Nurse-owned, nurse-operated
Eagan Child and Family Clinic founder Gretchen Moen, left, and Dr. Sofia Ali are pictured in one of the children’s examination rooms. The clinic has moved from Eagan to Burnsville. Photo by John Gessner
Pioneering nurse practitioner moves Eagan clinic to roomier location in Burnsville
by John Gessner
Thisweek Newspapers
A pioneering nurse practitioner from Eagan has moved her clinic from that city to roomier — and less costly — quarters in Burnsville.
Originally known as Eagan Child and Family Care, the clinic is now called Eagan Child and Family Clinic.
Previously located in a dental building at Pilot Knob and Diffley roads in Eagan, the clinic — now nearly 2,900 square feet — needed room to expand, said founder and majority owner Gretchen Moen, a pediatric nurse practitioner. The new address is 2530 Horizon Drive, in the Cliffview Plaza at the corner of Highway 13 and Cliff Road. The clinic moved at the end of October.
“They did a pretty nice deal for us (at Cliffview), and we got a lot more square footage — almost double what we had,” Moen said.
Cost is no small consideration for a clinic that has never turned a profit while attracting a large underserved clientele. Forty-seven percent of Eagan and Child Family Clinic’s patients are on medical assistance or have no insurance, Moen said.
“And we’re not going to cut them off if they lose their insurance,” she said. “Our philosophy is health care is expensive, so how can we make it less expensive for you and still provide high-quality care?”
Clinics run by nurse-practitioners tend to gravitate toward underserved populations, Moen said. Proponents of such clinics say nurse practitioners — registered nurses who have earned an advanced nursing degree and gained professional nursing certification from a national board — can respond to a majority of health care needs while making doctor referrals when necessary.
“A nurse practitioner is all about working with the patient,” Moen said. “We’re kind of about preventing illness and managing chronic disease.”
The nurse practitioner model of care is 50 years old, with its roots in well-child care provided by nurses working with pediatricians in underserved areas, Moen said.
The daughter of a small-town Minnesota doctor, Moen started her nursing career in pediatric oncology in Colorado Springs, Colo. She later worked as a pediatrics nurse for PACE Pediatrics Clinics in White Bear Lake.
In 2002 Moen and another nurse practitioner opened Mendota Health in Eagan — the first nurse practitioner-owned and -operated clinic in the Upper Midwest, Moen said.
“But it’s very common on the East Coast and West Coast,” she said. “It’s very tied to what your state legislature allows you to do.”
Today, Eagan Child and Family Clinic, which Moen opened in 2005, is one of four NP-owned and -operated clinics in Minnesota, she said.
“I would be a pioneer, yep,” Moen said. “I certainly learned a few lessons along the way. There certainly was pushback, I would say (from) everybody – the public, providers, health plans, even hospitals. People didn’t know what to do with us.”
A doctor’s counsel is never far away at Eagan Child and Family Clinic, whose patient rolls number about 3,200. Minnesota law requires nurse practitioner clinics to have “prescriptive” and “collaborative” agreements with physicians.
Moen’s clinic, where pediatrics is about 70 percent of the business, has agreements with the pediatricians of Children’s Hospitals and with Dr. Sofia Ali, a family practitioner, Moen said. In fact, Ali practices at the clinic part time.
“She believes in the same ideals we do,” Moen said.
The pair say the clinic’s path toward profitability was waylaid by the recession. Moen said she’s never even taken a salary from her creation, calling nurse practitioner care her “passion.”
“We haven’t turned a profit, ever,” Moen said. “My husband (Dennis) supports me, that’s all I can say. I have a wonderful husband.”
She’s in the process of applying for nonprofit status for the clinic.
“We’re doing it because we want to expand what we can offer,” Moen said. “It makes it easier to expand your affiliations when you’re a nonprofit.”
Moen has also done health outreach in Eagan and Burnsville, appearing at health fairs at the Eagan Community Center and local schools and meeting with members of the Somali community in Burnsville. The clinic has a number of Somali patients, Moen said.
She is joined on the staff by two other nurse practitioners: Lisa Fahey Bleick (family) and Angelynn M. Grabau (pediatric).
For more information, call (651) 209-8640 or visit www.eaganchildandfamily.com.
John Gessner is at burnsville.thisweek@ecm-inc.com.
My family has been going to this clinic since it was founded in 2005. I’m glad to see they have moved into this new space which will give them more room to care for more patients. Gretchen Moen is a care provider like no other – her knowledge and philosophy of treating patients are top notch. I’m hopeful the move to nonprofit status will help them achieve more of their goals.