History of Northern Dental Access Center
After several years of planning and fundraising, a new community access dental center opened its doors in December 2008, serving people in the Bemidji and Beltrami County area of northwestern Minnesota. This grass-roots, collaborative project has brought together leaders from all sectors of the region who agree that access to oral health care by disadvantaged populations is a public health issue.
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The dream was a new clinic, one that will not only address critical access needs, but will also become a dental home for people in need. Named the Mississippi Headwaters Area Dental Health Center, this new organization set out on its collaborative journey. An informal community advisory group spent those months and years devising a vision and mission, clarifying our target audience, bench-marking other clinics to construct a functional business model, finding partnerships, developed cash flows, build awareness among area agencies, elected officials, business owners and more, and of course, much time was spent raising the money.
A number of facilities were toured and negotiated until we were able to settle on a newly-vacated optical clinic that sits near both the areas hospital and clinic campuses in north Bemidji. Naming the clinic also became a challenge—with the legal name of the organization being such a mouthful. Recognizing that the long term goals of the agency may be greater than the operation of this single clinic, we settled on a manageable “Northern Dental Access Center”.
The target patient base for this clinic are people who are enrolled in Minnesota Health Care Programs such as Medical Assistance or MinnesotaCare. Independent contract dentists from around the state provide dental care here, some are volunteers and others are paid contractors. A core staff of dental assistants, hygienists and schedulers are here to welcome families and providing continuity of care.
Key to the approach to these services is to leverage the community resources across the region that exist to address barriers to care. Our understanding of the Social Determinants of Health helps us identify ways to help patients succeed in their dental treatment, and improve their overall wellbeing.
After ten years of exponential growth and expansion efforts, a second clinic location was opened in Norman County in 2018. This smaller, Northern Dental Access Center, would provide access to dental care for people in the far western part of our service region. A third clinic location has opened in Clearwater County, and most recently a fourth clinic was opened in Park Rapids. With four locations, it is our commitment to provide dental care to the growing numbers of people in need.
The target patient base for this clinic are people who are enrolled in Minnesota Health Care Programs such as Medical Assistance or MinnesotaCare. Independent contract dentists from around the state provide dental care here, some are volunteers and others are paid contractors. A core staff of dental assistants, hygienists and schedulers are here to welcome families and providing continuity of care.
Key to the approach to these services is to leverage the community resources across the region that exist to address barriers to care. Our understanding of the Social Determinants of Health helps us identify ways to help patients succeed in their dental treatment, and improve their overall wellbeing.
After ten years of exponential growth and expansion efforts, a second clinic location was opened in Norman County in 2018. This smaller, Northern Dental Access Center, would provide access to dental care for people in the far western part of our service region. A third clinic location has opened in Clearwater County, and most recently a fourth clinic was opened in Park Rapids. With four locations, it is our commitment to provide dental care to the growing numbers of people in need.