A New Clinic in Minneapolis is Expected to Expand Health Care Access to Low-Income Populations
Key Takeaways:
- Minneapolis’ new Southside East Lake Street clinic is a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) built to serve low-income communities. It is located near low-income neighborhoods that have large Black, Hispanic, and Indigenous populations.
- The clinic provides the following services: pediatric and adult primary care, midwifery, dental services, dietetics, X-rays, mammography, and behavioral health programs. A pharmacy and a sexual violence help center are also in the works.
- The new clinic is expected to increase the number of Southside’s patients from 12 000 to 18 000. It is also expected to schedule more than 50 000 appointments per year.
A new health care clinic recently opened in South Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Southside East Lake Street clinic is part of Minnesota’s Southside Community Health Services and was built to treat Minneapolis’ poor and uninsured residents.
The clinic has been established as a FQHC, which means it receives federal funding to treat low-income populations. The surrounding neighborhoods have high rates of residents living below the poverty line. One such neighborhood, Midtown Phillips, has a 40% poverty rate. These neighborhoods also have large Black, Hispanic, and Indigenous populations.
Although the clinic does not offer free health care services, it accepts all types of insurance and provides a sliding fee discount program for uninsured patients. The clinic offers pediatric and adult primary care, midwifery, dental services, dietetics, X-rays, mammography, and behavioral health programs. Its owners are working to establish a pharmacy and a sexual violence help center as well.
The clinic’s executive director, Ann Cazaban, said, “This was really our vision of trying to build a facility that allowed for us to do the integrated care that we want to do for our patient.”
Located near low-income residents and a bus stop, the Southside clinic is positioned to lower barriers and expand care access to underserved populations. The new clinic is expected to treat 18 000 patients and schedule over 50 000 appointments annually, a substantial increase from Southside’s previous average of 12 000 patients and 18 000 appointments per year.
Reference
Robinson M. New Minneapolis healthcare clinic expands access for low-income residents. MinnPost. Published May 11, 2026. Accessed May 12, 2026. https://www.minnpost.com/community-health/2026/05/new-minneapolis-health-care-clinic-expands-access-for-low-income-residents/
