CHIPPEWA COUNTY – Access to health care and community resources is a luxury not all Chippewa County residents have. Thanks, in part, to a grant from Security Health Plan, some Chippewa County residents can now access care at the Open Door Clinic in Chippewa Falls.
Dr. Tom Chisholm recruited board members and opened the free clinic in 2006 out of the First Presbyterian Church in Chippewa Falls. Today the Open Door Clinic provides basic health care services to uninsured residents, lab testing and pharmaceutical services. Clinic staff and volunteers also assist with finding and applying for prescription drug, community and government resource programs including Medicaid, Medicare, social services and dental care services.
Barbara Stevens is an registered nurse operations manager with Marshfield Clinic Health System in Chippewa Falls and is one of the founding board members of the Open Door Clinic. She nominated the Open Door Clinic for Security Health Plan’s Employee-Driven Corporate Giving Program. Each month Security Health Plan awards a $1,000 grant to a different charity or organization nominated by a Marshfield Clinic Health System employee. Employees are encouraged to nominate organizations making a positive difference in the community.
“This clinic brings a lot of health care organizations together to help our community members in need,” Stevens said. “We now take care of chronic care management, behavioral health needs in addition to basic medical care. We try to help people in the community who might need a little extra help. We are not here to judge, just serve.”
The Open Door Clinic is open on Tuesdays from 5-7:30 p.m. as a walk-in clinic only. Nursing staff triage incoming patients and provide services or connect patients with physicians, therapists and other allied health professionals to ensure patients receive the care they need.
According to Stevens, “It is our obligation as a community member to have a healthy community. Everyone’s health is important-not just their physical health, but emotional and social health as well.”
The Security Health Plan donation will go toward the Open Door Clinic’s care coordination services. According to Stevens, the clinic sees an average of eight to ten patients every Tuesday evening and average about 20-25 patients a month. The Open Door Clinic serves residents of Chippewa County who are uninsured or underinsured and who have income less than 200% of the federal poverty guidelines. The clinic and medications prescribed by clinic providers are free to qualified patients. Staff and volunteers assist patients with applying for programs available by the drug manufacturers to obtain medications free of charge.
Residents outside of Chippewa County are encouraged to call the clinic at 715-720-1443 to see if they qualify. For more information about the Open Door Clinic, visit chippewaopendoor.org.
