GRAND FORKS – The VitellaCare advanced primary care center opens Friday, Dec. 20, at 4399 South Columbia Road, Suite 102, according to an announcement from Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota.

The center, staffed and operated by Crossover Health, will be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays for those who have eligible Blue Cross Blue Shield plans.

This is the second VitellaCare clinic in the state; the first opened last week in Minot. The clinics are designed to give Blue Cross members customized, affordable primary care, the announcement said.

Employees include a nurse practitioner, a mental health provider, a licensed practical nurse and two medical assistants. 

The clinic offers same-day and next-day care appointments, either in-person or virtually. Patients may schedule appointments online or through an app.

Services include comprehensive primary care, wellness check-ups, sick care, preventive care, pediatric care for ages 3 and older, chronic condition management, mental health and pharmacy consultations, routine lab draws and care navigation.

“Crossover Health will work with other providers in the community to help get patients to the specialist they need,” said Lacey Bergh, senior vice president of health delivery, Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota.

“Probably about a third of the members of Blue Cross Blue Shield don’t have a primary care provider,” Bergh said. “And we know that across the state of North Dakota there is a shortage of both primary care providers and behavioral health providers, so (the center) is providing additional access in the community in those areas where they are needed.”

“In general, health care is very complex,” Bergh said, “and so part of the model is really helping guide people through that health care experience …”

At the VitellaCare clinic, a “care navigator” helps patients by following up with them, providing support and coordinating visits with specialty care providers and even making those appointments for them, said Melissa Richard, director of communications at Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota.

The VitellaCare advanced primary care center provides a model of care that emphasizes holistic health, Bergh said. It is “focused on integrated, whole-person care, so really thinking about physical health, also mental and emotional health and well-being as well, and really addressing those with every visit.”

The center focuses on “proactive health management,” Bergh said, “so thinking about preventive services and management of chronic conditions.

“The goal in the clinics is really to spend more time with the clinician, so that they can get a good view of that whole person, both the physical and mental and emotional pieces of their health.”Taking more time with patients allows the clinician “to catch severe chronic conditions early” before they lead to requiring more costly forms of treatment, Richard said. It’s a model that prioritizes “quality of care over quantity of care.”

Another benefit is “recognizing that different patients like to have care completed (in) different ways,” Bergh said. Appointments are available in person or virtually, “so people can select the type of appointment that they would like to have with the care team.”

The clinic is open to those with selected Blue Cross Blue Shield insurance plans. Most plans do provide access to the VitellaCare center, Richard said. To determine if you have an eligible plan, call the Blue Cross Blue Shield member services line, 844-363-8457. If you have a plan that is not eligible, you can “buy up” into an eligible plan, she said.

HealthyDakota Mutual Holdings and Crossover Health have partnered to create the VitellaCare advanced primary care centers in North Dakota. HealthyDakota Mutual Holdings is a parent company that supports Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota and several other subsidiaries.

The VitellaCare clinics represent the first partnership Blue Cross Blue Shield has entered into with HealthyDakota Mutual Holdings.

Along with Crossover Health, the insurance company is considering opening VitellaCare centers elsewhere in North Dakota, especially in areas with shortages of primary care and mental and behavioral health care providers, Richard said. Other locations have not yet been confirmed.