New urgent care aims to bridge gap between culture and healthcare

New urgent clinic hopes to bridge culture gap

A new urgent care clinic in Maplewood hopes to be a healthcare clinic that understands the nuance of how different cultures interact with doctors. FOX 9’s Chenue Her explains more.

MAPLEWOOD, Minn. (FOX 9) - A brand new urgent care clinic in Maplewood hopes to be a place where the aging AAPI and immigrant communities can feel comfortable and heard.

Bridging the gap

What we know:

The doctors who founded FocusPoint Urgent Care said understanding how culture impacts healthcare is an important part of the job.

Doctors Chee Vang and Charles Vang have more than a decade of experience working on the largest healthcare systems in the Twin Cities.

After years on the job, they reflected on their own upbringing, families, and thought about how they could make a difference.

Both doctors are from Hmong refugee families. They said they understand what it was like going to the doctor with their parents growing up, from translating medical terminology for elderly, to explaining how different medications work.

What they're saying:

"Because of our cultural upbringing, we have a foot in both eastern medicine and western medicine so we can bridge that culture gap. Because of that, we’re open to everyone and part of the care we want to provide is just making sure patients are heard and listened to," said Dr. Chee Vang.

The backstory:

The doctors said they chose to open the clinic in the east metro because of the large Asian American population that calls that community home.

Doctors Chee and Charles said their clinic is open to all people, not just the AAPI community.

They believe their experience and understanding of bridging the gaps between healthcare and culture, even religions, is important to providing quality care for all.

What's next:

FocusPoint Urgent Care opened on May 1, but is holding a public grand opening on June 13, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.