ABOVE: Open Door Health Center is now open at Fairmont Area Schools. From left: Fairmont Elementary School Principal, Michelle Rosen, Open Door Health Center CEO, Kelly Kenley; Fairmont Area Schools Superintendent, Andy Traetow and Open Door Health center Nurse Practitioner, Emily Fett.

FAIRMONT– New this year at Fairmont Elementary School is the addition of Open Door Health Center (ODHC). The independently owned and operated, non-profit community health center, which is based out of Mankato, provides another opportunity for access to care for students within the Fairmont Area School District.

Getting a clinic in the school had been a topic of conversation for the last few years, ever since former school nurse, Emily Fett, identified a need and first shared her vision for it in April of 2021.

Fairmont Area Schools Superintendent, Andy Traetow, said that when Fett interviewed for the position at that time, she shared some growth goals for potentially operating some sort of clinic in the school and she had provided examples of other schools in the country that had something in operation.

“We didn’t have a formulated process at that time, but it was a new idea to explore,” said Traetow.

About two years later, there were some grant opportunities that Fett began to look into and through that process, the district got involved with the Minnesota School Based Health Alliance. Through that Traetow said they became connected with Open Door Health Center in Mankato as a potential grant host. The connection was made in the spring of 2023.

“Andy has been a champion from day one. He never said no to my vision. He asked a lot of questions and reminded me it would be a process that would take time,” Fett said.

Speaking as to why she felt the need to have a clinic within the school, Fett said as a nurse practitioner (formerly at Mayo Clinic), she had looked into what that role would look like prior to even taking the school nurse position. In doing research, she found a statement from the American Academy of Pediatrics that greatly supported school based health centers across the nation.

“I started looking into what that looks like. They’re placed in rural communities and urban communities with the goal to serve the under-served, but also recognize that all students have health needs and the earlier we can identify those, the better,” Fett said.

Once she did become a school nurse at Fairmont High School, Fett said she witnessed experiences and opportunities daily where it was hard for her to not be able to offer more.

“As a school nurse I could offer education and assess in the health center and give recommendations to parents and staff and build relationships with students but there were often times what I could identify as a need for further medical care, including dental and behavioral health,” Fett explained.

She also pointed out that while there are families with access to healthcare, they could still benefit from healthcare in the moment, and yet even more families that don’t have a primary care provider or families that are new to the country or community.

“Research has shown that children and especially adolescents feel more comfortable in school based health centers because it’s a familiar environment,” Fett said.

Having a site in the school can also save time for parents and save the student from a big disruption of the school day, as Traetow noted that student attendance has been not just an issue locally, but nationally.

“There’s a lot of literature out there on student attendance. This also serves as a proactive measure to support and promote more regular student attendance because it has the opportunity to increase the efficiency for care,” Traetow said.

He said that the day-to-day school operations don’t change with the addition of the school-based health center through Open Door. There is still a school nurse on staff at both the elementary and high school building and a student’s first point of contact is still the school nurse.

“The difference is now a school nurse can offer this as a more immediate option as a point of care,” Traetow said.

However, Michelle Rosen, who is a principal at Fairmont Elementary School and on the planning committee for the partnership, said that a parent has to call and make an appointment at ODHC– the school nurse can’t send a student directly there.

“We give them (parents) all of the options. We’ve been working hard to make sure parents know, yes it’s in the elementary school, but our secretaries and staff can’t make the appointments. Parents have to just like they would at Mayo or UHD (united hospital district). It’s been working really well and it’s nice to have a clinic in the building so kids know that clinics are okay,” Rosen said.

“Our goal all along has never been to compete with any existing healthcare centers,” Traetow added.

It was also said that the additional clinic can help alleviate some burdens on the existing healthcare systems.

OPDC’s location within Fairmont Area Schools is one of the first of its kind in greater Minnesota.

“It aligns with our school district’s mission statement of being a leading and innovative school district, preparing our students to thrive today and excel tomorrow,” Traetow said.

He said the clinic’s location in the school can help educate older students and families on how to access appropriate healthcare and alleviate some stresses early on in a health-based need rather than waiting until it’s a more prominent need.

“That was another part of the thought process for us as a school district. It’s also a testament of us following our district’s mission in a partnership that allows this to take place,” Traetow said.

Emily Heinis, Communications and Marketing at ODHC, said there some school based health centers in Minnesota but they’re in the metro area.

“To have something in what classifies as rural and outstate is novel for Minnesota. It happens in other places in the country. It’s very exciting for us and for the FQHC (federally qualified health center) community in Minnesota,” said Heinis.

Kelly Kenley, CEO of ODHC explained that they receive federal dollars to provide as much access as possible to healthcare and that their three main service lines are medical, dental and behavioral health. ODHC is the closest community health center for 22 counties in Southern Minnesota.

“Being in the school is an opportunity for a warm hand-off and we have a very unique situation with Emily who has grown up here, is a member of the community and known as a nurse practitioner and previous school nurse,” said Kenley. “That tears down a lot of barriers for families and students to access this care.”

In the short three weeks that ODHC has been open in the school, Fett said, “I have some pretty rewarding stories I can’t share details on, but it’s made me go home at night realizing this is important work.”

She said her goal is to create continuity of care and partnership building with healthcare providers so that they’re doing what’s right by the student and the family.

Right now Fett works alone but the intention is that as utilization grows, staff would be added.

“It is exciting that it’s in the school system and that it’s something we can grow and continue,” said Rosen.

The school did not invest any funds in the addition of ODHC. Even the phone lines are separate.

OPDC, like any other health care system, abides by confidentiality and patient privacy. At the clinic they can do well child exams, sports physicals, acute illness and treat minor injuries. They also do strep, RSV, Covid and influenza testing same day in the clinic and can also do urinalysis testing.

All insurance programs are accepted and there’s a sliding fee discount program based on household size and income.

“No one is turned away because of their inability to pay,” Fett said.

OPDC does follow school hours and is open Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. It will be closed on scheduled breaks and school closures due to inclement weather.

Overall, all parties involved are happy to see the partnership and offering come to fruition.

“It’s very exciting but it’s very new so each day there’s something I’m checking into but at the end of the day if I’ve helped one person or even answered a question, I know that we’re doing what’s right,” Fett said.