About Us
Capable of serving patients in the Northern suburbs and surrounding metro areas.
Crown Medical Support Services Clinic: An Essential Community Clinic
Our goal is to take a collaborative approach to provide training and continuing education to healthcare students, medical interns, community health workers, and other medical professionals to bridge health disparity gaps in the greater Twin Cities.
Organizational Background: History, Mission and Goals
History
Crown Medical Support Services Clinic (CMSSC) is a nonprofit cultural specific – Essential Community Clinic established under MN statue 69Q.19. We are also a 245G organization licensed to provide services for individuals who have substance use disorder and mental health. Crown Medical opened its first clinic in 2004 near downtown Minneapolis with the desire to bridge the gap in healthcare service disparities, particularly for minorities and uninsured individuals. Crown medical has another facility, established in 2008 Brooklyn Park, capable of serving patients within three to five miles radius in Brooklyn Center, Brooklyn Park, Fridley, Blaine and Coon Rapids.
Because of the multicultural backgrounds of the people we serve, many times it is necessary to have interpreters explain symptoms and ailments. We have on-site personnel in the medical reception and treatment areas who are bilingual and fluent in English, Hmong, Somalia, and other African languages.
In 2007 we began collaborating with the University of Minnesota School of Medicine in health disparities research. This collaborative project involves community outreach around smoking cessation, hypertension and diabetes management. In September 2008, we began to be a training site for the nursing program at Metropolitan State University and Globe University in Minnesota. In addition, Crown Medical is an externship site for the Medical Assistant program at Minneapolis Business College, Kaplan University and Anoka Technical College. In 2009 we began a collaboration with Hennepin County Public Health Department in the SHIP. The students from the various institutions come to Crown Medical and spend sixteen weeks assisting in the laboratory and taking on specific chronic disease projects.
Mission
To reduce cultural and linguistic barriers that lead to health disparities and to offer high quality medical, mental health care and health education to all in need, regardless of income, ability to pay for services and insurance status, with the goal of improving the health care of low-income Minnesota residents.
Goal
Our goal is to take a collaborative approach to provide training and continuing education to healthcare students, medical interns, community health workers, and other medical professionals to bridge health disparity gaps in the greater Twin Cities.
Services Provided by Organization
CMSS offers educational services pertinent to urgent care, primary care, preventive care, mental health, addiction medicine, laboratory and diagnostic services for a wide variety of disease conditions. Crown’s services include: Child and Adult Medicine / Teen (13 years +) check-up/immunization/ flu shots; Mental and behavioral health care; Confidential STD testing, HIV test & care; Primary & Urgent Care clinic service; Lead screening for children; Sports Medicine; addiction medicine, Physical therapy; Laboratory and X-ray facilities; Medication management; Drug screening; Work Physicals; Diabetes health education and medically-assisted weight loss. We also offer COVID-19 testing, educational counseling and treatment.
Clinic’s Geographic Service Areas
Our primary service area is Hennepin County which includes the following Minneapolis, Bloomington, Brooklyn Center, Brooklyn Park, Fridley, Blaine, Coon Rapids are included among the major cities. We also serve a significant number of patients from Saint Paul.
Policy to ensure no one is denied service due to inability to pay
In addition to requiring insurance for our services, we offer a Sliding Fee Scale. Our doors are open to all and no one will be denied services due to inability to pay. We establish fees that are affordable to them and in accordance with federal regulations.
A Sliding Fee Discount Program will be provided to eligible individuals to receive services at CMSS on the basis of their ability to pay. The ability to pay will be determined by the household annual income and family size. Only individuals living in households with income below 200% of the Federal Poverty Level will qualify for Sliding Fee Discount. Patient Services Representatives and our Business Office Manager are involved with supervisory oversight.
