In the wake of a 2007 economic impact study of individual artists, which revealed that Minnesota artists are twice as likely as the general population to be uninsured, Springboard for the Arts (a Knight Arts grantee), under the direction of Laura Zabel, decided to do something about it. The organization decided to approach the issue of health care accessibility for arts workers from a new angle; with the help of a task force of professionals working in medicine, insurance and the arts, Springboard launched a series of health fairs, for which hundreds of local artists turned out with their families to receive care. Given the demand and armed with some grant money and an array of new partnerships with area clinics and care providers, Springboard soon expanded its health service and information offerings. The resulting program, Artists’ Access to Healthcare, developed into a multi-pronged approach to assisting uninsured artists in navigating community medical and dental resources — the organization still provides periodic health fairs, but also free clinic days and health care vouchers artists can redeem at various doctors’ and dentists’ offices and community clinics for greatly discounted clinic visits and preventative care. There’s even a relief fund artists can tap for help paying an unexpected emergency medical bill, as well as detailed information and applications to apply for low-cost health insurance for themselves and their families. Artists’ Access to Healthcare proves such an effective way of connecting artists with care providers and information, the program was adopted in 2010 by a partnering organization, the Artist Fund, to serve artists living in northeast Minnesota and northwest Wisconsin, too; in a recent interview, Zabel indicated that Springboard has hopes of replicating the program throughout the Upper Midwest.

I mention all this because Zabel and Springboard’s groundbreaking Artists’ Access to Healthcare program received well-earned praise this month, in a “Minnesota Monthly” article recognizing 12 local “revolutionaries.” Thus far, the article isn’t available in full online, but copies of the February 2012 issue are on stands now. For a program this outstanding, that has done so much tangible good for more than 2,000 area artists, the whole staff at Springboard deserves a special congratulations — on a job well done and on some much-deserved recognition.

Visit www.springboardforthearts.org/health for more information about the Artists’ Access to Healthcare program.