REGIONAL- “We love what we do and the people we serve and want to continue to create a solid foundation for Scenic Rivers Health Services to build off for generations to come,” said Kara Jean Baker, an administrative assistant at Scenic Rivers. Baker, who works out of the clinics in Cook and Bigfork, has spearheaded a campaign with the aim to grow the clinic’s financial base, allowing them to hire more staff and even expand into other underserved communities.
The aim is to raise as much as $100,000.
“We are a 501(c)(3),” said Baker, “which means we can take tax-deductible donations.”
Baker began her career at Scenic Rivers over three years ago, working with dental patients. When she moved into the administrative assistant position, she realized that building a financial base could be vital to the growth of the organization. Her other job duties include working with insurers, helping with marketing and advertising, and writing grants.
A big part of her job has also been recruiting, especially looking for more dentists.
“My background is in dental, and I see the impact the lack of staffing has on the community and our staff,” she said. Scenic Rivers has been building relationships with dental schools in the Midwest, as well as the dental school at the University of Minnesota. Dental students from the U of M do come to Scenic Rivers clinics where they work under staff as well as do community outreach.
“We are very rural, and it takes special people to want to work in our communities,” she said. Scenic Rivers currently currently employs about 140 staff and maintains medical and dental clinics in Cook, Tower, Bigfork, and Floodwood, along with medical clinics in Big Falls, Eveleth, and Northome.
“Our communities do appreciate us,” she said. “They want to help us.”
“We’ve never done any fundraising in the community in the past,” said CEO Keith Harvey. “I think it’s a great idea and want to expand on it. There are people out there who are able and willing to donate,” he said.
Financially, the organization is facing the same challenges as other rural health providers, specifically rising costs, along with the challenge of hiring new dentists, which is a nationwide problem, he said.
“Everybody is recruiting dentists,” he said. “It’s a tough market.” Community financial support might be very useful in helping Scenic Rivers in this recruiting environment, he said.
Harvey said there are some dental schools in the Midwest that focus on training dentists for rural areas, and they have been strengthening their ties with these programs.
Scenic Rivers has had much greater success in recruiting medical staff, especially those who already have strong ties to the area and enjoy working in a rural community. “They are not going anywhere,” Harvey said.
The support campaign is part of a wider outreach program. “We are looking at different ways to get our organization participating in our communities,” Baker said. They have been reaching out to area businesses to see how they could be involved and are doing outreach health events throughout the Range area.
Community Health Center
As a Community Health Center, Scenic River’s mission is to serve all patients, regardless of their income and ability to pay. Originally started as the Cook Area Health Services in 1979, the organization has expanded to serve an 8,300 square mile region. Scenic Rivers Health Services is also associated with critical access hospitals in Cook and Bigfork, which provide patient care 24 hours a day.
Scenic Rivers offers a sliding fee scale for medical, dental and behavioral health patients. Patients who are uninsured or under-insured may qualify for a sliding fee scale.
Scenic Rivers also has staff that can help patients sign up for MNsure, Minnesota’s health insurance marketplace where individuals and families can shop, compare and choose health insurance coverage that meets their needs. They also offer the SAGE program, which offers cancer screenings for women ages 40 and over who qualify based on income guidelines. They also have a patient representative available to assist patients with payment for medications not covered by insurance or with high co-pays.
Donate
If you’d like to give directly to SRHS, please send donations to:
20 5th Street South, Cook, MN 55723, attention: Kara Jean Baker
Donations are also be taken online at spotfund.com (search for Scenic Rivers).