Essentia Health-Supported Program Reaches 10,000 Referrals For Vital Programs, Services

In the spring of 2021, a collaboration between Essentia Health and several other local and statewide organizations was launched to help people with health-related social needs. In the two years since, the program has been a major success. To date, more than 10,000 referrals have been placed, connecting people in need to community-based programs and services.

The initiative is called Resourceful and helps people facing challenges — and those who help others — find and make referrals to free and reduced-cost resources for food, shelter, health care, work, financial assistance and more.

The first Resourceful referral was placed about 20 months ago, in August 2021, and the milestone was reached this month. To celebrate, we have launched a new video to tell the story of Resourceful and highlight its impact. You can view the video on Essentia’s YouTube channel.

“The growth of this program in two years really shows there is a need for these services — a need Essentia is proud to help fill,” said Emily Kuenstler, Essentia Health’s community health director. “Every day, Resourceful plays an instrumental role in uplifting our community and providing assistance to those in need, and we couldn’t be more excited to play a role in that.”

Resourceful is not just a tool utilized by Essentia, but available for all community organizations, helpers and navigators, families and individuals to use for free. 

“At Essentia, we recognize much of health care happens outside our walls,” said Jill Doberstein, Essentia’s community outreach program manager. “Resourceful has given us a way to better collaborate with community organizations to connect our patients to community resources, and to ensure people get the help they need.”

Some of the most referred-to services through Resourceful involve food access, benefits assistance, behavioral health needs, transportation and housing.

The program connects people to services in North Dakota, Minnesota and Wisconsin. Funding for this project is supported by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota and UCare.

Resourceful is a collaborative effort between Essentia Health, Wilderness Health, Generations Health Care Initiatives and United Way of Cass-Clay, who have partnered with Find Help to provide this free online platform.

Generations Health Care Initiatives is a private, non-profit foundation dedicated to engaging the community to improve health for all, especially underserved populations, primarily in Duluth and surrounding areas.

The United Way is leading the charge to prevent hunger and homelessness, prepare children to succeed and strengthen families. Together, we can put opportunity in the hands of our neighbors in Cass and Clay Counties and lift families out of poverty.

Wilderness Health is a non-profit collaborative of independent providers working together to improve rural health care in Northeastern Minnesota and Northwest Wisconsin. Headquartered in Two Harbors since 2013, Wilderness Health aims to create a unified and supportive network for its members through its core values of collaboration, independence, networking and quality.