Silver Bay clinic closure highlights rural healthcare challenges

On Tuesday evening, the Minnesota Department of Health will hold a hearing on the closure of a primary care clinic along the North Shore. The Aspirus Health Lake View Silver Bay Clinic is set to close at the end of the year, leaving Silver Bay residents to travel at least 30 miles for primary care.

A nonprofit will be carrying a virtual option for the hearing for those who can not drive to Two Harbors, where the hearing is being held.

The closure is part of a growing trend of shrinking access to healthcare in rural Minnesota.

MPR News host Nina Moini spoke with two people studying rural healthcare access and potential solutions. David Beard is a professor at the University of Minnesota Duluth who is working with the Arrowhead Regional Development Commission on rural health transportation. Beverly Sidlo-Tolliver is the principal planner and mobility manager at the Arrowhead Regional Development Commission.