Appointment Information

Everything you need to know on how to get care for you and your family.

Making an Appointment

To make an appointment, please be ready to provide the following information:

  • Patient’s name and date of birth
  • Your name (if you are calling for the patient)
  • A current phone number where you can be reached
  • Whether the visit is urgent, routine, or follow-up
  • Patient’s insurance information, if any
  • Whether the patient will need an interpreter

When you have all of this information, please call us at (360) 676-6177 or toll-free (877) 235-6850 to schedule an appointment.

Appointment Information

  • Write the time of your appointment on your calendar
  • Make sure you have transportation to and from the health center. Medicaid patients may arrange transportation 48 hours in advance by calling Northwest Regional Council’s toll free number: (800) 860-6812. (See Getting to Your Appointment below for more details.)

Each visit is scheduled so that we can care for multiple patients throughout the day. If you have multiple issues to discuss or need longer than the scheduled appointment time, you may need to schedule another appointment.

Getting to Your Appointment

There are a number of options for getting transportation to Unity Care NW. In addition to bus service and other transportation options, bike racks are available.

Transportation Benefits with Apple Health

If you have Apple Health (Medicaid), the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) may pay for your transportation to and from Unity Care NW appointments. DSHS offers bus passes, taxi rides, or help paying for gas. To receive Apple Health transportation assistance, you need to call the Northwest Regional Council at least 48 hours (2 days) before your appointment.

Northwest Regional Council
Toll Free: (800) 860-6812
Fax: (360) 734-5446

You can also visit the Northwest Regional Council website for more information. If Northwest Regional Council is unable to answer your questions, call the DSHS customer service center at (800) 562-3022 or visit the Apple Health website,

Whatcom Transit Authority (WTA) Bus Service

There are many bus stops near Unity Care NW — Bellingham. The WTA Bus Terminal is three blocks southeast of Unity Care NW on Railroad Avenue between E. Champion and Commercial.

In Ferndale, there is a WTA bus stop adjacent to our North Whatcom Health Center.

WTA Specialized Transportation

Specialized Transportation is provided to people who are unable to use the fixed route bus system because of a disability. WTA will pick you up and take you where you need to go. You must complete an application for the program. Call WTA at (360) 733-1144 (Voice or TTY) to get an application. Once you return the application, WTA will notify you within 21 days (3 weeks) to tell you if you may use the program.

Appointment Cancellations and “No-Shows”

It is very important that you keep your scheduled appointment. If you must cancel or re-schedule your appointment, please call us at (360) 676-6177 at least 24 hours in advance. When you miss an appointment or cancel less than 24 hours in advance, that means that someone else who needs care has to wait longer to be seen. You can leave a message at that number after hours.

If you call to cancel the day of your appointment, don’t call to cancel, or don’t show up for your appointment, it is considered a “no-show.” Multiple missed appointments or “no shows” may result in disciplinary action, including being placed on a “Standby Basis” for future visits, or in some cases, dismissal from our health care practice.

Medical “Check-in Appointments” and “Provider Appointments”

Each time you schedule a medical appointment with Unity Care NW, we will schedule you two separate appointments:

  • Your Check-in Appointment will be with one of our receptionists who will make sure all the appropriate paperwork has been completed. Your Check-in Appointment is scheduled 15 minutes prior to your Provider Appointment.
  • Your Provider Appointment is the time you will spend with your provider.

It is important that you arrive for your Check in Appointment on time so that your Provider Appointment is not delayed. If you are late for your Check-in Appointment, you may be asked to reschedule your Provider Appointment or be placed on ‘stand-by’, which means if/when there is a cancellation, you can still be seen.

What to Bring to Your Appointment

  • Your insurance card
  • Your proof of household income (see Questions Asked at Check-in below for information about why we ask all patients to provide this information)
  • Minimum co-pay or Sliding Fee Discount payment for each visit

Also important for medical appointments, please bring a list of your medications, including the doses and amounts left of each medication, or you can bring all of your medications in a bag.

Questions Asked at Check-in

We are required to request financial information from all patients. Unity Care NW receives grants to help lower the cost of our services. These grants allow us to offer more services and to provide a Sliding Fee Discount Program to those who are eligible. In order to offer those discounts as well as get and keep these grants, we must report information about our patients.

Our Sliding Fee Discount Program requires that we collect the following information from those patients applying for program eligibility:

  • Household income information
  • Household size

In addition, grants that fund our services require that we also collect the following information from all patients:

  • Household income information
  • Household size
  • Race and ethnicity
  • Age
  • Housing information
  • Insurance information
  • Veteran status

In regard to household income information, we ask that you bring information you have on the following types of income you receive:

  • Most recent employment paystubs showing income (wages, salaries, tips and commisisons) for the past 30 days
  • Previous year’s IRS 1040 personal/selfemployment tax return showing net selfemployment or business income
  • Most recent unemployment paystubs showing income for past 30 days
  • Current year Award/Benefit Letter from other sources (Social Security, Veteran’s Benefits)
  • Proof of other types of household income (alimony/spousal support, retirement and pension income, Investment and rental income, per capita distributions from tribal gaming).
  • Two months of most recent bank statements (all accounts)
  • If you have no income, you can ask a receptionist for a self-attestation of no income form.

 

Unity Care NW respects your privacy

We understand that your personal information is very sensitive. We will not disclose your information to others unless you tell us to do so, or unless the law authorizes or requires us to do so.