Why and How to Join Us
Improved care • More than a Library • Types of Members
Governance • Fees • More Information

A Partnership to Improve Care: When you join the Exchange, you help improve care for your own patients and for thousands of others across Minnesota.

The Exchange is a partnership of major Minnesota providers and insurers. We got together originally to solve a problem that all of us shared. We lacked adequate translated health education material for patients who spoke languages other than English.

We figured that if we shared the resources we had, we could build a decent library of translated health information much more efficiently and quickly than if all of us worked alone. Four years later, we've constructed an online library of more than 2,200 instantly downloadable pieces.

We're More than a Library: Recently we've expanded our mission. Limited English is one barrier to effective care. But so, too, are issues of literacy, class, culture, race and spirituality. That's why we've expanded our website to include more information, analysis and tips on best practices to lessen health disparities that result from these differences.

Our Members: Exchange partners are Minnesota-based non-profit organizations, agencies or companies that are directly involved in activities related to health care for non-English speaking patients. This includes:

• Health maintenance organizations
• Hospitals
• Clinics
• Clinic groups
• Health insurance companies
• Government agencies

Members also include corporate affiliates, which are health-care related businesses, and sponsored partners that are generally small health care organizations and clinics that are not able to financially contribute, but that may have valuable materials or insight to contribute to the Exchange.

Membership Fee: Our annual fee is $2,500. The contract year is from July 1 to June 31.

Governance: We hold meetings every other month to review our progress and to consider new projects. Each partner organization has a vote on issues. Corporate affiliates and sponsored partners are not voting members.

Find Out More: You can learn more about membership by contacting Patricia Ohmans.

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