Somali-owned clinic in St. Cloud aims to overcome barriers to health care
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Under a big white tent in the parking lot of a busy St. Cloud strip mall last week, nurses in black scrubs strapped blood pressure cuffs and pricked the fingers of waiting patients.
To mark the one-year anniversary of Hayat Clinic opening, staff were offering free blood pressure and glucose checks. The clinic’s founder, Dr. Bashir Moallin, chatted in Somali with a smiling man who’d just gotten an all-clear on a pre-diabetes test.
“He didn't check his blood sugars for a while, so he was happy to know his blood sugar is normal and he doesn’t have diabetes,” Moallin said.
Moallin opened the clinic with the goal of providing primary care to the community's most underserved residents, including immigrants and refugees.
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Hayat Clinic is open to all patients, but serves mainly members of the city's East African community. “Hayat” is an Arabic word meaning “life.”
Moallin — “Dr. Bashir” to his patients — grew up in Mogadishu, Somalia, and attended medical school in Jordan before coming to the U.S. in 2014. He completed the University of Minnesota’s family medicine residency program with St. Cloud health provider CentraCare in 2023, and worked for CentraCare for about a year before opening Hayat Clinic.
Moallin said he noticed barriers that often prevented immigrants from getting the care they needed. Many worked weekdays, and couldn't afford to take time off for a medical appointment.
“I knew there's a need for primary care service during the weekend,” he said. “At that time, there was not any other clinic that provided primary care during the weekend.”
Hayat Clinic is open seven days a week. Saturdays and Sundays are its busiest days, Moallin said.
Inside the clinic are five exam rooms and a small lab, where the staff can process tests for diseases like strep throat, influenza or RSV. At the front desk, the multilingual staff greet patients in several languages, including Swahili, Somali and Arabic.
Speaking to patients in their native language helps them feel comfortable and understood, without the need for an interpreter, said Hodan Yussuf, who has worked as a nurse at Hayat Clinic since March.
“Sometimes the patient feels like the interpreter does not always address their concern,” she said. “They leave thinking, ‘Maybe that was not interpreted the way I was thinking of.’”
Transportation also can be a barrier for patients. Moallin chose the location for the clinic because the strip mall is already a gathering spot for St. Cloud's immigrant community, close to Somali-owned businesses and a pharmacy. He said that makes it easier for patients to find a ride, or staff will help patients arrange transportation.
Moallin said the clinic also helps patients navigate the complex U.S. health care and insurance system, which is a challenge even for native English speakers.
“It was very difficult for me, even my background, with my education level,” he said. “I can't imagine how difficult (it is for) these patients going through and understanding the healthcare system in the U.S.”
Moallin said he takes time to explain health conditions to patients and why it's important to get regular screenings for cancer, diabetes and other diseases. In Somalia, going to the doctor for routine checks just isn't common, he said.
“You don't see a provider for preventive care,” Moallin said. “You just see (one) when you are very sick, and you're afraid to die.”
Hayat Clinic also provides immunizations to both adults and children, and is part of the Minnesota Vaccines for Children Program, which provides free or low-cost vaccines to eligible children.
Sometimes, Moallin must address parents’ fears that vaccines could cause autism, a claim not backed by scientific evidence.
It’s not the first time Moallin has tried to counter misinformation about vaccines in the Somali-American community. As a medical resident during the COVID-19 pandemic, he went on a local Somali TV station to explain that the vaccine was safe and effective.
Now, Moallin said he reassures parents by telling them that his own four children have received immunizations for measles, mumps, rubella and other diseases.
“Sometimes I can see the ease in their face. And most of them, they accept and do the vaccine,” he said. “But there's still a lot of hesitance.”
In its first year, Hayat Clinic cared for 4,500 patients. Moallin wants to see that number grow. He hopes to add more services, including mental health treatment.
And Moallin said the clinic's community impact is growing: Some of its young patients now are interested in pursuing medical careers.
But the clinic faces challenges. Up to 20 percent of its patients have no health insurance. Most others are on medical assistance. Changes to Medicare and Medicaid could make it harder for those patients to seek primary care, Moallin said.
“But our goal is to be here,” he said. “As long as we have patients, we will be here.”
