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Serving Northern St. Louis County, Minnesota

HEALTH CARE

Band celebrates new clinic

Modern facility to serve Vermilion Reservation

Marshall Helmberger
Posted 11/26/14

VERMILION RESERVATION—A drum ceremony and a long list of thank you’s set the stage for the Bois Forte Band’s celebration of the new health clinic on the Vermilion Reservation.

“Welcome to …

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HEALTH CARE

Band celebrates new clinic

Modern facility to serve Vermilion Reservation

Posted

VERMILION RESERVATION—A drum ceremony and a long list of thank you’s set the stage for the Bois Forte Band’s celebration of the new health clinic on the Vermilion Reservation.

“Welcome to the newest and most modern clinic in northern Minnesota,” said Tribal Chair Kevin Leecy to a crowd of about 80 attendees, mostly band members, during the event held last Thursday.

The $5.1 million project is part of the Band’s efforts to “build for the future,” according to Leecy, and the Band had plenty of help in the effort from a variety of funders. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s $2.475 million loan was the biggest contributor to the project, followed closely by a $2 million grant from the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community. The Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board provided $300,000, while Indian Health Services pitched in with $322,568.

The new 11,000 square foot facility is a major step forward for health services on the Vermilion Reservation. While the reservation has had its own clinic for a number of years, the new facility will provide much more capacity, brand new equipment, an increased number of service providers and expanded hours.

The new clinic features seven private exam rooms and two special treatment rooms, compared to just two exam rooms in the old clinic. Expanded lab services will offer providers faster response time for blood work, and a new x-ray room, not previously available at the old clinic, will save patients driving time and expense to reach other facilities for such services. In addition, the clinic comes with a tele-medicine station, where patients and providers can talk face-to-face with providers at the University of Minnesota-Duluth.

The facility currently offers one medical doctor, one nurse, one dentist and a medical hygienist three times a week. A number of other service providers, ranging from mental health to community health will be working on a contract basis. The clinic also plans to hire a nurse practitioner or a physician’s assistant certified in family practice.

The facility also includes an on-site pharmacy, another service that was not available at the old clinic.

Ray Toutloff, who represents the Vermilion sector on the Bois Forte Tribal Council, said the new facility helps address one of the most significant needs at Vermilion. “At all of our strategic planning meetings, this kept coming to the top of the list,” he said.

Colleen Landkamer, representing Rural Development, said the project was truly a joint effort by many different partners. “It really does take a village, and it takes leadership,” she said. “A project like this builds ladders of opportunity and makes lives better.”

Toutloff lauded the Shakopee Mdewakanton for their support of the project. “I can’t say enough for how appreciative we are for their help on this and so many other projects,” he said. Toutloff also thanked the IRRRB, and choked up briefly as he thanked his good friend Doug Johnson, who couldn’t attend the event due to serious health issues. Toutloff also thanked Architectural Resources, which designed the facility, as well as Kathie Holman, of Bois Forte Health and Human Services, who “just kept pushing us.”

The project was built primarily by Band members, led by Mike Bass, owner of MB Custom Development. Bass, a Bois Forte Band member himself, started his company in San Diego, Calif., before returning to the area. “We had an incredible group of people working here,” said Bass, who recalled the extremely cold conditions that his crew of 15-25 workers faced on the project last winter. “I remember standing on the second floor when the flying trusses came in. It was 28 below and we couldn’t even get our tools to work.”

The new building includes a number of interesting new features, but perhaps the most innovative is the solar wall that encompasses most of the building’s south wall. The dark metal wall includes a hollow space inside where outside air pre-heats before being drawn into the heating system. It’s a surprisingly low-tech, entirely passive method of heating air and it helps improve the energy efficiency of the new facility. Motion-detection lighting in most exam rooms also helps trim electrical usage.

The end result, said Leecy, is a building that Band members can be proud of. “I’m certainly proud of it,” he said.