Neighborcare Health

Happy Women's Equality Day! On this day in 1920, the 19th Amendment granting women the vote was finally ratified, after decades of movement work, protests, and demonstrations. Celebrating women and their equality is especially important in the medical field because according to census.gov, as of 2019 women hold 76% of all healthcare jobs. Without the advocacy of women over the past 100 years, the healthcare field would likely look very different today. Thank you to all the women who have paved the way!

Recently, Alexa Cabrera-Martinez, who is a primary care social worker at our Meridian clinic, was shadowed by a UW medical student exploring how phone apps might be useful in perinatal mental health care. It gives us a perfect opportunity to celebrate how we’re partnering to build a pipeline of health equity leaders who center the needs of communities most impacted by health inequities.

Community health is a community endeavor, and because of your support, Neighborcare Health made real strides in 2023 toward health equity and improving health outcomes for our patients. With your partnership, we will continue to serve our Puget Sound community with the high-quality, respectful, life-affirming care that everyone deserves. Thank you!

Find the full report for 2023, including a letter from CEO Rashad A. Collins, here: https://neighborcare.org/about-us/annual-reports/

Are you passionate about starting a career in the medical field? We want you to join the team! Apply for Neighborcare Health's Medical Assistant Apprentice Program to earn while you learn. Application deadline is August 31. For more information, visit bit.ly/NCHJobs.

This past Friday, the members of our development team volunteered at Pike Place Market Foundation's annual Sunset Supper. They had a chance to serve many of the Pike Place Market vendors and partners, and even got to see signage for the Pike Place clinic in action! It is a joy to be in community with our partners at the foundation, so we are always glad to have an opportunity to celebrate and support their work.

We were honored to host Senator Maria Cantwell's legislative aide Astor Tellman at our Rainier Beach clinic this past Friday! Astor chatted with Neighborcare team members Chief of Community Engagement Candace Jackson, CEO Rashad A. Collins, and Rainier Beach Clinic Administrator Maureen Lara about the importance of advocating for ongoing federal financial support of CHCs, which are the nation's largest primary care provider. They talked about continuing to support the 340B drug pricing program to ensure transparency and accountability that leads to ongoing benefit for CHCs like Neighborcare who leverage these funds to support critical programs like our own midwifery program.

Thank you so much to Astor for making the trip and for the lovely compliment about how impressive it was that so many services are co-located at Rainier Beach! Looking forward to continued collaboration with Senator Cantwell's office on crucial funding and support.

August is National Breastfeeding Month. It's a time to shine a light on why protecting, promoting, and supporting lactation is so important and to honor the work that organizations and policymakers are doing to make the world a bit more friendly for new parents and families.

Want to learn more about resources for breastfeeding and chestfeeding support?

* Make an appointment at a Neighborcare clinic today: neighborcare.org/clinics

* Visit WA DOH website for more information: https://doh.wa.gov/you-and-your-family/lactation

* Learn more from the CDC: https://www.cdc.gov/breastfeeding/php/about/index.html

Today we wrap up National Health Center Week with a celebration of children's health. More than 8.8 million children in the United States receive primary care from a Community Health Center, including from a school-based health center (SBHC). We are proud to be part of this, providing medical, dental, and mental health care to students around Puget Sound through our 15 SBHCs during the school year and serving children and their families at our neighborhood clinics. We also work with community partners to share the word about resources available to students and parents during the summer, like free summer meals.

Voices of Change would not have been possible without the generous support of our sponsors! A huge thank you to all of them for their ongoing partnership in the journey to health equity.

Today is for acknowledging the stupendous health center staff! Across the US, there are nearly 285,000 staff and volunteers of community health centers, including the amazing Neighborcare community. We literally could not do it without the amazing network of dedicated folks who are so deeply committed to the mission of providing high-quality health care services to all people and helping us reach our goal of 100% access. They're all the MVPs here!

The start of the school year is just around the corner--make sure your kids are ready to go back by getting caught them up on their vaccinations, including against COVID-19!

Join us for one of our upcoming Saturday vaccine clinics at Rainier Beach or Lake City on Saturday, August 17. Call 206-548-5710 for assistance.

https://neighborcare.org/vaccines

Image ID: Three people posed together wearing masks with bandages on their arms. The title above says "Upcoming vaccine clinic. Is your student ready for the school year? Get them caught up on important vaccines!"

-19vaccine

Thank you so much to everyone who joined us last night at Voices of Change! It was a fabulous evening full of tasty treats, emotional stories, impactful conversations, and thoughts for the future. This community is so strong! With all of you, we CAN achieve health equity.

📷: Ulysses Photo

Community health centers have received bipartisan political support for more than 50 years! During the 2024 Washington legislative session, legislators partnered with Neighborcare and our fellow community health centers and demonstrated strong support for the work with the Apple Health Expansion for undocumented people, an increase in funding for school-based health centers, an increase in funding for capital projects in dental clinics, and more. We thank these stakeholders and others for their continued support and advocacy!

It’s a grand slam for the winner of this item. Our third and final live auction item for Voices of Change tonight means that one lucky bidder will get themselves four (4) Main Level or Terrace Club tickets for 2024 Seattle Mariners regular season home games. Our Seattle Mariners are currently in first place in the American League West so these home games are sure to be an exciting evening at the ballpark. Grab your buds, grab a brew, and get ready to root for the home team!

Tickets will be available at the door this evening! Find more information at neighborcare.org/VoicesOfChange.

Patients are the reason behind everything we do. In 2023, community health centers (CHCs) served more than 31 million patients. To stay in tune with patient and community needs, all CHC Governing Board of Directors, including Neighborcare's, are comprised of at least 51% patients. Some statistics about the CHC patient population:
- 1 in 11 people in US
- 1 in 9 children
- 1 in 4 racial and ethnic minorities
- 1 in 6 Medicaid beneficiaries
- 1 in 5 persons without insurance
- 1 in 3 people in poverty

Thank you to all of our patients for being part of our community and for trusting us with your health!

Another awesome auction item during our Voices of Change event is an exclusive, once-in-a-lifetime painting! Every event is unique and will never happen in exactly that way again, so we’re honored to have this evening captured via live painting by Liana, pictured here,. You can take the final product home to remember this beautiful moment forever. Liana is a multidisciplinary artist, using art as a means for self-expression, empathy-building, and community-building. Thank you to our friends at Path with Art for connecting us with Liana.

Want a chance to bid on this one-of-a-kind painting? Make sure to join us at Voices of Change tomorrow night! Learn more at neighborcare.org/VoicesOfChange.

A big thank you to our friends at Georgetown Brewing for this delicious donation to Voices of Change! We're excited to share these brews with our ale afficionados tomorrow night. See you there!

Need tickets? Visit neighborcare.org/VoicesOfChange .

Migrant health centers were the original community health centers. Today, CHCs serve more than 1 million migrant and seasonal agricultural workers, approximately 20% of the total estimated agricultural worker population in the United States and territories. According to a December 2023 Washington State Institute for Public Policy report, in 2022, Washington farms, ranches, dairies, and packing sheds employed over 113,000 farmworkers – about 3% of all employment in the state.

Although Neighborcare doesn't don't serve many patients who are agricultural workers because of our service areas, we want to extend a thank you to all of our sibling health centers who provide such important care!

During Voices of Change on Wednesday, we will have a few select, live auction items, so get your bidding hands ready!

One of those items is this pairing of tasting sessions. Have you been looking for your new favorite gin? Or maybe your new favorite wine? Well, you’re sure to find a winner during one of these complimentary tasting sessions with Browne Family Vineyards and Scratch Distillery. These tastings are for four (4) so plan a double date (or two!) with your best couple friends or grab three of your good buddies.

Don't have your ticket for Voices of Change yet? Tickets are still available online, and will also be available at the door. Find more information at neighborcare.org/VoicesOfChange.

People who experience homelessness are the focus of National Health Center Week today. People who experience homelessness endure higher rates of chronic and acute disease, behavioral health conditions, and other disparities that make them vulnerable to poor health, disability, and early death. That means reducing barriers to care is absolutely critical.

Our Ballard clinic serves adults currently experiencing homelessness, providing medical care and behavioral health services. Neighborcare nurses also partner with REACH to provide nursing support outreach and offer walk-in hours. The Housing Health Outreach Team (HHOT) provides care to those in permanent supportive housing meeting those residents where they live. Many of these residents have experienced long-term, chronic homelessness. And Youth Clinic at 45th Street, New Horizons and Pike Place Market, partners with young people who are dealing with unstable housing or homelessness.

The first week in August marks the return of National Health Center Week. We use this time to raise awareness of the impact that community health centers like Neighborcare have, but also to take time for celebration!

Each day this week also has a particular focus, and today is for celebration of the efforts to provide residents of public housing with increased access to comprehensive primary health care and disease prevention services. It also emphasizes how important and impactful social determinants of health can be, as many of those served previously experienced homelessness and greater barriers to care. A huge thank you to all of our staff who serve many people who live in public housing.

Help us get an accurate head count for Voices of Change! If you're planning on attending, but haven't purchased your ticket yet, we would so appreciate you doing that this weekend at neighborcare.org/VoicesOfChange . We're looking forward to seeing you there!

P.S. If you aren't able to grab a ticket in advance, tickets will be available at the door.

August 1 is World Lung Cancer Day. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Screening high risk individuals has the potential to allow early detection and to dramatically improve survival rates, since it is often not diagnosed until advanced stages. Raise awareness and learn about the risk factors at American Lung Association.

Image description: A male-presenting person with a beard looks calm and basks in the sunlight. The sea is blurry in the background. A blue banner along the top reads "World Lung Cancer Day."

Umoja Fest & Parade is this weekend at Judkins Park and Neighborcare will be there! We love getting to meet community members - stop by and say hello.

Learn more at www.umojafestnw.com.

Viral hepatitis affects more than 300 million people worldwide and leads to more than 1 million deaths each year. On World Hepatitis Day, it’s time for action. With a person dying every 30 seconds from a hepatitis-related illness, we must accelerate action on better prevention, diagnosis, and treatment to save lives and improve health outcomes.

Learn more about local resources for hepatitis testing and prevention from https://kingcounty.gov/en/legacy/depts/health/communicable-diseases/hiv-std/patients/about-stds/hepatitis

Today we celebrate National Disability Independence Day, which marks the anniversary of the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)! This important civil rights law works to ensure all people with disabilities have the same rights and opportunities as everyone else.

Curious about ADA resources in the Puget Sound area? Check out the Northwest ADA Center https://nwadacenter.org/

Along with its Public Health - Seattle & King County partners, the Columbia City team hosted a successful blood drive with the Red Cross—donating 21 units of blood collectively! Summer is an especially important time to give blood since blood banks tend to experience shortages because of heat, vacations, and closures of places where blood drives typically happen (like schools). Congratulations to the team at Columbia City for this awesome contribution!

We are thrilled to announce Gee Scott as our emcee for Voices of Change fundraiser on August 7! You may know him from The Gee & Ursula Show on KIRO 97.3 FM, but what you might not know is that he's a master of entertainment off the radio as well. You could catch him game-day hosting for the Seahawks, auctioneering at a gala for one of your favorite community organizations, or even giving an inspirational speech.

We can't wait to experience his incomparable energy and we hope you'll be part of it too! Register today at neighborcare.org/VoicesOfChange.

Image ID: A photo of Gee Scott, a Black man wearing black-framed glasses and a silver sport coat. He is speaking into a microphone. Text reads "Announcing emcee Gee Scott. Wednesday, August 7, 5:30 - 7 pm, Fisher Pavilion - Seattle Center, neighborcare.org/VoicesOfChange." Gee Scott Sr.