Whole-person healing in the heart of the Twin Cities
The U of M’s Community-University Health Care Center is a beacon of health and wellness in the Twin Cities for more than 10,000 patients each year, many from underserved populations. It’s now poised for a much-needed expansion in the coming years.
In an undersized, utilitarian building in South Minneapolis, oversized things are happening in health care for the people who need them most.
Here at the intersection of Bloomington and Franklin Avenues sits the Community-University Health Care Center (CUHCC for short; "kook" for pronunciation). Little known to many people outside of the Twin Cities, CUHCC is an indispensable treasure for those it serves—and for those who train and work there.
CUHCC originated nearly 60 years ago, in 1966, when two U of M pediatricians opened what became the first community health center in Minnesota as a nod to the U’s land-grant mission.
It has since developed into a "one-stop shop" for people of all ages in the Phillips neighborhood in Minneapolis, providing an integrated, whole-person care approach to patients of at least 12 different racial and ethnic communities. As a Federally Qualified Health Center, the clinic offers services to all in need, insured or not, on a sliding-fee scale.
And the scope of that care is staggering. Last year CUHCC saw nearly 11,000 unique patients over the course of 49,000 patient visits. They have access to an entire array of services, including medical, dental, and mental health care.
Beyond those basic services, CUHCC is involved with numerous partnerships and community outreach efforts including:
"We serve the people that really need help and are stuck without having a lot of other resources," says Andrea Davis, family nurse practitioner and co-medical director at the clinic. "That population is in such need and we are so happy to help provide those services. And it’s so fulfilling to be able to meet these individuals’ needs."
And CUHCC is uniquely "by the people, for the people;" it’s governed by a 10-person board of directors that includes five patients.
A career dedicated to serving others
At the center of the clinic is Roli Dwivedi—its CEO, chief clinical officer, and the vice chair for community engagement for the U’s Department of Family Medicine and Community Health. She’s been at CUHCC for 15 years and is doubtless the fiercest champion for the care CUHCC provides. She beams with every statistic, story, and description of the family that calls it home.
Dwivedi first came here as a resident nearly 20 years ago. "I was doing procedures, shadowing a preceptor, and that’s when I just fell in love with the patients and the people and the staff," she says. "It felt like home and gave me a purpose."
When she finished her residency, she interviewed "all over" for a permanent placement, but made a decision to stay at CUHCC "because it was a perfect combination of academia and research and community health and global populations," she says. "We are serving the Minneapolis United Nations."
She proudly leads visitors on a tour of the clinic, past the multilingual front-desk staff and crowded waiting rooms, then through a maze of medical, dental, and behavioral health rooms that collectively offer one-stop care.
Interpreters are available for all of the primary languages spoken at CUHCC, and then some.
The therapy rooms are warm and welcoming, adorned with plants, art, and toys. A tight cluster of nine chairs comprises the dental clinic. The medical exam rooms are also a bit cramped, by most clinics' standards, especially given that some patient visits include multiple family members and a translator in addition to providers.
There’s a pod of desks for practitioners and students, and one room is dedicated to medical interpreters spanning some of the principal languages spoken at the clinic. Dwivedi opens a hallway closet filled with snacks and meal bags for patients (who may have been fasting or who are otherwise hungry), managed by an on-site nutritionist.
Space is clearly at a premium, to say the least. But help is on the way, thanks to plans for a new facility that were just announced in mid-October. (See sidebar)
Pop Quiz
In 2023, CUHCC served patients in how many different languages?
12
Incorrect, but a very reasonable guess.
23
Incorrect, even though you wouldn't think it could possibly be more than 23!
53
Correct. It truly is the "Minneapolis United Nations!"
Cultivating a sense of community and belonging
The care and concern that permeates the clinic is evident—and repeatedly paid forward.
Mohammed Dukuly is a frequent face at CUHCC. A native Liberian, he came to Minnesota from Nigeria in 2000. Dukuly speaks four African languages plus French, and is an invaluable liaison to the flood of recent Liberian and other African immigrants who visit CUHCC, helping to navigate their time with doctors, therapists, and lawyers. Many of the new patients have experienced deep traumas back home and had not received medical care till they came to CUHCC.
"It's ‘heaven' for them because many of them suffer a lot. And this environment has been a good place for a lot of them right now," Dukuly says. "Before you survive, you’ve got to be healthy."
Dukuly worked for many years in Minnesota, completed the master's in public policy program at the U of M's Humphrey School of Public Affairs, and even started on a master’s of education degree. But here, volunteering, is where he finds fulfillment. CUHCC has offered to pay him for his time and service, but he has repeatedly declined. Interacting with immigrants and helping people "has been therapy for me," he says.
Linda, a patient at the clinic, receives care from Andrea Davis and an interpreting assist from Mohammed Dukuly.
One late-summer morning he came in to help translate for Linda (we're using just her first name), who arrived in the United States from Liberia last November and in Minnesota about a month later. She's a survivor of sexual and domestic violence, and when she first came to the clinic, her health "was not good."
"All the medical problems I've been encountering, they always find a solution for me," she says. She used to have difficulty sleeping, but therapists have been working to de-traumatize her. "And I don't pay anything for it. So they have been a good help for me." Best of all, she says, they’re working on her immigration papers so she can work.
Her goals are first to become a CNA (certified nursing assistant) if she gets employment authorization, to work in a group home or nursing home, then to go to school to become an RN. Providing care for others "is a passion that I really, really love and had developed in Africa, so I want to pass it on while I’m here," she says. "I look at that as a blessing. I can feel satisfied when I’m caring for people."
Training the next generation of caring healthcare professionals
In addition to the whole-person care that it delivers to patients, CUHCC is also educating the next generation of healthcare professionals—one that will be more keenly attuned to the nuances of health equity and providing integrated care.
Dwivedi points out that the clinic trains more than 170 students and residents—most from University of Minnesota programs—across a full range of healthcare professions from medicine, nursing, and dentistry to pharmacy, social work, and public health.
Former trainees rave about their CUHCC experience and how it has influenced their careers and attitudes about health care.
Morgan Hoeft was a pharmacy resident at CUHCC from 2017-18, interacting with patients, learning about their medications, and helping them optimize medication therapies.
"I really, really enjoyed my time at CUHCC; it was an awesome blessing. I feel like that year, single-handedly, probably helped me grow more as a human being than any other time period in my life," says Hoeft, now a lecturer and lab director at the U's College of Pharmacy, as well as a clinical pharmacist at CUHCC one day a week.
"It was just a great environment where you are safe to ask questions, you're valued as a learner and supported, and really part of the team to help ensure that patients were getting the care that they needed," she adds. "I don't think that I would be the pharmacist that I am today without that training that I received at CUHCC."
Evolving (and growing) with the times
The past few years have been burdensome for many in South Minneapolis, given the COVID-19 pandemic, the murder of George Floyd, sparks of racism, and chronic homelessness. So CUHCC has redoubled its efforts for the community to help ensure equity, health, and wellness.
Second Harvest Heartland and The Sanneh Foundation provide fruits and vegetables to CUHCC patients and neighbors with funding from CUHCC's long-standing partners—the global healthcare company Abbott and its foundation Abbott Fund.
This summer it began Fresh Food Wednesdays, a twice-monthly partnership event where visitors can fill up a bag or box with a bounty of fresh veggies. “We are doing much more work around anti-racism, and more around health equity,” says Dwivedi. "That's the evolution of my time here."
She pauses to reflect on that time.
"I’m not the same person as I was 15 years ago," she says. "Just by seeing my colleagues and my patients and everyone committed to the work, they give me a lot of strength, and they push me in different directions to do the right thing.
"There's a combination between the mind and the heart. When it comes to the science part of medicine then we use our brains. And when it comes to the art part of the medicine then we use our heart. … There’s just so much heart here—so much heart—that it generates enormous power to bring health, justice, and healing to improve the lives of our patient population. That’s true health equity work."
A much-needed expansion to serve the community
The University of Minnesota plans to build a vibrant new facility for CUHCC—nearly doubling its current size from just over 20,000 square feet to 39,400 square feet. The new, modern facility will enable CUHCC to:
Provide more on-site health services, such as pharmacy, imaging, and physical therapy;
Maximize the potential of its integrated care model, providing a seamless, full-service experience for patients and their families in an environment that supports well-being;
Serve as the neighborhood’s most comprehensive healthcare site, with enhanced opportunities such as community learning spaces and ongoing pop-up food distribution to serve a diverse and growing population; and
Continue to operate as a unique, sought-after training site for University of Minnesota students studying health sciences.
The total cost of this expansion project is estimated at $45 million, to be funded by institutional support from the University, contributions from the Medical School and, most critically, donations from generous benefactors. Learn more about giving to support CUHCC.
Giving Link
If you were inspired by this story, please consider a donation to CUHCC
Related Links
Learn more about the Community-University Health Care Center.
View a timeline of CUHCC’s history.
Learn about the Community Engagement to Advance Research and Community Health (CEARCH) team, which provides infrastructure and support so that U of M researchers and community representatives—including nonprofits, clinics, physicians, and advocates—can work together.
