Article and photo courtesy of Minnesota Department of Human Services

Not a lot is common about Health Commons. Colorful curtains, layered rugs, and comfortable seating fill the community health and wellness center where all programs are free. Partners behind the organization in Minneapolis’ Cedar-Riverside neighborhood hope the warm setting is a gateway to connect members of the Somali community and other visitors to primary health care and wellness resources.

Minnesota Human Services Commissioner Lucinda Jesson toured Health Commons, located in the Dar Ul-Quba Cultural Center, June 29 to experience the unique community-based approach firsthand.

, which opened in September 2011, is a collaboration of the University of Minnesota Medical Center Fairview, the Augsburg College Department of Nursing, and the East African Health Project. It is supported by a $50,000 grant from the UCare Fund, which seeks to improve health through innovative partnerships across communities and reduce disparities for disadvantaged populations.

Health Commons was founded on the philosophy that hospitality and developing relationships leads to transcultural understanding and health benefits for all participants. Its mission is to provide health education and wellness services, link people to existing resources and health services, provide basic supplies to those that can’t afford them, and provide a welcoming space that promotes social connection and sense of belonging.

The drop-in center is open two afternoons each week. Free of charge, participants take nutrition, parenting and exercise classes offered by community partners like University of Minnesota Extension Services and the Somali Women’s Education Network. Dr. Osman Harare from the East African Health Project and Augsburg nursing faculty provide individual consultations for health-related issues, medication clarification, blood pressure monitoring and advice about navigating the health care system. Volunteers offer alternative health therapies, such as healing touch and massage.

Students in who help staff Health Commons also benefit from the unique opportunity for transcultural experience providing health services.

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“Preparing students to participate in our democracy and providing them with opportunities to take on local and global issues in their course work are as central to the mission of education as boosting college completion and closing the achievement gap,” said Eduardo Ochoa, the U.S. Department of Education’s assistant secretary for postsecondary education.

Last year, Augsburg achieved the highest honor possible when it was one of six institutions to earn the Presidential Award for Community Service. Augsburg was the first, and remains the only, Minnesota school to receive the honor.

“Consistently being named to the Honor Roll certainly is gratifying testament to the work of staff, students, and faculty,” said Augsburg College President Paul C. Pribbenow. “We know that learning retention soars to 75 percent when practiced by doing, and so this is an important piece of an Auggie education. We also know it is we who are richer for the experience of educating students not only for professions and careers, but also for lives of meaning and purpose in a city and world marked by urgent need for informed citizens, thoughtful stewards, critical thinkers, and responsible leaders.”

Augsburg College students engaged in programs including the:

• President’s Interfaith and Community Service Campus Challenge to help students explore and develop roles as public leaders around interfaith literacy and action through community service projects.
• Health Commons at Dar Ul-Quba, a drop-in center dedicated to the Cedar-Riverside community of Minneapolis.
• Bonner Leader program that pairs Augsburg students with nonprofit community organizations.
• Student-led Campus Kitchen that served 23,000 meals to people in need for the year ending in June 2011.
• Augsburg Community Garden, which provides community garden plots, education about nutrition, and support for local farmers through community-supported agriculture.

A total of 642 college and universities applied for the 2012 Honor Roll. Augsburg is one of two Minnesota private colleges named to the Honor Roll with Distinction. The other is the College of St. Benedict.

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