Category: Uncategorized

Open Enrollment for Health Insurance is Here and We Can Help

Posted on November 1, 2022 by Marissa McGrath - CurrentNews, Uncategorized

Woman signing up and joining the Affordable Care Act open enrollment before deadline.

The Marketplace Open Enrollment at HealthCare.gov runs from November 1, 2022 to January 15, 2023. Consumers who enroll in Washington state health insurance by midnight on December 15 can get full-year coverage that starts January 1.

Washington Health Insurance Coverage is Affordable! This year, thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act, more people qualify for help purchasing quality health coverage during the WA state open enrollment period. If you have looked for medical insurance in Washington state before, it is worth a second look:
• 4 out of 5 customers will be able to find a plan during WA state open enrollment for $10/month or less after subsidies.
• With the new law, millions of people will continue to qualify for tax credits that lower their premiums.

Quality Plans! These are quality, comprehensive health plans that offer doctor visits, emergency care, behavioral health care, preventive care, hospital care, and prescription drugs. There is a Washington state health insurance plan to suit nearly everyone.

Help is Available! Unity Care NW’s certified Insurance Navigators can help you for free. Call our health insurance navigators today! Call (360) 788-2669

From Survival to Stability: How Health Care and Housing Transformed Teresa’s Life

Posted on October 17, 2022 by Marissa McGrath - OurImpact, Uncategorized

Teresa, a survivor of domestic violence and medical hardship, is frank when she talks about her struggles.

“The man that I married, he hit me, and I had kids with him, and I believed he loved me, and I still believe that he did love me, but he was not capable of loving in a manner that was healthy,” Teresa says. “The last straw was when he punched my daughter, who was 15 at the time, and she said, ‘if you can’t leave him for yourself mom, please leave him for us.’” Teresa did leave her abuser but struggled to find housing.

“I stayed in shelters for a while. You have to sleep with all your belongings under your head and there’s headlice and bed bugs and all the other stuff that goes along with it.” After Teresa became a patient at Unity Care NW, her provider, Muriel Handschy ARNP, told her she needed surgery for HPV.

“Normally when a patient has surgery, they stay in the hospital until they’re stable and then discharged to home or an extended stay care facility,” says Muriel. “If someone is experiencing homelessness, they may end up being discharged to the street before they are fully recovered if there isn’t space for them in one of the local facilities.”

Teresa was forced to find an alternative place to recuperate.

“I went down to maritime park where they had containers.” Teresa found large plastic bins that had been used for transporting fish and put two together to create a makeshift shelter. For Muriel, this outcome was heartbreaking.

“It’s important to have access to hygiene facilities; to a bathroom, to a sink, to soap and water to have the best recovery from whatever your surgery is. In an instance like Teresa’s, she found a dry place to stay but had no bathroom facilities to use during her surgery recovery process.”

“When you’re homeless, you’re in survival mode,” Teresa insists. “So, I don’t even know if I thought about infection.”

Having a safe place to recover, to take a shower, and do her laundry would have been lifechanging for Teresa. That’s why Unity Care NW is partnering with PeaceHealth, Opportunity Council, and Whatcom County to create The Way Station. In one location, unhoused individuals can access health and hygiene services as well as medical respite beds when they need them.

Today, Teresa is healthy, has a home, and has recently been promoted at her job. We are proud to be able to provide a health care home for Teresa and it’s stories like hers that inspire us to go further to ensure health and hygiene services are accessible to everyone.

Indoor Masking Still Required in Medical Facilities

Posted on September 25, 2022 by Marissa McGrath - Uncategorized

With declining case rates and hospitalizations across the west, California, Oregon and Washington are moving together to update their masking guidance. As of March 12th, the west coast will be adopting new indoor mask policies. Masks will still be required in certain settings including health care, corrections facilities, and long-term care facilities. The Washington State Department of Health will be issuing new guidance for K-12 schools next week so schools can prepare to implement updated safety protocols. In addition, Unity Care NW is requiring anyone entering our facilities wear a level-3 or higher mask. This is in response to guidance from the CDC on the Omicron variant in order to protect our staff and patients.

Statement from Gov. Jay Inslee, Washington:
“We’ve continued to monitor data from our state Department of Health, and have determined we are able to adjust the timing of our statewide mask requirement. While this represents another step forward for Washingtonians, we must still be mindful that many within our communities remain vulnerable. Many businesses and families will continue choosing to wear masks, because we’ve learned how effective they are at keeping one another safe. As we move to this next phase, we will continue to move forward together carefully and cautiously.”

UCNW Prescribes Empathy for Confronting the Crisis of Homelessness

Posted on September 20, 2022 by Marissa McGrath - CurrentNews, OurImpact, Uncategorized

A person holds the hand of someone in a hospital bed.

Son holding father’s hand at the hospital

Homelessness has been on the rise across the country since 2016[1]. In places like Whatcom County, the lack of available housing makes homelessness an even more prevalent and visible issue. Most Washingtonians can relate to the sense that housing opportunities are becoming further and further out of reach. The economics of post-pandemic life and the high cost of living in our region have deepened financial worries for everyone. As inflation and interest rate changes threaten to worsen the housing market and exacerbate challenges for small business owners, economic tensions lead to stress that can result in conflict. Negative interactions between housed and unhoused people are particularly discouraging for anyone hoping we can come together as a community to end homelessness.

Organizations that work to provide services to people experiencing homelessness have unique insight into this public health crisis. Unity Care NW (UCNW), a local non-profit community health center, provides comprehensive health care to people who may otherwise be unable to afford it. Their staff see firsthand, the negative health impacts of homelessness on their patients. Many have symptoms of trauma and are made sicker by their lack of access to basic hygiene facilities. With 15% of UCNW’s patients experiencing homelessness – compared to an average of 8% at other community health centers nationwide — UCNW resolved to demonstrate its conviction that everyone who can do something to combat homelessness must do something.

This launched a partnership for UCNW with PeaceHealth, Whatcom County, and Opportunity Council to better serve the health and hygiene needs of people experiencing homelessness in Whatcom County. The result of this collaboration, a new facility called The Way Station, will provide shower, laundry, and restroom facilities, as well as respite beds for people experiencing a medical event who have nowhere to recuperate. The Way Station will also connect clients to Unity Care NW’s mental health and substance use disorder treatment and Opportunity Council’s housing support services.

The facility will be housed in the County-owned building at 1500 N State Street. Renovations are scheduled to begin in early 2023, with hopes of opening in fall of 2023.

Empathy is the Answer

While researching successful hygiene center models, The Way Station partners visited Urban Rest Stop in Seattle. A common theme in conversations with experts on the issue of homelessness has been the power of dignity to restore hope and create pathways out of homelessness. “The Urban Rest Stop has allowed me to clean up in order to help me get employment,” one client said in a testimonial. “They have treated me fairly and with dignity. Without these services, it would have been infinitely more difficult to improve my situation.” The Way Station will model the empathetic, trauma-informed approach that Unity Care NW has been using to effectively engage with patients and neighbors including those experiencing homelessness.

UCNW recently brought Ryan Dowd, the Executive Director of the second largest homeless shelter in America, to train its staff in using empathy-driven approaches to compassionately and effectively de-escalate situations and manage conflict. UCNW also partnered with the City of Bellingham, Bellingham Public Library, and the Mount Baker Theatre to offer this same training to more than 800 staff from local businesses and nonprofits. Empathy doesn’t mean excusing and accepting all of a person’s negative behaviors, it just asks that we approach others with awareness that their unique experience and biology impact their way of moving through the world. This can make all the difference for a person on the journey out of homelessness.

A person doesn’t need to be specially trained to help in the fight against homelessness and an organization doesn’t have to be focused on social services to contribute to addressing the housing crisis. Everyone one can do something to move the needle on homelessness. Unity Care NW is excited to deepen its own commitment to disrupting the cycle of homelessness. Partnering on The Way Station, with a trauma-informed and empathetic approach, will work to remove barriers to basic health and hygiene needs and help more people get into permanent housing.

To find out more about The Way Station or to get involved, go to unitycarenw.org/health-and-hygiene

[1] Source: The 2020 Annual Homeless Assessment Report (AHAR) to Congress. January 2021. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

The Way Station Supporters

Posted on April 21, 2022 by Marissa McGrath - CurrentNews, Uncategorized

New Facility Offering a Range of Services for Individuals Experiencing Homelessness

Project Services

The partnering organizations have been engaged since the start in researching models, touring facilities, and envisioning The Way Station and have identified the following programs and services to offer on-site:

Health Care: Medical, Behavioral Health & Substance Use care with expanded access to laboratory testing for illness, vaccine administration and health monitoring.
Hygiene Services: Restrooms, showers, laundry facilities and a hot box to treat belongings and prevent illness.
Case Management: Linking visitors and medical respite residents with social and health care services.
Connections to Stable Housing: Opportunity Council staff will offer supportive pathways for patients to make their way out of homelessness.
Recuperative Respite Care: Staffed 24-7 to provide a quiet environment for recovery from a medical event.

People experiencing homelessness often struggle with maintaining their health due to various challenges. Access to specialized healthcare, basic hygiene facilities, and medical respite beds is limited, worsening health outcomes. Gaps in patient care can have devastating impacts on the health of individuals and inadequate sanitation contributes to the spread of disease more broadly. Providing access to shower and laundry facilities, greatly reduces infection risks.

Recognizing this need in our region, Unity Care NW, Opportunity Council, PeaceHealth, and the Whatcom County Health Department, have partnered to establish The Way Station at Whatcom County’s 1500 N. State Street property. This innovative facility will offer anyone experiencing homelessness hygiene, medical and behavioral health care. Patients experiencing homelessness who are discharged from the hospital can recuperate and heal safely at The Way Station and access wrap around services, including help into long-term housing.

Location and Site Renovation

The Whatcom County owned site provides adequate square footage to support the planned services and is close to transportation facilities and other social and health services including the Opportunity Council and Unity Care NW.

As part of the permitting process, a Way Station Operations Plan was submitted to provide an overview of the facility’s policies, staff roles, guest agreement, emergency protocols.

Project Funding

The project was made possible by generous contributions from supporters and local donors (see full list below) and was awarded government funding at the federal, state, and local level. The Way Station has received a grant for $1.5M from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development as part of a historic funding package to help communities across the country provide housing and supportive services to people in unsheltered settings.

State Senator, Sharon Shewmake, who secured a $4M funding in the state’s capital budget request for The Way Station. Said of her support of the facility, “This project hits it all— caring for community, saving money and helping to get people better and in housing.”

We extend our deepest appreciation for these partners and supporters of the Way Station:

Current as of February 26, 2024. All efforts were taken to ensure accuracy of this list. Please contact Development@ucnw.org with any questions.

Cascade Prosthetics & Orthotics – Changing Lives by Empowering Independence

Posted on April 19, 2022 by Marissa McGrath - Uncategorized

According to the Amputee Coalition, 2.1 million people live with limb loss in the United States. April is Limb Loss and Limb Difference Awareness Month. A time to celebrate the victories and lives of amputees. One company that helps this population gain more independence is Cascade Prosthetics and Orthotics.

Their partner company, Cascade Dafo, created the original DAFO® (Dynamic Ankle Foot Orthosis) in 1985. Today they manufacture a complete system of pediatric bracing. They offer a full line of prosthetic and orthotic devices, including both custom-built and off-the-shelf products.

Custom devices are created in their own fabrication lab, with special consideration to their patients’ unique needs and preferences. Their practitioners specialize in the evaluation and treatment of patients with mobility issues. With locations in Ferndale and Mt. Vernon, they work with patients to provide a full assessment, discuss functional goals, and fit them with a device to best meet their needs.

Cascade Prosthetics & Orthotics is also a long-time supporter of Unity Care NW. Joining us as a sponsor and showing their commitment to health care for everyone. Thank you, Cascade Prosthetics & Orthotics, for your support!

CEO Jodi Joyce on Needed Hygiene Services for Patients Experiencing Homelessness

Posted on April 5, 2022 by Marissa McGrath - CurrentNews, Uncategorized

Jodi Joyce, CEO Unity Care NW

What if there was an apartment you really wanted but you didn’t have anywhere to take a shower or clean your clothes before you met the landlord to apply for it? Or, what if you didn’t have regular access to soap and water at all? This is the daily reality for too many unhoused people in our community, and Unity Care NW and its partners have a plan to change that.

Bellingham has become a community where fewer and fewer people can find a place to live, so it’s no surprise more people are finding themselves on the street/homeless/with no options. Homelessness is a Public Health Emergency in Whatcom County with consequences that affect the health of our entire community. Solutions seem impossible, but there is an abundance of both expertise and empathy locally to help individuals in need get healthy and into housing.

The recent Point in Time Census for Homeless Residents showed a modest improvement in our county after years of increasing rates of homelessness. The Way Station will harness this positive momentum and provide a place where people in Bellingham can take a shower, do their laundry, and go to the bathroom. It will also do so much more to help restore dignity and hope for people in need of permanent housing. As CEO of Unity Care NW, a non-profit health center that offers everyone in our community access to high-quality care, I am excited our team is partnering to bring together hygiene as well as medical and mental health services under one roof.

Every year, Unity Care NW serves more than 3,500 people experiencing homelessness. We see many illnesses that could have been avoided if our patients had access to soap and water and a place to rest when they are sick. We see people with injuries and wounds that they can’t keep clean and people recovering from a surgery with nowhere to recuperate safely. And situations like this are frustrating because they feed into a cycle that keeps people homeless.

Before the pandemic, Unity Care NW began to collaborate with PeaceHealth, the Opportunity Council, and the Whatcom Health Department to address community needs. With these other experts on homelessness, we started to ask: What if we designed a place where laundry, shower, and bathroom facilities were available to the public? What if we connected those same people to medical and mental health care including drug use treatment when they needed it? And respite beds for people referred from the hospital who need a place to recover from an injury or illness? And what if we had staff on site to help people navigate the housing system and get them a permanent place to live?

And that is what we decided to do. With this coalition of health and social service organizations, we have designed a unique facility that brings together models that have been successful in other cities. Thanks to funding support, both private and governmental, we can remodel the Whatcom County-owned location at 1500 N State Street in Bellingham later this year. In order to make these services sustainable, we will need ongoing support and contributions from local individuals and organizations.

If we can come together to support this innovative solution to address the physical and mental health of those in need, The Way Station will help people experiencing homelessness maintain their dignity, improve their health, and get into housing. And these positive effects will ripple out to make a stronger community where everyone can thrive.

We extend our deepest appreciation to partners and supporters of the Way Station

Organizations
Chuckanut Health Foundation
Community Health Plan of Washington
First Federal Community Foundation
Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
Jerry H. Walton Foundation
Molina Healthcare Of WA
Mount Baker Foundation
PeaceHealth
Puget Sound Energy Foundation
The Tax Payers of Washington State
Whatcom County

Individuals
Don and Karen and Berry
Steen Brochner-Nielsen
Brockmann Family in loving memory of Jason Brockmann
Tamera Devoss
Pamela Englett
Jason and Angela Gum
Shanon Hardie
Joanna Jamco
Will and Jodi Joyce
Jan Klineburger
Christina Kobdish
Tami J. Livingston
Jacqueline McCauley
Marissa McGrath
Mary and Buzz Ostlund
Tim R.
Rebecca Spithill in Memory of Larry Thompson
The Stuit Family
Leslie Sweeney
Mistie and Michael Taylor
Tamara Tregoning and Caleb Sanders
Anonymous (4 donors)

Information About Paxlovid Expiration Dates

Posted on March 4, 2022 by Marissa McGrath - Uncategorized

After a thorough review, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently announced the authorization of a shelf-life extension for the Pfizer antiviral therapy, Paxlovid, which is currently authorized for emergency use for the treatment of mild-to-moderate COVID-19. Paxlovid is now authorized for use for up to 24 months and issued a list of new expiration dates for Paxlovid by batch number.

Questions? Call (360) 752-7406 to speak to our pharmacy staff.

COVID Vaccine for Kids Ages 5-11: Unity Care NW Experts Weigh In

Posted on February 9, 2022 by Marissa McGrath - Uncategorized

“As the United States neared the green light for the Pfizer pediatric COVID-19 vaccine, many families were eager to start the vaccination series and others were more hesitant—and families across the board may have questions regarding the vaccine. The medical staff at Unity Care NW would like to help parents and guardians work through these questions to help make the right choice for their children.

Lisa Nelson, Pharmacy Director, and Rachel Herman, Medical Operations Manager, both of Unity Care NW, say there are a few things all parents and guardians should be aware of as they consider the COVID vaccine for their children.

“From my perspective, there’s a lot of concerns about whether the vaccine is safe, and I think it’s important to know that we have data to support that the vaccine is safe,” Nelson says. “Children aren’t at as much risk as adults, but the risk for children for a negative outcome from actually getting COVID is far more significant than any small risk [from the vaccine]…”

[Read the Full Article]

Molina Healthcare – Committed to Healthcare for All

Posted on January 18, 2022 by Marissa McGrath - Uncategorized

Molina Healthcare was founded in 1980 by an emergency room physician with a mission to provide quality health care to those who needed it, no matter their circumstances. Molina Healthcare of Washington has been caring for individuals and families across the state of Washington for over 20 years.

Today, Molina Healthcare of Washington serves over 1 million members through government sponsored programs Apple Health (Medicaid), Medicare D-SNP, and the Health Benefit Exchange in every county across Washington state. In Washington’s North Sound region, Molina serves over 130k members, including nearly 40k members in Whatcom County. They collaborate with community partners to eliminate access barriers and tackle health disparities to improve the health and lives of their members and communities.

Every day, Molina works to earn the continued trust of their members, providers, and community partners. Molina Healthcare of Washington has supported Unity Care NW through charitable giving. Most recently, Molina provided a contribution to support our collaborative Way Station project, which will provide a variety of services under one roof for individuals experiencing homelessness. The Company also participates in our Healthcare Champions Sponsorship program. Unity Care NW is thankful for their support and appreciative of their commitment to provide health care to all.