“It feels like I’ve vaccinated half of the Somali community in Minneapolis!” says Asha, who was trained as a nurse in Somalia and earned her RN license shortly after arriving in Minnesota in 1989.
Asha works as a community health nurse at the M Health Fairview Health Commons-Cedar Riverside, located within the Riverside Plaza tower complex, where many Somali community members live. The Health Commons mission is to provide free, culturally sensitive healthcare services based on respect, relationship building, hospitality, and collaboration in order to reduce health disparities and improve access to care.
During the pandemic, the Health Commons has served as a critical healthcare access point because of its location at the heart of the neighborhood. Over the last year, Asha and other M Health Fairview staff distributed COVID-19 and flu vaccines, checked in with patients to make sure routine care isn’t being missed, provided nutrition and exercise services, and offered vital healthcare education programs.
