so they are able to work, provide for their families and have a higher quality of life.
After all, isn’t that the dream we as Americans all go in hot pursuit of obtaining?