As a dialysis technician in Hibbing, Minnesota, Shawn Savolainen sees firsthand the barriers that stand between dialysis patients and the care they need to survive. Transportation challenges frequently cause patients to miss dialysis appointments, leading to dangerous gaps in treatment. Through her participation in Project REACH—a policy and leadership training program for rural and underrepresented health professionals—Savolainen has channeled her clinical insights into actionable policy work addressing the disproportionately high rates of hospitalization and mortality among low-income patients receiving dialysis in St. Louis County.
Savolainen developed a policy proposal focused on expanding medical transportation by increasing the base rate of payment provided by Medicaid in order for local medical transportation companies to offer a more competitive wage to help with staffing and ride availability. Expanding medical transportation would help increase patient adherence to appointments and treatments.
She collaborated with regional directors and social workers from Fresenius Kidney Care, St. Louis County Social Services, and local transportation providers to better understand the scope of the problem and what it would take to solve it. She also met with Senator Rob Farnsworth to discuss her proposal and share how a stronger transportation infrastructure could lead to better health outcomes across the region.
Savolainen’s work highlights how policy solutions can emerge from lived experience and clinical care. By connecting the dots between Medicaid reimbursement, workforce shortages, and patient health, her Project REACH journey is helping bring rural health challenges into sharper policy focus and improving access to care.
Savolainen says, “Advocating for dialysis patients and finding ways to make life better for them while they are dealing with a chronic health condition is a passion of mine. Through project reach I have been given the tools to advocate and drive change - I have learned how to get to the bottom of the problem, the history and how the problem came to be, options for improvement and ways to advocate for change through policy work.”
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