Capsules

Aspirus Announces Closure of Silver Bay Clinic

Aspirus Lake View’s Silver Bay Clinic will close Dec. 31. The health care provider announced that future clinic visits, laboratory services and radiology will be relocated to the Lake View Two Harbors Clinic. In compliance with state law, a hearing was held at the end of July, providing a forum for community members to discuss the change in services. While state law required the hearing to take place, it does not give MDH authority to delay or prevent the proposed changes, closures or relocations. During the hearing Aspirus Lake View listed several reasons for the closure, including clinician shortages affecting rural health care and rapidly changing health care delivery across the state and nation.

“Health care delivery is changing rapidly, and within today’s dynamic and challenging environment, we recognize that changes like these can be difficult for the communities we serve,” Aspirus Lake View said in a statement. “Health systems must be foresightful and responsible stewards of their resources. At Aspirus, we are committed to making decisions that ensure long-term sustainability while continuing to provide excellent, compassionate care for the communities we serve.”

Silver Bay is unique town formed 70 years ago to support a mining company taconite processing plant. It has a population of 1,800 people, about 30% of whom are 65 and older. The Silver Bay clinic also served communities such as Finland and Isabella and the drive to Two Harbors is 30 minutes or more for all of them. The wider implications are troubling, if a town of 1,800 can’t support a clinic what's the cutoff point, a town of 5,000 or 10,000?

Minnesota State Senator and Assistant Majority Leader, Grant Hauschild representing district 03, which is most of the Arrowhead, issued a the following post on the closing, “The truth is, if we want rural health care to survive, we need our federal delegation to repeal the ‘one, big beautiful bill’ that has gutted rural health care funding. Without a change at the federal level, nothing can stop the eventual decline of rural health in our communities.”

New Mayo Study Expands Clinical Trial Access

A recent study, published in JAMA Open Access and conducted by the Mayo Clinic’s clinical impact initiative, detailed promising results from efforts to expand patient access to clinical trials through its decentralized clinical trials program. This program allows many research activities to take place outside a traditional research site through services such as remote informed consent, video visits, in-home blood draws, remote monitoring and home delivery of oral study medications. Researchers found this approach expanded the geographic reach of clinical trials while increasing participation among patients who have historically faced barriers to enrollment.

"The most innovative clinical trials are often conducted at academic medical centers, while the majority of health care is delivered in community settings,” said Tafia Haddad, MD, the study’s first author. "We don't want a patient's zip code or geography to determine whether they can access these research opportunities.”

Researchers also intentionally tracked participation among rural and historically underserved populations to evaluate whether decentralized clinical trials expanded access more equitably.

"We didn't want these decentralized capabilities to widen existing gaps in research participation, but rather our goal was to help close them," Haddad said. "From the program's inception, we intentionally focused on these metrics.”

To help remove technology barriers, the program provides cellular-enabled tablets when needed, selects technologies with demonstrated ease of use, offers technical support and, when appropriate, gives participants options for how they engage with study teams.

The next phase of decentralized trials will focus on expanding collaborations with community health care providers so more study activities can be completed closer to patients' homes. Researchers expect continued advances in mobile diagnostics, remote imaging, digital health technologies and at-home drug treatments that could further reduce the need for travel while maintaining rigorous clinical research.

"We're already enrolling patients who have never stepped foot in a Mayo Clinic facility," Haddad said. "The long-term goal is to build an infrastructure that not only serves Mayo Clinic patients but can ultimately help other research organizations reach more patients, regardless of where they live."

Fulcrum Health Concludes Operations

After over 40 years of moving physical medicine forward, and improving access for both patients and providers, Fulcrum Health, Inc. will cease operations on August 31, 2026. What started as ChiroCare with a mission to improve insurance reimbursement and create a wider acceptance of physical medicine, grew into a much broader organization with more than 5000 unique providers and more than 3,000 practicing locations across 19 states. Beyond the ChiroCare network, Acunet was developed for acupuncture services, Trutouch was developed for massage therapy services and Theraflex was developed for physical, occupational and speech therapy services.

From the beginning Fulcrum was dedicated to transforming health care by unlocking the full potential of physical medicine. It developed innovative and inspiring ways to leverage specialized treatments and rehabilitative services that lowered costs, achieved better outcomes and increased patient satisfaction.

Fulcrum Health was accredited by the National Committee of Quality Assurance (NCQA) for following best practices in credentialing provider members in its networks. Credentialing was vital to improving insurance reimbursement for network members and thereby improving patient access. Fulcrum Health was also a multi-year recipient of the Press Ganey Human Experience of Excellence award for outstanding performance in patient satisfaction, achieving a 98% rating in a recent survey. Network members also benefited from an ever-expanding set of administrative tools designed to assist with various regulatory compliances and revenue flow. Another example of its broad scope activity was Fulcrum’s Centers of Excellence (CoE) program. It was designed to recognize clinics that used standardized clinical protocols and an integrated, collaborative approach in achieving positive outcomes and improved quality of life for patients.

Fulcrum released a statement to provider members this March informing them of the coming closure and that it was actively coordinating transition pathways to ensure minimal disruption for the communities it served. It made clear that this was not an acquisition or sale, simply that Fulcrum was concluding operations. Reasons for this decision cited the evolving health care landscape, as well as ongoing market, regulatory and financial pressures.

The statement offered this concluding thought, “We are deeply grateful for the trust placed in Fulcrum Health and proud of the impact achieved alongside our partners over the years.”atric patients

U of M and Blue Cross Ink $17M Naming Rights Deal

The University of Minnesota and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota (Blue Cross) recently announced a ten-year collaboration to strengthen a shared dedication to advancing community health throughout Minnesota. Blue Cross will provide the university with $1.7 million dollars per year for the next ten years to further a variety of health care-related activities. Included with this funding, the Minneapolis campus basketball arena will no longer be known as Williams Arena and will now be officially recognized as The Barn supported by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota. The facility opened in 1928 as the Minnesota Field House and in 1950 was renamed Williams Arena, after Henry Williams, MD, who coached the university football team from 1900-1921.

As part of the agreement, Blue Cross and the University will create opportunities for health innovation and collaborate on initiatives that promote well-being across the state. Programs will include on-campus health support for the Gopher community, in addition to professional development and industry exposure for students and alumni. The collaboration will focus on a variety of activations to improve health and well-being, including the establishment of new outdoor community basketball courts, the development of new youth sports clinics led by student-athletes and campaigns that promote mental health awareness and healthy lifestyle changes.

“For many years, Blue Cross and the University of Minnesota have played complementary roles in serving the people of this state — the University through its leadership in education, research and public service, and Blue Cross through its mission-driven commitment to improving health across every community,” said Dana Erickson, President and CEO at Blue Cross. “As we look ahead, we’re proud to strengthen this enduring relationship and find new ways to come together to advance the health and well-being of all Minnesotans.”

“At the University of Minnesota, we are guided by our land-grant mission to serve all 87 counties across the state,” said University of Minnesota President Rebecca Cunningham. “We are proud of our new partnership with Blue Cross, which will help us deliver on our commitment to expand our health and health care workforce, advance lifesaving research and support the health of all Minnesotans.”

CDC Releases Troubling Vaccine Avoidance News

With schools returning to session nationwide, the CDC recently released a report, generated from state-provided data, showing that the number of unvaccinated children is growing. Surprisingly, Minnesota is becoming one of the least-vaccinated states in the nation, with immunization rates among kids well below the levels needed to curb outbreaks of preventable diseases. The CDC data show immunization rates fell nationwide, with more than 24 states reporting exemption rates rising above 5% — the minimum associated with maintaining herd immunity.

Last year, Minnesota's kindergarten vaccination rate for diphtheria, tetanus and whooping cough (DTaP) was worse than every state except Idaho. Only Idaho and Wisconsin had fewer kids receiving their polio, chickenpox, or measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccines. The share of Minnesota kids receiving medical or "personal belief" exemptions rose to 6.9%, almost twice the pre-pandemic rate.

These numbers were based on last year data, however to compound these problems, President Donald Trump recently signed an executive order calling for revamped childhood vaccine recommendations that promote his ongoing and discredited rhetoric. The order also directs the nation’s health department to improve research on vaccines, which are already extensively studied. Trump called the announcement a “major victory for parents rights, religious and constitutional rights and for the gold standard science.” He repeatedly suggested the number or timing of vaccines could play a role in rising rates of autism spectrum disorder, even as scientific consensus and decades of studies have firmly concluded there is no link.

Despite the biggest measles outbreak in recent memory, the CDC released a statement accompanying their report that failed to inform parents of the importance of routine vaccination in limiting the spread of illness. This raises serious concerns that the CDC is no longer the trusted health agency it once was.

The Trump administration's ongoing push for controversial vaccine policy changes corresponds to the vaccination rate in Minnesota for all diseases falling to roughly 86% and only around 92% of Minnesota kindergarteners who are immunized against hepatitis B. During the 2025-26 school year, an estimated 280,000 children nationwide started kindergarten without proof that they completed the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine series. In total, 92.4% of kindergarteners received it—below the proportion needed to prevent measles from spreading in the community. 

Sanford Health Announces Innovative New Clinic

To address the growing need for primary care in the Fargo-Morehead community, and health care workforce shortage issues, Sanford Health recently announced the construction of a new clinic. The health system is investing $1.4 million in building a clinic housed entirely inside Fargo South High School. The clinic will include 7 exam rooms, a lab, waiting areas, intake space, staff break areas and will accommodate three providers. There is no access to the clinic from the school and it will have two separate entrances, one for staff and another for patients. It will include a dedicated parking lot for about thirty vehicles. Beyond expanding health care access, the new clinic will give students the opportunity to experience direct exposure to health careers.

Sanford’s general capital fund is underwriting most of the expense, however the school district says it’s expecting to spend about $200,000 for a new sewer line and a new air handler as a result of the project. Existing classrooms at the school will be converted to accommodate the new clinic space. Both Sanford and Fargo public schools said the partnership creates a career development opportunity for students interested in health care.

“We are really excited about exposing students to health care jobs,” said Susan Jarvis, Sanford chief operating officer.

Fargo public schools superintendent Dr. Cory Steiner said the district and Sanford have been working together to develop the program. He noted, “We’re going to have a true clinic as an opportunity where our students can go and learn. It will help those that are interested in health fields get authentic opportunities. Working with Sanford this year and developing the program, we have the chance to develop something that’s world class.”

Construction is expected to begin early next year, with an opening targeted for 2028.