#UNITY CARE HOW TO#

“I feel like the care that I get here gives me hope.”įor Martha, for Natalie, and for so many others, Unity Care NW is more than just a health clinic it is a chance to live a more flourishing life. “There is such an atmosphere of kindness ,” said Martha, a Unity Care patient. The Murdock Trust has been grateful to support Unity Care NW with four grants since 2012, including a grant to expand their services to the North Whatcom region which eased capacity in their Bellingham sites, a grant to support project expenses and equipment for a new dental clinic, COVID-19 relief funding, and more. The clinic now sees more than 100 patients daily. Many years and many patients later, this evolved into the health clinic that is today Unity Care NW. Eventually, a coalition was formed between local congregations, a medical society, and a social action agency that connected low-income patients with physicians willing to see them in their own practice. The first and greatest identified issue was a lack of low-income health care. The clinic was founded by a pastor of a Lutheran church who was interested in serving the needs of his immediate community. “We try to bring all these different professionals together who have different perspectives and different vantage points so it’s a better, deeper, richer understanding of health,” said behavioral health director Grant Guiley. What are the things that they can do to manage chronic conditions and to thrive despite the fact that they have something that they’ll have for the rest of their lives?”

#UNITY CARE HOW TO#

“Often we have patients who are in need of understanding how to eat more healthily. Joyce has explained that sometimes health clinics are seen as a resource for emergency care, but at Unity Care NW, the vision is much larger. It is also working to broaden the vision of what health care can offer. “There are many people in Whatcom County who don’t have ready access to health care, let alone health care that they can afford,” said Joyce.īy providing medical, dental, behavioral health, and pharmacy services to all regardless of their ability to pay, Unity Care NW is working toward its mission to increase the years of healthy life in the people and communities it serves. Over 15% of their patients experience homelessness, according to Jodi Joyce, chief executive officer. But for many in Whatcom County, WA, this is made difficult by financial challenges and other life circumstances. Unity Care NW believes that all people deserve the opportunity to live their healthiest life. Clinics serving rural Alaskan communities, behavioral health units in Idaho hospitals, mental health clinics in Montana, integrated local health care providers in rural Oregon, and clinics like Unity Care Northwest in Washington are each doing their part in creating a healthier Pacific Northwest by caring for people like Natalie. Stories like this are one reason the Murdock Trust is so grateful to support health care organizations across the Pacific Northwest.

Unity care