What a difference a year makes!

I first laid eyes on the building that houses HELPcare Clinic in Austin on October 1, 2021.

One year ago today.

I had been working with Dr. Dave Strobel on plans to have him open a new membership-based clinic in Austin, but we didn't have a good vision of what kind of space we would need, or could afford.

We even thought that at first we might just try to rent a single room. Maybe in a chiropractor’s office.

On Friday, Oct. 1, I went out for a three-mile run, but instead of my normal route that ends near home, I took a path that concluded at the intersection of Main Street and Oakland Avenue. For my cool-down period, I walked a serpentine path either side of Main Street, taking pictures of available office spaces we might consider.

Finally, when I was just a little over four blocks from home, I saw this professional building with space available:

Then I went home, got in the car, and started driving around town looking at other possible spaces.

It wasn’t until a week later, on a recommendation from Kevin and Sandy Anderson—who were leasing space in the opposite end of the building—that we toured this space and began actively considering it for HELPcare Clinic.

Because this required a big investment to sign a lease for the whole first floor, we began meeting with couples we thought might be interested in membership, and asked them for a commitment with a $99 initiation fee.

These became the first of our Founding Members. When we had 75 of them in December, we signed the lease and renovations began in anticipation of our Feb. 1, 2022 opening.

It’s been a breathtaking ride, as after just eight months of operation we have:

• More than 450 members
• a second provider, nurse practitioner Stephanie Kimmes
• five nurses and two office staff members
• Monday-Friday and Saturday morning appointments
• More than 60 diagnostic blood tests included in membership, along with a dispensary for some generic prescription medications
• Fibroscan® liver testing and InBody body composition measurement
• A program to offer Department of Transportation (DOT) physicals and random drug testing for commercial drivers, and
• A corporate membership program so employers of any size can help their workers save on the regular health care they want and need.

Learn more about our affordable membership, give us a call at (507) 279-2345, or stop by to see us at 308 4th Avenue NW in Austin and learn how HELPcare Clinic can provide most of the care you need for most of your life.

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Lee Aase

Lee Aase is the founder of HELPcare LLC, which provides comprehensive membership, marketing and management services for provider-owned HELPcare Clinics, as well as metabolic health education and coaching for people interested in restoring health and reversing disease through lifestyle changes. Lee and his wife Lisa live in Austin, MN and have six married children and 19 grandchildren.