MANKATO CLINIC PARTNERS WITH OPEN DOOR HEALTH CENTER TO PROVIDE SPECIALTY HEALTHCARE SERVICES TO PATIENTS IN NEED

Effective immediately, Mankato Clinic will unite with Open Door Health Center (ODHC) and begin providing low income, uninsured patients in the Mankato area with high quality, much needed specialty health care services. With this partnership, Mankato Clinic will offer ODHC patients a complete array of medical assistance beyond the primary care services currently available at the ODHC facility.

“The Open Door Health Center is a safety net in the region for those who do not have access to medical services,” said Sarah Kruse, CEO of Open Door Health Center. “While we see patients with insurance, the vast majority of our patients are uninsured or underinsured. For those without insurance, financial barriers frequently result in difficulty accessing specialty care. Our collaboration with Mankato Clinic helps eliminate those barriers. Patients who don’t have the resources to get the specialized treatments they need now have access to these services at Mankato Clinic and may get the complete care they need.”

The ODHC mission is to increase access to quality, affordable, culturally appropriate, patient centered health care, and to maximize the overall well-being of its patients. As a Federally Qualified Health Center, ODHC provides a full gamut of primary and preventive health services to the medically underserved in south central Minnesota. Now, a patient who visits ODHC whose medical needs extend beyond primary care services may turn to Mankato Clinic for help. These services include specialty care, advanced lab work and radiology.

For example, primary care services at ODHC may manage a patient with diabetes on a regular basis but if that diabetic patient begins to have foot complications, a podiatrist at Mankato Clinic will be available to consult the patient. And, that patient will have access to specialized lab work or radiology services if necessary.

“We feel the Open Door Health Center’s mission is an important one,” said Randy Farrow, CEO of Mankato Clinic. “We applaud their efforts. It is an important obligation on our part to support their efforts and provide complete medical access for patients with financial challenges. Our collaboration is the perfect fit. It is a win-win for everyone.”

Mankato Clinic and ODHC hope this collaboration will improve outreach in the community. Many of ODHC patients are poor and less likely to receive preventive care, such as immunizations or cancer screening, or to avoid hospitalization for serious conditions by receiving regular office-based care. These patients often end up with a disease that could have been managed and now need emergency care or advanced care that could have been prevented.

“We hope that by being proactive, we will help underserved patients in the Mankato area get a better handle on their medical needs and live a better quality of life,” said Farrow. “Many times, due to financial constraints, these patients choose not to access the care they need and let their conditions get out of control. We want to eliminate the emergency room as their last resort when their condition worsens. This puts stress on the system as a whole and is not in the best interest of anyone.”

“We are delighted that Mankato Clinic has a heart for our mission and a strong commitment to the community for the health-related goodness of all,” said Kruse. “Out of compassion, their physicians sought to serve the needs in the area and stepped up to the plate to offer their services in the best interest of the community.”