We believe people have a right to quality health care services that are efficient, effective and accessible. We believe care should be compassionate and delivered in a dignified and respectful manner by a culturally competent and highly professional team of people.
FHLC does not discriminate in the provision of services to an individual (i) because the individual is unable to pay; (ii) because payment for those services would be made under Medicare, Medicaid, or the Childrens Health Insurance Program (CHIP); or (iii) based upon the individuals race, color, sex, national origin, disability, religion, age, sexual orientation, or gender identity.
In the 1960s, a group of health professionals and migrant advocates in cooperation with church leaders got together and began providing free health services to migrant farmworkers in some of the church halls. This ultimately resulted in La Clinica de los Campesinos being formally organized in 1972 as a non-profit Wisconsin corporation. That same year, La Clinica secured federal funding and began delivering primary health care services in Wild Rose, Wisconsin under the guidelines of the Migrant Health Center Program.
In the mid-1980s, La Clinica initiated its outreach program providing migrant mobile health services and a voucher program. Under a formal agreement, the voucher program pays participating health care providers for services they provide to migrant and seasonal farmworkers who work and live too far from La Clinica's health center in Waushara County.
Today, Family Health La Clinica continues to serve migrant and seasonal farmworkers across the state of Wisconsin via its state-of-the-art Mobile Health Center. The clinic's operations have expanded from its main, full-service site in Wautoma to additional dental centers in Mauston, Beaver Dam, and Stevens Point. Family Health also has a Behavioral Health & Substance Recovery Center in Friendship.
Pictured above (left to right): Carl Ferguson, FHLC Board of Directors Chair; Lisa Kilawee, FHLC Director of Strategic Community Engagement; Laura Waldvogel, FHLC Chief Executive Officer; Senator Patrick Testin, Wisconsin State Senate District 24
Pictured above (left to right): John Eich, Wisconsin Office of Rural Health, Director; Jennifer Kowalkowski, UW-Madison School of Nursing, PhD Candidate; Jeff Smith, Wisconsin State Legislature, Senator; Laura Waldvogel, Family Health La Clinica, CEO; Tim Size, Rural Wisconsin Health Cooperative, Executive Director
In April 2020, FHLC's Dr. Javier Rincon was interviewed at our Wautoma clinic site by CBS This Morning's Adriana Diaz to highlight the impact of COVID-19 on rural healthcare providers, rural businesses, the agriculture industry and Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Workers. View the full segment below.
Family Health La Clinica was one of two sites nationally that pioneered the process of retrospective equivalency into the National Health Disparities Collaborative. Due to hard work and continuous quality improvement with diabetes management programs, the health center was admitted into Phase 2 of the HDC.
FHLC's CEO, Laura Waldvogel, has been appointed to the Wisconsin Minority Health Council which advises the Department of Health and Family Services and other state governmental units on minority health issues.
In April 2020, FHLC received preliminary notice of funding throughAdvancing a Healthier Wisconsin Endowment of the Medical College of Wisconsin to be used over the next 6 months to support our efforts to develop a cohesive response to prevent and/or minimize the risk of transmission of COVID-19 among Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Workers and their employers throughout Wisconsin. This grant is intended to protect our farmworkers, their employers and our communities by advocating for and assisting in the deployment of a coordinated statewide effort around COVID-19 prevention and response.
March 2, 2020 - Rural communities often have distinct healthcare needs compared to urban counterparts, sometimes exacerbated by demographic and societal trends. This panel identified key issues in rural healthcare and discussed the promise of collaborations to improve the health of people in Wisconsins rural communities.
April 6, 2020 - While the coronavirus is having a disastrous impact on cities like New York and New Orleans, the virus is also starting to hit rural America. Adriana Diaz visits a town in Wisconsin, where doctors are worried an already spread thin health care system could be stretched to the limit.