Founded in 1974 and originally called Total Life Care Centers, Elevate Life’s current name better reflects what the organization does in helping pregnancy resource centers, said Patty Rosno, affiliate support manager for the Eagan-based nonprofit.
Founded in 1974 and originally called Total Life Care Centers, Elevate Life’s current name better reflects what the organization does in helping pregnancy resource centers, said Patty Rosno, affiliate support manager for the Eagan-based nonprofit.
“We’re … trying to build a community of life in our communities,” she said.
Patty Rosno
Elevate Life supports pregnancy resource centers and clinics in 37 locations across Minnesota and western Wisconsin, and it is looking to expand, Rosno said. Its roles include training nonprofit managers and clinic operators, she said.
The evening before her interview with host Patrick Conley for an upcoming episode of the “Practicing Catholic” radio show, Rosno attended a board meeting at one center “to help them figure a few things out.” The previous week, she gave HIPAA training at a different center.
“So those things can take the edge off of what they need to know,” she said, giving staff the opportunity to better to focus on serving the women and families who need their help while retaining best practices.
Centers served in the Twin Cities include Guiding Star Wakota in West St. Paul and Options for Women East in Woodbury and Apple Valley.
“We’re helping to provide that introductory training when they hire a staff” or helping with policies and procedures, Rosno said.
She said there’s a tendency to treat a pregnancy resource center solely as a ministry and to forget it also is an incorporated business “and therefore, all laws need to be followed.”
“Many of our clinics are medical centers that are doing medical services,” she said, so all medical policies and procedures also need to be followed.
“In addition, we’re kind of under attack by people that think what we’re doing is nefarious. And of course, it’s not. We’re helping people. … And so, we have to make sure that everything we’re doing meets best practices or even exceeds them. We have to be better than your other medical clinic that you attend for your throat cultures. So, what we’re doing really matters in terms of not having to reinvent the wheel at each location, but being able to say we have the answers.”
Rosno said the mission of a couple of organizations is to send “secret shoppers in our centers” or make phone calls to try to trip up staff. If successful, doing so could become a court case, she said. “So training, equipping people to make sure that they’re always following policies and procedures … means we’re safe,” she said.
With three full-time and one part-time staff member, Elevate Life welcomes the assistance of volunteers, Rosno said, including to help run events, serve or pick up food for training events, perform office tasks, help with fundraising or give a presentation on a topic to affiliates. “There are so many ways to get involved,” she said.
To learn more about the organization, visit ElevateLifeUSA.org or its Facebook page, “Elevate Life, formerly TLC Options for Women.” To hear the full interview, listen to this episode of the “Practicing Catholic” radio show. It airs at 9 p.m. Nov. 5, 1 p.m. Nov. 6 and 2 p.m. Nov. 7 on Relevant Radio 1330 AM.
Produced by Relevant Radio and the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, the latest show also includes interviews with Abe Gross and Connor Flanagan, who describe how they’re seeking to harness the power of music for Jesus in founding the Dayton Avenue Music Label, and avid hunter Dave Hrbacek from The Catholic Spirit, who describes where hunting and love of the outdoors intersect with living out the faith.
Listen to all of the interviews after they have aired at
soundcloud.com/PracticingCatholic
tinyurl.com/PracticingCatholic (Spotify)
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