Unity Care Announces Plans for a New Campus in Ferndale

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April 16, 2018
Unity Care NW Plans Summer Ground Breaking for North Whatcom Health Center
                                               
Unity Care NW is pleased to announce that we will soon be breaking ground on a new North Whatcom Health Center located in Ferndale.
 
The North Whatcom Health Center will expand access to primary medical, dental, behavioral health, and pharmacy services in north Whatcom County. Located in Ferndale off of Portal Way, the new 23,000 sq. ft. health center will serve 9,500 patients. It will include 12 dental operatories, expanding access to adult dental care in our community. The facility will also have the most comprehensive behavioral health services in Whatcom County, outside of Bellingham. It will employ 60 full-time staff and will contribute to the revitalization of Ferndale’s Portal Way corridor.
 
Construction was originally planned for 2017, with an anticipated opening in 2018. Uncertainty around the future of the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid expansion, however, caused our Board of Directors to delay the project. Uncertainty concerning the future of health care remains, but with the award of a capital grant from the Washington State Legislature, and New Market Tax Credits, private foundation support as well as other fundraising opportunities underway, we are now moving forward. We will break ground this summer and expect to open our doors to patients in the summer of 2019.
 
This project will improve the lives of Whatcom County residents. Access to dental care is consistently ranked as one of the most needed but least available services in our community. This project will enable Unity Care NW to serve more Whatcom County adults and children. It will provide an on-site pharmacy option for our patients and expand access to much-needed behavioral health and wellness services.
 
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ABOUT UNITY CARE NW
 
Unity Care NW is a private, not-for-profit clinic, governed by a Board of Directors a majority of whose members use the clinic’s services. As a Federally Qualified Health Center, Unity Care offers a Sliding Fee Discount Program that discounts prices according to household size and income to make services available regardless of the ability to pay. These discounts are also available to people with commercial insurance or Medicare who face high deductibles or copays.  Unity Care NW is dedicated to the principle that “Healthcare is for Everyone” and seeks to increase the years of healthy life in the communities and people it serves. Founded in 1982, Unity Care NW was formerly known as Interfaith Community Health Center.