Nearly 10 years ago, a federal application was submitted by North County Regional Hospital in Bemidji, Minnesota to create a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC), which is a provider that is not for profit and serves a high need community. The initial application scored well, but was not funded. Since then, the federal source for creating new health centers has been dormant. With the Affordable Care Act, however, the opportunity to fund community health centers returned and the discussion of creating a center in Bemidji was renewed. In September 2011, Beltrami County was awarded a plann

Receiving quality long-term or chronic care is often a struggle in rural areas. Residents face barriers to care that may include fewer clinics and healthcare professionals, difficulty in traveling to receive care, and limited government assistance. While chronic care encompasses conditions that affect all ages, such as diabetes and hypertension, one of the main focuses in rural areas is caring for the elderly, who often need the most ongoing care and comprise a great deal of rural populations. In order to improve chronic care in rural areas, there are a number of steps that can be taken, bo

Most medically underserved communities are aware that recruiting physicians is an important task, and also a challenge. Rising from this challenge are many great programs that encourage health professionals to practice in these areas for a few years, often in exchange for loan assistance. While these programs are unquestionably important, communities must also address how to encourage physicians to stay for the long term. A recent article in Hospitals & Health Networks magazine discussed a few ideas. First of all, make sure that resources are in place so the physician doesn’t face bur

Our healthcare environment is rapidly changing. As more people begin to have access to care, not only will there be a need for more healthcare professionals, but these healthcare professionals will need to be equipped to deliver quality, “culturally responsive” care and diversity in medicine will become increasingly important. A recent article in Academic Medicine discusses the future of including minority issues into medical education and practice. It suggests that diversity in medicine has evolved in phases but needs to evolve even further to create a fully inclusive system. The artic