Healthy Community

We invest over $200,000 annually in programs that remove barriers for local residents to access healthcare. Our Health Access grants focus on improving access to three areas of healthcare that our community has identified as high priority: affordable medical and dental care, mental health and addiction recovery, and direct support services for people with disabilities.

Current Health Access Funded Partners

Independent Living Services

The Bear Creek Independent Living Services (BCILS) program supports people who have disabilities to live in locations of their choosing, with people of their choosing. BCILS staff assist individuals in many areas of their lives, depending on the person's goals and needs at the time. For example, staff may assist clients with housekeeping, cooking, budgeting, personal hygiene, and healthcare management. Staff also help clients access public transportation so that they can connect with other community members. Bear Creek staff teach skills that allow people to do more things without staff assistance, so each person can be empowered to live as independently and safely as possible.  

Partner: Bear Creek Services 

Dental Home for Underserved Children

The program serves children who lack dental insurance and who otherwise could not afford routine exams, dental cleanings, and comprehensive care. Staff use both school-based clinics and the CDHS office in Rochester to ensure that time, money, and transportation are not barriers to receiving care. By providing a full suite of free dental services during school visits and office follow-ups, CDHS is removing barriers to care and improving health equity for the youngest members of our community. 

Partner: Children’s Dental Health Services  

Pediatric Services 

The Pediatric Services program provides routine vaccinations and other preventative care, acute medical care, and wrap-around social services for children in Olmsted County. This program establishes a pediatric clinic at CHSI's Rochester office with oversight from a board-certified pediatrician. It also hosts monthly pediatric clinics with a special focus on children of immigrants, seasonal farm workers, and other uninsured patients. CHSI employs a diverse and dedicated group of clinical and support staff who understand the barriers to healthcare and actively work to make patients feel welcome and safe.  

Partner: Community Health Service, Inc 

Medical Transportation Program

Each year, Elder Network staff coordinate approximately 1,850 rides for clients, prioritizing clients who live in low-income households and/or in rural areas of Olmsted County, those who are immigrants, and seniors who are BIPOC. Transportation is provided by volunteer drivers to and from crucial health care appointments such as medical, dental, and mental health appointments, medical equipment fitting appointments, and the pharmacy. Elder Network's Medical Transportation Program is tailored to the needs of seniors by breaking down typical logistic and financial barriers to service for seniors. Clients can book an affordable ride for a specific day and time and trust that a friendly volunteer will call to remind them the night before and be there to walk them door-to-door on the day of service. 

Partner: Elder Network  

Auxiliary Services for East African Women

Pamoja Women offers monthly health education programming on health issues facing East African women, assists with navigation through healthcare resources, offers interpretation and provides transportation. Often, the people served by Pamoja Women don't understand how to access the healthcare they need, face language barriers that prevent them from receiving healthcare and particularly elders don't have transportation to access healthcare. The goal of the Pamoja Women Auxiliary Services program is to ensure that women and children of East African descent can understand and access the health and wellness resources available to them without barriers. The program offers monthly health education groups, individualized medical navigation services, interpretation, and transportation for medical appointments.

Partner: Pamoja Women (fiscal sponsor: Rochester Area Foundation)  

Street Medicine 

The Zumbro Valley Medical Society (ZVMS) Street Medicine Initiative brings healthcare out of the traditional clinical setting and directly to people experiencing unstable housing. It involves caring for individuals in their own environments, rather than requiring them to adapt to medicines conventional settings and structures. Central to their program is a recognition of the need to build trust and gain rapport in serving a population that has faced trauma and stigma. To achieve the ZVMS Street Medicine Initiatives goal of offering high quality, compassionate healthcare to people experiencing houselessness, they provide direct care through visits to encampments, under bridges, on street corners, and in other locations where people might be; and through specialized one-day clinics in the community throughout the year.  

Partner: Zumbro Valley Medical Society Foundation 

Community Health Assessment and Planning Grant

The Community Health Assessment and Planning (CHAP) process is about improving the health and well-being of residents in Olmsted County. Every three years, the community conducts a health needs assessment to determine Olmsted County’s leading health priorities; formulate a plan to address the needs; and publish an annual progress report. United Way has been a longtime funder and partner of CHAP.

Partner: Olmsted County

United Way invests in local nonprofit programs that ensure access to healthy and culturally relevant foods so that everyone in our community can thrive.

Current Food Security Funded Partners

Food Shelf and Home Delivery

Channel One, the largest food bank in our region, consistently seeks new ways to support the food security ecosystem of Olmsted County. The Food Shelf has been updated to a super shelf as of 2020, prioritizing healthy foods and community needs through surveys and design choices. The Food Shelf can be accessed weekly by any household, and the Delivery Service can be accessed monthly. Delivery is facilitated through a partnership with DoorDash. Channel One implements a variety of equity-centered trainings for their staff and volunteers to be more accessible as they see an increased need for their services.   

Partner: Channel One  

Senior Nutrition

Family Service Rochester serves 475 elderly and homebound individuals in Olmsted County through their Senior Nutrition programs, FRESH and Meals on Wheels (MOW). Both programs are provided through FSR’s volunteer distribution base, connecting diet-appropriate meals directly to the client’s doorstep for a sliding-scale fee. FRESH provides produce and ingredients to clients from which they can prepare healthy, wholesome meals. MOW delivers hot, ready-to-eat meals to those who would otherwise be unable to prepare a meal for themselves. 

Partner: Family Service Rochester 

Cultural Food Program

The Cultural Food Program supplies culturally relevant foods to the considerable African and growing Latino population that Lifegate Services serves. By providing healthy, fresh, and recognizable foods to the immigrant populations they serve, Lifegate assures that African and Latino individuals and families feel home away from home. In addition, Lifegate works to reduce food waste. 

Partner: Lifegate Services 

Pamoja Women Food Pantry

The Pamoja Women Food Pantry began as a 6-month pilot program in collaboration with Channel One Food Bank in 2023. Over that period, they served 600 people with culturally appropriate foods such as halal meat, rice, grits, collard greens, etc. This was, additionally, a space for cultural exchange, providing opportunity for people to share recipes and ideas on how to use new food ingredients. They also piloted a culturally sensitive grocery delivery system through their all-volunteer operation. In 2024, they acquired an additional physical space through which they will operate the food pantry, continuing to work with the regional food bank as a Channel One partner agency.

Partner: Pamoja Women (fiscal sponsor: Rochester Area Foundation) 

Groceries and Gardens Project

Zumbro Ridge Estates is a 115-unit low-income manufactured homes community housing cooperative. The community's residents are encouraged to take ownership of their neighborhood and actively participate in its restoration. The Groceries and Gardens Project is a multi-year plan to build and sustain the capacity of the food pantry in the housing cooperative which will feed 500 residents annually. With 2/3 of this community identifying as Latinx or Southeast Asian, there is a focus on providing culturally relevant foods heading into the future, especially when considering their plans to build raised garden beds to supplementally stock the pantry.

Partner: Zumbro Ridge Estates

United Way partners with SingleCare to provide prescription discount cards to local community members, regardless of their health insurance status. Through SingleCare, United Way has saved over 9,000 Southeast Minnesota residents over $1 million on prescription medications.