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COVID-19 Testing Now Available at HealthFinders Collaborative

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Thanks to a collaboration with Mayo Clinic Health System and an

emergency COVID funding grant from the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH), HealthFinders Collaborative (HFC) now has the ability to test for COVID-19. This testing is offered at HealthFinders’ Faribault facility (1415 Town Square Lane), expanding the capacity of Rice County’s response to the pandemic, particularly for the underserved. COVID-19 tests and healthcare follow-up will be free of charge for eligible patients. True to HealthFinders’ mission, the availability of testing provides critical access for affected underserved patients with limited healthcare alternatives. This testing also helps to fulfill Minnesota’s statewide prioritization of expanded testing.

Expanding Capacity Testing is a critical component of the national and statewide pandemic response. However, it can be difficult to access for patients due to language barriers, insurance coverage, and transportation challenges. To help patients overcome these barriers, HFC will offer free testing for eligible patients. Efforts will continue to adapt to the rapidly changing circumstances.

  1. Patients who are sick and experiencing possible COVID-19 symptoms are instructed to call HealthFinders (507.323.8100) for screening beforehand.

  2. All tests will be scheduled. No walk-in testing will be available.

  3. HFC is offering this service at its Faribault location only at this point. These efforts support Governor Walz’s “moonshot” strategy to expand testing capacity in Minnesota to as high as 20,000 tests per day.

“Many of our patients and their families have been deemed essential workers and have been reporting to work throughout this stay-at-home order,” says HealthFinders Executive Director Charlie Mandile. “This has put them at increased risk – something we are, without question, seeing in the community as our local outbreak gains momentum. Testing is absolutely essential to support our community, as well as to help health systems care for this vulnerable population. We are extremely grateful to our partners at Mayo for supporting us to make this happen.” This program will be implemented in HFC’s innovative and community-driven way, including testing staff wearing pictures of their faces in an effort to ensure patients feel at ease when staff are fully masked. Emily Carroll, RN, CNP, HFC director of clinical care and nurse practitioner explains, “In addition to drive-through testing at our Faribault location, we will support at-home monitoring of patients who receive both positive and negative test results, with our staff of clinicians, advocates, and community health workers.”

A Collaborative Effort As part of this collaborative effort, Mayo Clinic Health System provides HFC with testing kits, laboratory services to run the tests, and administrative support to register patients. HealthFinders will be responsible for collecting the samples and providing follow-up care. Courtney Kiesow and Emily Carroll, both nurse practitioners, will run the clinics. As a result of this testing, more patients in the Rice County area will now know whether or not they have the COVID-19 virus and if they need to quarantine and notify others of potential exposure. Identifying active cases, quarantining affected patients, and contact tracing is vital to slowing the spread in the greater community. “We are completely dedicated to supporting the health needs of all members of our communities,” says Sarah Crane, M.D., Medical Director for Primary Care in Southeast Minnesota at Mayo Clinic Health System. “That means finding innovative ways to integrate with our community partners to utilize the strengths of both our teams to make sure that everyone has access to the healthcare they need during this most challenging time. We are excited that our partnership with HealthFinders represents a model we can build on in many of our other communities going forward to reach underserved populations.” HealthFinders and Mayo Clinic Health System have an established partnership to care for the underserved in our region, and this was a natural extension of this relationship. “HealthFinders is a longstanding partner of Mayo Clinic Health System,” says David Berg, Mayo Clinic Health System Site Administrator of Owatonna, Faribault, and SEMN Rural Practice. “We are happy to do what we can to support their hard work in reaching vulnerable communities.”

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