Our Mission
Odam Community Clinic will provide first rate healthcare services to underserved populations in the Twin Cities Metro area.
Odam Community Clinic is an active solution-oriented healthcare establishment located primarily in
medical underserved areas of the State of Minnesota. Since the last census, the number of areas of the
Twin Cites Metro with medically underserved populations with respect to Primary Healthcare, Mental
Health and Dental Care have significantly increased. Also, the number of people with government-based
insurance and those with no insurance still experience less access to immediate medical care when
needed.
Even though there are multiple instruments of solution at the Federal and State Level healthcare entities
tasked with meeting the needs of our communities have remained the same and have not made any
strategic improvements in their business processes to address the growing needs of our communities of
underserved patients and families.
Families struggle to match their shift worker status, school requirements for their children and childcare
needs with their demand for healthcare. The result is that simple problems become complicated issues
requiring hospital care. Large populations of individuals and families use the emergency room for all
healthcare because most primary care clinics are closed at the time that they are off work and most do
not open on weekends. Most adults do not get their covered preventive care, pregnant women do not
get regular prenatal care and children do complete require well exams on time for school. Dental care
and Mental health care are not adequate. Reduced transportation resources further compound the
challenges.
Our philosophy is to match our services to the immediate healthcare needs of the underserved
populations in the Twin Cities Metro area. We will provide first rate and quality healthcare services to
match what anyone will experience in the State of Minnesota. By providing this quality in these
geographic locations we will reduce the cost of not addressing health disparities.
In 2018, racial and ethnic health disparities cost the U.S. economy $451 billion, a 41% increase from the
previous estimate of $320 billion in 2014. The total burden of education-related health disparities for
persons with less than a college degree in 2018 reached $978 billion, about two times greater than the
annual growth rate of the U.S. economy in 2018. The exorbitant cost of health disparities is diminishing
U.S. economic potential. At about 2% of the U.S. GDP, this was comparable to the annual growth rate of
the economy in 2018. [1]
If unaddressed, this figure could grow to US$1 trillion or more by 2040. If the United States reaches this
threshold, we could see a direct impact on affordability, quality, and access to care beyond the
challenges that already exist. The projected rise in health care spending could cost the average American
at least $3,000 annually, up from today’s cost of $1,000 per year. And the increase in spending would
have a greater impact on historically underserved populations. [2]
Odam Community Clinic will leverage all resources and available policy to reduce this cost in our
community. Our establishment will be set up as a Community Health Services Clinic according to
Minnesota Administrative Rules 9505.0255. [3]
References:
[1]. LaVeist TA, Pérez-Stable EJ, Richard P, Anderson A, Isaac LA, Santiago R, Okoh C, Breen N, Farhat
T, Assenov A, Gaskin DJ. The Economic Burden of Racial, Ethnic, and Educational Health
Inequities in the US. JAMA. 2023 May 16;329(19):1682-1692. doi: 10.1001/jama.2023.5965.
Erratum in: JAMA. 2023 Jun 6;329(21):1886. PMID: 37191700.
[2]. US health care can’t afford health inequities by Dr. Jay Bhatt Wendy Gerhardt Andy Davis, FSA,
MAAA Neal Batra Asif Dhar Brian Rush, ASA, MAAA. (Deloitte's Life Sciences and Health Care
Consulting Services)
