Collaboration focuses on improving healthcare access, affordability, and patient outcomes
Mankato, Minn., Sept. 13, 2023 — Open Door Health Center (ODHC) today announced the community health center has joined the Federally Qualified Urban Health Network (FUHN), a Minnesota-based nonprofit that brings together 11 community health clinics into a Clinically Integrated Network (CIN) to deliver efficient and affordable coordinated care to patients. ODHC is an independently owned and operated nonprofit community health center that provides quality and affordable medical, dental, and behavioral health care to all people in southern Minnesota.
“The organizational mission of Open Door has always been to increase access to affordable quality health services," said Rhonda Eastlund, chief executive officer, ODHC.
“By partnering with FUHN and its member clinics, we have the opportunity to share resources with respect to health insurance contracts, grants and quality improvement projects, training and networking, and more — all for the benefit of our patients.”
All FUHN clinics, including ODHC, are federally qualified health centers (FQHC) meaning they receive funding from the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration Health Center Program to provide primary care services in underserved areas. FQHCs, also referred to as “safety net clinics,” offer comprehensive primary and preventive care such as medical, dental, and mental health/substance abuse services to people of all ages and backgrounds regardless of their ability to pay or health insurance status. ODHC is the only FQHC in south central and southwest Minnesota that provides medical and dental care, and it became an FQ HC in 2009.
“The clinics that comprise FUHN are a critical component of Minnesota’s healthcare safety net, and we’re happy to welcome Open Door to our network,” said FUHN Director Mary Maertens, RN, PHN and a long-time rural health leader. “Rhonda’s deep experience with community health clinics is an added value to FUHN leaders and a great asset to Open Door patients and greater Mankato area.”
ODHC has been serving patients in the Mankato area since 1983 and operating under “Open Door” since 1994. Today, the community clinic has more than 100 full-time staff members who each year provide medical, dental, and behavioral healthcare to more than 11,000 individuals from all backgrounds. While its main clinic is in Mankato, ODHC also operates a dental clinic in Jordan, Minn.
The other 10 Minnesota clinics that comprise FUHN are Axis Medical, Community-University Health Care Center, Indian Health Board, Minnesota Community Care, Native American Community Clinic, Neighborhood Healthsource, Open Cities Health Center, People’s Center Clinics & Services, Southside Community Health Services, and United Family Medicine. All 10 clinics are based in the Minneapolis and Saint Paul metro area.
About Open Door Health Center
Open Door Health Center (ODHC) is a community health center with locations in Mankato and Jordan. They provide medical, dental, and behavioral health services, as well human services such as insurance enrollment, legal help, and an on-site food pantry. They accept all major insurance, including Medicare and Medicaid, and offer a sliding fee scale for uninsured and under-insured individuals and families. ODHC strives to improve the physical and socio-economic health of our Southern Minnesota community through an integrated model of health and human services.
About the Federally Qualified Urban Health Network
The Federally Qualified Urban Health Network (FUHN) is a Minnesota-based 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that brings together 11 federally qualified health centers (FQHC) into a Clinically Integrated Network (CIN) to deliver efficient and affordable coordinated care to patients. Across the 11 FUHN clinics members provide primary medical, dental, behavioral health, and support services to traditionally underserved communities. To provide wrap-around services and address patients’ social determinants of health, FUHN clinics work closely with partners such as county agencies, mental health centers, community-based organizations, and schools.
Media contact: Kristen Spargo, Take Flight Communications
(612) 816-7916; spargo@takeflightco.com