Project H.E.A.L.

Project H.E.A.L.
Project H.E.A.L. (Health, Education, Access, Link) is an outreach program of Mid-Minnesota Family Medicine Center. Thanks to the support from St. Cloud Hospital and several community partners, Mid-Minnesota Family Medicine Center sponsors Project H.E.A.L., offering free health screenings and basic care at various Central Minnesota locations.

View the Project H.E.A.L. video

Our Goals
The goal of Project H.E.A.L. is to overcome the barriers to health care for the under-served population of Central Minnesota. The barriers include transportation, insurance, lack of financial resources for co-payments and medications, treatment plan follow-through and follow-up care.

The Center is dedicated to serving people who have little or no insurance. If patients are uninsured or ineligible for Minnesota health care programs, we use a sliding-fee scale.

The first step to helping patients is trying to obtain their medical histories and determining why they need to be seen.

Partners
The partners for Project H.E.A.L. include local congregations, the Boys & Girls Club, Catholic Charities, CentraCare Health Foundation, Central Minnesota Parish Nurse Program, HealthPartners Central Minnesota Clinics, Mid-Minnesota Family Medicine Center, Place of Hope, St. Cloud Hospital, St. Cloud Legal Services, Stearns-Benton Medical Society and United Way of St. Cloud.

Funding
Start-up funding for the project was provided by the Robert Wood Johnson faith-based initiative fund received by Place of Hope. The CentraCare Health Foundation and Mid-Minnesota Family Medicine Center supplied equipment, and pharmaceutical companies donated many of the medical supplies and sample medications. An award from the JCPenney Company, along with a grant from the Xcel Energy Fund, was secured for additional equipment purchases. Project H.E.A.L. received a Federal Community Access Program grant for the past three years to further outreach efforts in the St. Cloud metro area as well as the surrounding rural areas. Project H.E.A.L. is planning to expand to the surrounding communities of Melrose and Waite Park, as well as a Somali outreach in south St. Cloud.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota awarded Project H.E.A.L. a grant to create a new outreach site to focus on the needs of the Somali immigrants in Central Minnesota. Financial support also has come from HealthPartners Central Minnesota Clinics.

Volunteers
The volunteers, who have worked hundreds of hours, include receptionists, nurses, physicians and chiropractors. This ecumenical effort has more than 70 volunteers from local congregations, including many health care professionals working full-time jobs who are committed to our mission.

For more information about Project H.E.A.L. or if you would like to volunteer, please call Paul Knutson, mission development specialist, at (320) 240-3157, ext. 25155.

Project H.E.A.L. Volunteer Application