The vision of Unity Care NW is both straightforward and enormous—healthcare for everyone.
They strive to provide affordable primary care and preventative medical, dental, behavioral health, and pharmacy service for all adults and children.
Part of a national network of community health centers that provides high quality healthcare at some of the lowest costs around, Unity Care NW has been growing in both size and scope for over 30 years.
1983: Added dental services
1986: Added behavioral health services
2001: Became an independent non-profit organization with its own Board of Directors
2003: Opened new facility in Point Roberts
2007: Designated a Federally Qualified Health Center and licensed mental health facility
2008: Opened new facility in Ferndale
2013: Named non-profit of the year by the Bellingham/Whatcom Chamber of Commerce
2013: Opened on-site pharmacy for Unity Care NW patients at the Bellingham clinic
2015: Achieved Level 3 Patient Centered Medical Home recognition from the National Committee for Quality Assurance
Though until 2015, all of that great work was done under the name Interfaith Community Health Center. Late last year, the group chose a new name and announced expansion plans for a new, larger facility in Ferndale.
The best way to get a feel for the work Unity Care does, is to read the testimonials on their website. Stories like this one—from Tracy Carpenter—make clear how vital their role in our community really is:
“I was self-employed, in a transitional period and I just didn’t have extra money for insurance,” she says.
Luckily, in Bellingham there was help, and as Tracy made the transition into her new career as a commercial real estate agent, Unity Care NW was there to provide affordable medical care at a price nowhere else was willing to match. Even when things got better for her, the personal relationships Tracy built with her doctors kept her coming back: She even used her real-estate acumen to help Unity Care NW find its current location. Always grateful for the help she received when she was in need, Tracy continues to choose Unity Care NW as her primary care provider, even though she no longer has to.
“Today Unity Care NW is a choice, not a need for me,” she says. “I have insurance now; I could go anywhere I want, but I keep coming back.”