A Special Birthday in North Dakota - CHAD Turns 20
Northwood, ND - There probably won't be any gifts, or songs, perhaps not even a cake, but many North Dakotans are celebrating a special birthday this month. The Community Healthcare Association of the Dakotas is turning 20.
Comments from Sharon Ericson of the Valley Community Heath Centers in Northwood.
Many North Dakotans are celebrating a special birthday this month. CHAD is turning twenty years old. CHAD isn't a someone, though, it's a some 'thing.' CHAD stands for Community Healthcare Association of the Dakotas. It's an organization that provides financial and technical support for smaller non-profit healthcare facilities across the state. Sharon Ericson, the administrator of the Valley Community Health Centers in Northwood, says without CHAD, many smaller communities would likely lose medical services and many residents wouldn't bother traveling to see a doctor for preventive care. She says that's what happened in Larimore a few years ago.
(Ericson Voice) "People were waiting until they got so sick that they had to come to the hospital, and of course if you don't have insurance, that's a very difficult and very expensive way to get your healthcare."
Using federal grant dollars, Ericson says the eleven Community Healthcare Centers in North Dakota provide primary and preventative care for residents who might otherwise have no local care.
Those clinics get help from CHAD with everything from handling the books to treating patients.
Though the concept behind CHAD is quite simple, Ericson says it's a very effective way to do business.
(Ericson Voice) "So, we didn't ever have to reinvent the wheel, we always could make use of the best practice based on the experience of people who had been doing this for much longer than we had."