The Community Health Center of Fort Dodge is built on this principle: everyone should get quality health care regardless of what kind of insurance they have or how much money they have in the bank.

That’s a concept that seems so basic that no one should have to think about it. But in reality, it takes hard work and dedication to reach that ideal.

In Fort Dodge and the surrounding area, we are fortunate to have a Community Health Center that cares for everyone, regardless of their insurance or financial status.

Health center leaders repeatedly say that the facility is there for everyone. Do you have private insurance through your employer? Come to the center. Do you use Medicare or Medicaid? Come to the center. And if you don’t have insurance, come to the center because it has the ability to base its fees on the patient’s ability to pay. That sliding fee scale makes it unique.

The center is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year.

It opened on April 17, 2006, at 126 N. 10th St. The staff saw 15 patients that day.

Since that time the center has grown exponentially.

Today it has six locations: Fort Dodge, Dayton, Mason City, Eagle Grove, Clarion and Spencer.

It has 143 employees who care for 18,000 patients a year.

The roots of that major operation can be traced to two things. The first of those was a series of free clinics held at two local churches in the late 1990s. Hundreds of people showed up at those clinics, demonstrating that there was a need for care.

The second of those things was a federal grant program for setting up community health centers.

Randy Kuhlman is the chief executive officer of the Fort Dodge Community Foundation and United Way, but in the early 2000s, he was the leader of the Community Action Network at Trinity Regional Hospital (today’s UnityPoint Health – Trinity Regional Medical Center). He learned first hand about the grant, then played a key role in applying for it. When a $650,000 federal grant was awarded in April 2005, he again took a leading role to get the center open within a year of getting the grant.

Today, center CEO Renae Kruckenberg leads the team of care providers and those who work behind the scenes to keep the organization running smoothly.

While the center’s statistics are impressive, its real success may be impossible to measure. For example, we may never know how many diabetic patients avoided losing their sight or a limb simply because they were able to get care from the center.

There is no doubt that the Community Health Center of Fort Dodge is a vital and even life-saving presence. For that, we should all be grateful.