December 2006

Northwestern to close its Highland Natural Care Center

Northwestern Health Sciences University will close the Highland Natural Care Center at the end of December 2006.

According to Debbie Miller, LPN, clinic administrator, the building’s age, floor plan, and lack of parking present significant barriers to effective patient care and the future addition of new patient services.

“Northwestern is moving rapidly into developing integrative models of healthcare, which we have successfully implemented in our Woodwinds and Bloomington clinics,” says Miller. “Patient volumes at both of these clinics have been growing steadily in the last several years, while our patient numbers at Highland have been declining. We didn’t feel we could effectively create the model of care necessary for our students at Highland given the limitations of the physical facility.”

The clinic, located at 621 South Cleveland Avenue in the Highland Park area of Saint Paul, has been part of the University’s public clinic system since the mid-1970s, when Northwestern was a single-purpose institution (Northwestern College of Chiropractic) and the campus was also located in Highland Park.

Current patients at the Highland Natural Care Center are being invited to transfer their care to one of the University’s other clinics, according to Miller. She notes that Highland patients have already begun making appointments at the Bloomington Natural Care Center, the Edith Davis Teaching Clinic, and the Natural Care Center at Woodwinds.

Student interns from the massage therapy, chiropractic, and acupuncture and Oriental medicine programs will transition to the other clinics in the Northwestern system, which recorded more than 65,000 patient visits in the last year. The faculty clinicians at the Highland Natural Care Center will also be transferring to other University clinics.

According to Jim McDonald, MBA, vice president for administrative affairs, the clinic building will be listed for sale in early 2007.

Source: Northwestern Health Sciences University, www.nwhealth.edu

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