The little girl’s cough just keeps hanging on, and she’s having a hard time breathing.
Her worried father brings her to the Community-University Health Care Center (CUHCC), where they hear the chatter of six different languages in the lobby.
After writing a prescription, the doctor refers the family to the Deinard Legal Clinic, CUHCC’s on-site medical-legal partnership with Stinson LLP, whose attorneys provide pro bono legal services to CUHCC patients.
The doctor suspects the girl’s breathing difficulties are the result of black mold in their rented apartment. The Stinson legal team then helps the father act to hold the landlord accountable for keeping the family safe and healthy in their home.
At CUHCC, located in the Phillips neighborhood of Minneapolis, patients are offered far more than medical and dental care. The clinic has a full suite of supportive services to address social determinants of health, the nonmedical factors that contribute to a person’s overall health and well-being. These supports include not only legal services but language interpretation, patient advocacy, care coordination, health education, and dietitian and pharmacy services. It serves about 12,000 patients annually and is a program of the University of Minnesota’s Office of Academic Clinical Affairs.
Read the full story: Whole-health support