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About Health Centers

What Is a Health Center?

Health centers serve as essential medical homes where patients find services that promote health, diagnose and treat disease, and manage chronic conditions and disabilities. In rural communities, health centers support a community’s ability to retain local health care options. The Dakotas’ network of health center organizations provides care to nearly 136,000 patients each year at 66 delivery sites in 52 communities across North Dakota and South Dakota.

Federally qualified health centers are non-profit, community-driven clinics that provide high-quality primary and preventive care to all individuals, regardless of their insurance status or ability to pay. Health centers are located in underserved and low-income urban and rural areas across North Dakota and South Dakota, providing access to affordable, quality health care for those who need it most.

Services

Health centers provide integrated and comprehensive services, including:

  • Dental
  • Medical
  • Behavioral
  • Insurance enrollment specialists
  • Vision care
  • Translation/interpretation
  • Pharmacy

Populations

Health centers serve all populations with limited access to health care, including:

  • Rural and frontier areas
  • Veterans
  • Limited English proficiency
  • Uninsured
  • Medicare and Medicaid
  • Low-income

Impacts

Health centers in the Dakotas have a significant impact on their patients and the communities they serve. In addition to bringing quality, affordable health care to populations that wouldn’t otherwise have access, health centers make important contributions to their local workforce and economy, while generating substantial cost savings for the nation’s health care system.

Of the nearly 136,000 individuals health centers in the Dakotas served in 2021, over 27,500 were uninsured, with a large percentage earning below 200% of the federal poverty level. In 2021, health centers served more than 43,000 children, provided dental services to nearly 29,000 individuals, and employed 1,125 full-time equivalents.

According to a 2021 study, health centers across North Dakota and South Dakota have a total economic impact of $266 million, directly contributing to the growth and vitality of local and statewide economies. Health centers also bring significant cost savings to the health industry, with a recent study reporting that each patient receiving care at a health center saved the health care system 24% annually.

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ND SnapshotND Economic ImpactsSD SnapshotSD Economic Impacts

Member Directory

Meet Our Members

North Dakota
Organization Profile CEO/Executive Director
Coal Country Community Health Center     Kurt Waldbillig
Community Health Service Inc.   Rhonda Eastlund
Family HealthCare   Margaret Asheim – Chief Executive Officer & Acting Chief Financial Officer
Northland Health Centers   Nadine Boe
Spectra Health   Mara Jiran
South Dakota
Organization Profile CEO/Executive Director
Complete Health   Tim Trithart
Falls Community Health   Amy Richardson (interim)
Horizon Health Care   Wade Erickson
South Dakota Urban Indian Health   Tami Hogie-Lorenzen
Oyate Health Center   Jackie Yotter

The Community HealthCare Association of the Dakotas (CHAD) is a non-profit membership organization that serves as the primary care association for North Dakota and South Dakota. CHAD supports health center organizations in their mission to provide access to health care for all Dakotans regardless of insurance status or ability to pay. CHAD works with health centers, community leaders, and partners to enhance access to affordable, high-quality health care and find solutions for expanding health care services in the areas of the Dakotas that need it most. For more than 35 years, CHAD has advanced the efforts of health centers in North Dakota and South Dakota through training, technical assistance, education, and advocacy. Currently, CHAD provides a variety of resources to enhance key areas of operations, including clinical quality, human resources, finance, outreach and enabling services, marketing, and policy.

North Dakota
Organization Profile Contact
North Dakota Primary Care Office Stacy Kusler
North Dakota American Cancer Society Jill Ireland
South Dakota
Organization Profile CEO/Executive Director
Great Plains Quality Innovation Network  Ryan Sailor

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