Health Care
for Everyone

North Whatcom Health Center

Our new North Whatcom Health Center is now open and accepting new patients. Conveniently located off of I-5 on Portal Way in Ferndale, the health center offers medical, dental, behavioral health, and pharmacy services to north Whatcom County residents. Learn more.

Cat’s Story

Learn about Cat Enright’s weekly yoga class, free to UCNW patients. [Read Her Story]

January is National Cervical Health Awareness Month

It’s a new year, a new decade, and a new opportunity to prevent cervical cancer.

Each year, more than 11,000 women in the United States get cervical cancer. Almost all cases of cervical cancer are caused by HPV (human papillomavirus), a very common infection that spreads through sexual activity. About 79 million Americans currently have HPV, but many people with HPV don’t know they are infected.

The good news? Cervical cancer can be prevented by receiving a HPV vaccine and through regular screening tests and follow-up care. 

In honor of National Cervical Health Awareness Month, Unity Care NW encourages:

• Women to start getting regular cervical cancer screenings at age 21
• Parents to make sure pre-teens get the HPV vaccine at age 11 or 12

Teens and young adults can get the HPV vaccine if they didn’t get it as pre-teens. Women up to age 26 and men up to age 21 can still get the vaccine.

For more information or to make an appointment, call us at (360) 676-6177.

Still Facing a “Fiscal Cliff”

We are pleased that Congress is extending short-term funding for the nation’s community health centers. Unfortunately, however, the funding package does not provide the long-term certainty and sustainability that health centers need to do our work. In 2017, the nation’s community health centers went over a “fiscal cliff” when Congress failed to provide funding for five months. As a May 22, 2020 deadline to fully fund community health centers approaches, we’re facing another fiscal cliff.

As a Federally-Qualified Health Center, Unity Care NW receives federal grant funding each year. This funding has been critical to the operation, expansion, and construction of health centers nationwide. At Unity Care NW, these funds helped make the 2016 construction of our adult dental and expanded behavioral health facilities a reality. Legislation that was finally passed in early 2018 extended federal funding for another two years, through September 30, 2019. Congress  extended that deadline until December 20th, and now the deadline has been extended again to May 22, 2020.

While there are proposals to provide stable, long-term funding to community health centers, we continue to face another deadline for action. Learn more about current proposals being considered and how to voice your support for community health centers.