Grant Expands Health Services to Children in North Minneapolis
A grant from the Healthier Minnesota Community Clinic Fund will provide more children from low-income families in Minneapolis recommended immunizations and health check-ups.
Physicians and nurses from St. Joseph’s Home for Children Community Health Clinic will provide medical services for youth at Northside Child Development Center, Catholic Charities’ learning center in North Minneapolis.
The foundation’s support allows children at Northside to receive well-baby and well-child check-ups, health screenings and assessments, immunizations and consistent primary care that parents may otherwise struggle to afford and schedule. To complement the medical care, nursing staff will provide health education on relevant children’s health issues in parent workshops.
Children already visit Northside for early childhood education and after-school programming. The convenient location makes it easier for families to access medical services.
Offsetting the Effects of Poverty
Poverty among children increases the risk for physical and mental health problems, developmental delays and academic and social problems. Medical care and immunizations provided by the health clinic are cost-effective ways to prevent future illness and offset the effects of poverty on children’s health.
Children who are removed from their homes or placed in out-of-home settings often require health care, as well, and St. Joe’s Community Health Clinic is one of only a handful of clinics nationwide targeting health services for youth in foster care and other out-of-home placement situations. The program is a partnership between St. Joseph’s Home for Children, the University of Minnesota Department of Pediatrics and Hennepin County.
The Healthier Minnesota Community Clinic Fund also supported the purchase of ultrasound equipment for Catholic Charities’ Prenatal Services program. Prenatal Services provides comprehensive social and medical services to low-income, uninsured pregnant women.
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