CentraCare Clinic – Sauk Centre receives health care home certification
CentraCare Clinic – Sauk Centre, 433 Elm Street N., recently received health care home certification from the Minnesota Department of Health.
A “health care home” is a partnership between primary care providers, families and patients to work together to improve health outcomes and quality of life for individuals with chronic health conditions and disabilities. The primary care provider coordinates specialty care for patients and oversees a treatment plan.
The development of health care homes in Minnesota is part of the groundbreaking health reform legislation passed in May 2008. The legislation includes payment to primary care providers for partnering with patients and families to provide coordination of care.
To be certified as a health care home, providers and clinics must meet a rigorous set of standards that were developed through a public-private stakeholder process and complete an application and participate in a site visit. Certification represents a transformation of care delivery that can benefit all patients who receive their care in a health care home.
Patient feedback also is an important part of the certification process and one patient said, “This is the best thing doctors have done for medicine.”
“Our providers are committed to providing the best health care for our patients,” said President David Tilstra, MN, CentraCare Clinic. “By focusing on better coordination of health care, we can improve health and manage chronic conditions better, while addressing the cost of health care.”
In July 2010, CentraCare was awarded a $1.3-million grant from the CentraCare Health Foundation to assist with health care home implementation.
