Farm to Patient Program
NorthLakes Community Clinic’s Farm to Patient Program elevates health care experience to a place of community connection and abundance for over 100 households in rural Wisconsin. In 2023, we bought 106 CSA shares from five farms, serving over 200 members of patient households living in poverty across 14 Wisconsin counties. Our clinics in Ashland, Washburn, Iron River, Hayward, Minong, Turtle Lake, Hurley, and Lakewood offer the program. Beyond transactions, the program directly involves patient care through case management and relationship building.
Community Health Workers
Our Community Health Workers (CHWs) assist patients in achieving their wellness goals by identifying risks, services, and resources that can support their whole health journey. Examples of their work may include helping with transportation needs, food insecurity, housing, safety, and social isolation. We frequently need funding for these resources for our neighbors in a temporary financial bind. More information on Patient Supports can be found by clicking here.
Reach Out and Read
NorthLakes sponsors a literacy program based on The Reach Out and Read Program. It gives children of all ages a foundation for success by incorporating books into health care and encouraging families to read. The program builds on the unique relationship between parents and healthcare providers to develop critical early reading skills in children, beginning in infancy and beyond, by providing the family with books.
For today, this childhood literary program is a concrete investment to help the families and children that we serve. We hope you share NorthLakes’ values in building a foundation for literacy success.
NorthLakes Indigenous Health Care Scholarship
Our communities have experienced how longstanding injustices have created economic barriers for Native Americans. Many of these barriers stem from the generational impact of colonization, forced assimilation, and the removal of resources, causing many native communities to suffer from disproportionately high child poverty rates, mistrust of educational institutions, and many other roadblocks to economic success.
We must add chronic health disparities to that list, exacerbated by the fact that the healthcare industry’s workforce does not accurately reflect the communities it serves. The leadership at NorthLakes recognizes how disparities in educational opportunities uniquely impact our neighboring Native communities. As healthcare providers, they are especially interested in creating better access to healthcare careers for Native Americans. To address this, we are raising money for our NorthLakes Indigenous Health Care Scholarship. To donate to this endowment scholarship, please email: DKhouri@collegefund.org or go directly to the American Indian College Fund site.
