Clinical Sites
The variety in our teaching settings is a strength of our program. At three hospitals and multiple outpatient clinics, residents work with diverse populations presenting with a wide range of patient acuity and case complexity. To ensure high quality teaching and learning conferences, each hospital has an Associate Program Director (APD) and a Head of Internal Medicine. Two to five Chief Residents provide leadership, support and advocacy for all residents.
University of Minnesota Medical Center (UMMC)
This major academic hospital is a quaternary referral center for a multi-state catchment area. It consists of two hospitals and dozens of specialty and subspecialty clinics on the Minneapolis campus. UMMC is part of M Health Fairview, a partnership between the University of Minnesota, University of Minnesota Physicians, and Fairview Health Services. Residents rotate through general medicine wards, medical ICU, advanced heart failure service, subspecialty consult services and outpatient clinics. Residents also have opportunities to work closely with subspecialists and treat highly medically complex patients. UMMC’s dedicated teaching faculty are frequently recognized for excellence in patient care and cutting-edge research.
Clinics and Surgery Center Primary Care Clinic (CSC)
M Health Clinic and Surgery Center (CSC), a state-of-the-art outpatient center a block from the hospital serves as the residents’ primary care clinic. Housing a wide range of specialists, the physical space encourages collaboration and team work to meet each patient's unique needs.
Regions Hospital
Located in downtown St. Paul, Regions Hospital serves the eastern metropolitan area and surrounding communities. With 550+ licensed hospital beds, it is the only Level 1 Trauma Center in St. Paul, is home to a renowned Burn Center, and has the largest emergency department in the state. Residents rotate through the general wards, medical ICU, and numerous inpatient and outpatient subspecialty rotations; caring for diverse populations and individuals with limited resources.
Minneapolis VA Health Care System
This tertiary referral center has 300+ beds and a catchment area of over 390,000 square miles across the Upper Midwest. Inpatient services are resident-driven, with teaching services comprising the majority of the care teams. The VA houses multiple outpatient clinics, including primary care, and specialty clinics, including a Women’s Health Center and a state-of-the-art Spinal Cord Injury and Disorder center. It is one of only 20 Geriatrics Research Education and Clinical Center (GRECC) sites, and hosts one of the largest research programs in the VA healthcare system. Residents have many opportunities to work with 150+ investigators conducting 500+ research projects. The VA’s outstanding clinical faculty span a wide range of specialties and are highly engaged in resident education.
VA Primary Care Clinic
As a primary care center, the VA emphasizes continuity and offers connections to mental health services, pharmacy case management and counseling, physical therapy, and nutrition through the Patient-Aligned Care Team (PACT) model. Residents inherit a panel of patients their intern year that they follow throughout their residency. These long term relationships allow residents to manage care through an individual’s different stages of health.
Center For International Health
Established in 1980 in response to the influx of Southeast Asians to Minnesota after the end of the Vietnam War, this clinic now sees patients from more than 30 countries. Our staff of providers have 100+ years of combined experience in International Health and Tropical and Travel Medicine, practicing internationally and within the United States. The Center for International Health created its International Mental Health program in 1984, and its International Travel Clinic in 1986.
Key Components
(This care delivery model is nationally recognized)
- Multidisciplinary care: Adult primary care; mental health program (psychiatry and psychology); pediatric specialty care (new arrival screenings, INS adjustment of status examinations)
- Multilingual staff: Frontline staff, medical assistants, nursing and medical staff who are multilingual and multicultural.
- Providers with expertise: Providers who are bilingual and bicultural, from the countries of origin of our patients, and with advanced degrees in tropical and travel medicine, public health, and international health.
- Professionally trained Medical Interpreters: Staff interpreters available on site for multiple key languages. Agency interpreters contracted for all other languages. Telephone interpreter available for all languages.
Program Activities
Patient Care
- New arrival screening examinations for refugees and immigrants (adults, pediatrics and families)
- Primary care for non-English speaking and limited English speaking patients (adults only)
Consultative/Subspecialty Care
- International Mental Health
- Psychiatry
- Psychology
- Group therapy (Vietnamese political prisoner's men's group)
- Cross-cultural health care consults
- INS adjustment of status examinations for families (Civil Surgeons on staff)
Academics
- Continuity Clinic – IM and Med-Peds:
- Observerships for International medical graduates
- Nursing and CMA students
- School of Social Work interns
Lectures/other educational activities
- National, state and local lectures and day-long symposia on refugee health
- New Book– "My Heart it is Delicious" by Billie Young, published October 2007
- Chris Newberry Video "If We Knew Their Stories" with TPT Television
- "Immigrant Medicine" textbook published October 2007
- "LEARN" model video on cultural care
- Research
- multiple published case studies from the CIH
- review articles on refugee and immigrant medicine
- retrospective review of extrapulmonary tuberculosis in Minnesota
- Consulting
- Site visits and discussion of our care delivery model with Mayo, Maine Medical Center, HCMC, PNMC, CDC, International Organization for Migration, Canada and others
Community Outreach & Service
- Board of Directors (International Institute of Minnesota, United Cambodian Association of Minnesota, Vietnamese Social Services of Minnesota and others)
- Health Fairs, community events
- Outreach via ethnic media
- Health articles in Russian newspaper
- Radio talk shows on mental health issues
- Somali health television series
- Hmong newspaper article
HealthPartners St. Paul Wabasha Clinic
Consistently recognized as a top clinic for patient satisfaction, this community-based clinic provides primary care to a diverse population in the St. Paul metro area, including many individuals on Medical Assistance and/or Medicare. Onsite services include X-ray, lab, and ultrasound; and extended services such as diabetes education, MTM pharmacy and psychotherapy. Staff include internal medicine and medicine/pediatrics physicians with robust and diverse practices, nearly all of whom have been chief residents or involved with teaching residents since graduating from residency. Staff also attend in HeathPartners hospitals, TCUs and nursing homes, and are leaders in Quality Improvement for the organization.
Community-University Health Care Center (CUHCC)
Located in South Minneapolis, CUHCC serves over 11,000 patients a year from richly diverse backgrounds and countries of origin. It offers a full range of dental and mental health services not typically offered at a community health center. Staffed by pharmacists, psychiatric nurse practitioners, family practice, internal medicine and medicine/ pediatrics physicians, licensed social workers, psychologists and many others, CUHCC’s interprofessional care model uses a collaborative, team-based approach to integrate the delivery of education and patient care. Residents work with students and preceptors in other fields to best serve the complex needs of their patients.
