Healtheast St Joseph's Hospital

St. Joseph's Hospital was founded by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet in 1853. It had the distinction of being Minnesota's first hospital. For years, St. Joseph's operated as the smallest of four acute care hospitals located within a few blocks from each other in downtown St. Paul. More than half of all St. Joseph's patients came from outside the city of Saint Paul and 72 percent of the hospital's total emergency department visits were considered potentially preventable with proper primary care - which was one of the highest rates in the state. Acute services and traditional emergency room care can be expensive and may only address short-term healthcare needs without providing a long-term solution for patients. Based on more than 300 community conversations over two years, it became clear that the current care model at St. Joseph's was not meeting the health needs of the surrounding communities. Nor was that model financially sustainable for our healthcare system. As part of our commitment and vision to provide affordable, accessible, and equitable care - the hospital has been reimagined as a Community Health and Wellness Hub with several new and expanding partnerships and programs. These plans represent Fairview's intentional, holistic approach to health and well-being and commitment to serving all in its community, especially those who have been traditionally underserved. Services in the Wellness Hub will include no-to-low-cost primary care, other supportive services and education (provided by Minnesota Community Care, a federally qualified health center), expanded outpatient mental health and addition services, an enhanced adult day program, a food distribution partnership with Second Harvest Heartland and long-term acute care services. A newly established Fairview Center for Community Health Equity will serve as an incubator for the next generation of community-based health and wellness programs focused on prevention and addressing the Social Determinants of Health. The Hub will also have a new community education space featuring conference and meeting facilities for community convenings, outreach programs, and wellness services, such as mobile vaccination and food access programs. St. Joseph's provided inpatient mental health services through June 2022. The emergency department at St. Joseph's discontinued services in December 2020. St. Joseph's is part of Fairview Health Services. Fairview Health Services is an industry-leading, award-winning, nonprofit, integrated health system providing exceptional health care across the full spectrum of health care services. Founded in 1906, Fairview serves the twelve-county Minneapolis/St. Paul Metro Area, as well as communities throughout greater Minnesota and portions of Northern Iowa and Western Wisconsin and is one of the most comprehensive and geographically accessible systems in Minnesota. Fairview, the University of Minnesota and the University of Minnesota Physicians approved an agreement which became effective in late 2018 (the "M Health Fairview Agreement"). While the parties maintain their separate governance, the M Health Fairview Agreement further integrated operations across the clinical delivery system and enhances research and education by creating a joint clinical enterprise among the parties. The M Health Fairview Agreement brings together not only UMMC and its related service lines, but also Fairview's other hospitals, primary care clinics, and other services. All are part of a shared care delivery system that is led by a single structure that includes academic physician leadership. The goal of the joint clinical enterprise is to create a nationally-renowned academic health system. This care system was united under a single brand, M Health Fairview, which is inclusive of the Fairview Hospitals and Clinics Fairview owns and operates the following hospitals: UMMC, M Health Fairview Southdale Hospital, M Health Fairview Ridges Hospital, M Health Fairview Lakes Medical Center, M Health Fairview Northland Medical Center, Fairview University Medical Center - Mesabi ("Range"), Grand Itasca Clinic and Hospital, M Health Fairview St. John's Hospital, M Health Fairview Woodwinds Hospital and M Health Fairview Bethesda Hospital. As of December 31, 2022, the Fairview System Hospitals had a total of 3,529 licensed beds and 1,824 staffed beds. Fairview operates their more than 80 primary and specialty care clinics throughout the Metro Area, greater Minnesota and western Wisconsin. These clinics offer services in over 70 medical specialties, including family medicine, pediatrics, obstetrics, gynecology, heart care, cancer care, otolaryngology, transplant care, and orthopedics. As of December 30, 2022, Fairview owned all or a portion of seven ambulatory surgery centers located in the Metro Area. Through its mission and its role as an anchor institution, Fairview is in a unique position to be a catalyst for progress and change. Fairview continues to invest heavily in the health and wellness of its communities in which it operates. This commitment includes education, training, community programs and research, as well as significant investments in care delivery. The COVID-19 pandemic exposed persistent health inequities for communities of color and has exacerbated racial disparities. Communities of color experienced statistically higher rates of COVID-19, including higher rates of hospitalization and death. To reduce the impact on Black, Indigenous, or people of color ("BIPOC"), vaccinations must be accessible, free and provided within a trusted space with appropriate language and cultural considerations. Fairview has led a multi-cultural mobile vaccination program for the past 15 years, which excels at reaching BIPOC communities facing barriers to immunization. Based on this established and successful model, Fairview was able to quickly adapt and partner with public health agencies for its COVID-19 response, including testing and vaccination clinics. Further, Fairview's longstanding relationship with local public health agencies and community partners has allowed Fairview to provide staffing, coordination, and outreach for a remarkable program called the Minnesota Immunization Network Initiative (MINI). MINI is a collaboration led by Fairview and supported by over 150 community partners, works to reduce barriers to vaccinations for communities experiencing health disparities. MINI provides flu, COVID, Mpox and other immunizations free of charge to community members age six months and older. More than 110,000 influenza and almost 60,000 COVID vaccines have been administered. The MINI clinics are hosted in community-based locations such as local churches, mosques, temples, schools, community centers, public high rises, libraries, food pantries, and homeless shelters. The clinics are hosted by the local partner who provides the space, promotion, and serves as a trusted messenger for community members. Fairview provides the vaccine and clinical team - including interpreters and support staff - and information about other local community resources. Vaccinations are provided at no charge to participants, ages six months and older. The past several years, MINI clinics have expanded their reach to include other services such as blood pressure screening and cardiovascular health education, free dental varnish treatments, oral health education and opioid overdose prevention education. Services are often provided in conjunction with MINI vaccination clinics or on their own. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the MINI program leveraged over 15 years of experience providing mobile clinical services in diverse settings to respond to the urgent public health crisis. MINI launched a large scale, low barrier testing initiative in partnership with Saint Paul Ramsey County Public Health and the Minnesota Department of Health. This collaboration enabled thousands of community members to receive a free COVID-19 test in convenient, trusted community spaces. In total, MINI supported 47 testing events and administered almost 20,000 tests. Once the COVID-19 vaccine became available, MINI immediately pivoted to providing COVID-19 vaccinations. To date, MINI has provided 1,250 community based COVID vaccination clinics and given over 59,000 vaccinations. MINI is also supporting Mpox outreach response efforts and launched a Mpox vaccination effort in October of 2022.