I recently joined Healthfinders as a volunteer student intern--I am consistently impressed with how the employees and volunteers at Healthfinders never forget why they are doing what they're doing--it's all about taking care of our neighbors.
There are far too many people who don't have access to health care and HealthFinders helps remedy this, providing free health services to the uninsured and under-insured. HealthFinders has great outreach to deprived communities, even those that don't always speak English well, but that doesn't detract from its service to the community as a whole. Besides providing medicine which its clients wouldn't be able to afford, Healthfinders also helps them to manage long term conditions, such as diabetes, and also to improve their health in the long term through fitness classes etc. These approaches are not only cheaper and more effective but also have a positive impact on patients' lives in other respects.
My name is Rae and I volunteer as a nurse at the HealthFinders Clinic evenings. One particular evening a boy about 12 years old came in with his mother, for an athletic physical, required so he could be on a community soccer team. I enjoy joking with the children we see and this young man and I did our share of kidding around while doing his vital signs, taking a health history, and filling out forms. Then the physician went in to see him and I got busy seeing other patients. A bit later the boy and his mother were on their way out; the mom stopped me in the hallway and said, "We usually can pay our way but my husband has been out of work so we don't have insurance right now. My son wants so much to play on the team but we couldn't afford a clinic visit for a physical. I just told myself to swallow my pride and bring him to HealthFinders. I was braced for being treated condescendingly. This clinic was wonderful! You treated us as though we were paying customers. Thank you!" She had tears in her eyes and so did I.
I very recently joined the Healthfinders' board of directors because I was so impressed with their ability to provide quality services on a very small budget. Nearly all of the funding received by Healthfinders is used for direct services and many services are donated. Healthfinders recently underwent a strategic evaluation to guide development over the next several years and I am excited to be a part of executing that plan. Healthfinders represents the best of grassroots non-profits, a group of caring people saw a need and acted in response with little bureaucracy or overhead.
With our healthcare coverage changing everyday and the economy we are experienceing increased unemployment. With these factors the need has increased for uninsured healthcare coverage. HealthFinders assists our patients in getting connected to resources they are not aware of in the community to facilite getting taken care of. Our community/county support from many organizations, companies, etc. see the need for this assitance and are a very integral part of HealthFinders. HealthFinders is an organization committed to our community.
I first learned about HealthFinders through a story in the Northfield News. While I am blessed to have excellent health insurance, many residents of Northfield, Faribault and the surrounding area are not so lucky: they may be unemployed, lack health insurance because they only work part time, or they lack the language skills to navigate the paperwork to qualify for service. We made a financial contribution to the organization to help keep the clinic open. As a recently retired fundraiser at a local college, I responded to a call for volunteers with fundraising experience. While I am not a doctor, nurse or translator, through my work on the board I am helping to provide much needed health care services and education to families and individuals who in turn contribute to our community in many ways. HealthFinders has made a huge difference to the people of Rice County - and to me!
I volunteer as a clinic nurse at Healthfinders Collaborative. I come home from every clinic feeling so glad the organization is there to provide health care to people who truly need it. The organization itself is well-run and flexible. I feel as if my efforts are appreciated but we are all there to get the job done; there is not a lot of time wasted on unnecessary volunteer appreciation or superfluous training. I've enjoyed meeting new people through the organization and having the opportunity to help out my community.
HealthFinders is a vital part of our community. With unemployment soaring, we are reaching more and more people in the unfortunate situation of being uninsured or underinsured. The volunteers are amazing, and our medication assistance and diabetes programs are fully enrolled. HealthFinders has a great reputation amongst patients, volunteers and community supporters.
For the last 8 years I have been involved with the HealthFinders Clinic....from the initial days of research, to board member to clinic volunteer. I am amazed to see such a wonderful county-wide collaboration! So many volunteers, individuals, businesses, organizations and institutions all coming together to address healthcare issues for the low-income, uninsured in our community. It is very rewarding to not only provide medications for acute conditions, but also offer education and support to encourage healthier lifestyles. This makes our community 'work better' by keeping people healthier and keeping our area medical communities' 'unpaid debt' lower, too.
My name is Mohamed Bakri. I am a College Health Corps VISTA assigned to work at Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota. Through my work as a VISTA, I have daily engagement with Carleton college community partners who are working on public health access and public healthy literacy issues. One of our community partners that I work with and admire is HealthFinders Collaborative. HealthFinders was established in 2005 as a free medical clinic providing quality, accessible and culturally sensitive healthcare services, at no cost, to low-income and uninsured residents of greater Rice County. The HealthFinders Clinic Operates on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m., at Little Prairie United Methodist Church, located on County Road 88/130th Street in rural Dundas, MN. Since its inception, HealthFinders’ medical clinic has provided more than 2,000 free clinic visits, and annually more than 100,000 in-kind donations of laboratory and diagnostic services from collaborating local third party medical entities. In addition, HealthFinders executes an ambition Diabetic Program that serves 62 patients annually, thereby preventing chronic conditions that are economically costly to society. This program provides culturally appropriate diabetic care and builds knowledge and skills of patient to be proactive in their behavior. HealthFinders’ experience has been incorporated in health related course work in Carleton College, and Carleton students continue to volunteer supporting different aspect of the clinic work such as assisting with clerical, database, and translation work.
I started volunteering from the very beginning and have really enjoyed it! I work in a busy OBGYN clinic and usually left there at 5:00pm and headed straight to Health Finders. The patients they serve are all VERY appreciative of the opportunity to receive care. I am amazed at how polite they were even when they had to wait to be seen. I have taken a bit of a break but plan to start helping again this fall.