Once COVID-19 crisis fades, Swedish lined up for new Broadway clinic

Busy on the front line of Seattle’s battle against the coronavirus, Swedish Medical Center is also making plans that will bolster the growing presence of health services ventures in the core of  Broadway.

City of Seattle construction permitting reveals the Pacific Northwest health care provider is making plans to resuscitate the space left empty where CHI Franciscan Health venture CityMD went belly up last year after overhauling the bones of the old building that legendary Broadway restaurant Charlie’s called home for decades.

A Swedish representative tells CHS more information on the project will be made available soon. Continue reading

Striking Swedish Medical Center nurses and caregivers will march from First Hill

(Image: @SEIU1199NW)

A Wednesday afternoon march will mark the midway of a planned three-day strike as nearly 8,000 Swedish Medical Center nurses and caregivers are fighting for a new, better contract with the nonprofit Seattle-area health provider.

The strike is hitting Seattle campuses including First Hill, Cherry Hill, Ballard, Edmonds and Issaquah where Swedish says it planned to use thousands of temporary workers to continue its services.

Emergency rooms in Ballard and Redmond have been closed during the strike which is slated to end Friday morning. Organizers claim Swedish management has threatened to lock striking workers out through the weekend.
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From one Capitol Hill to the other, Jayapal spreading the word on Medicare for All — What CHS heard at Saturday’s forum

(Image: @CMTMosqueda1 via Twitter)

Rep. Pramila Jayapal was joined by citywide Seattle City Council members Lorena Gonzalez and Teresa Mosqueda, as well as state Sen. Joe Nguyen, D-White Center, Saturday morning as she implored a packed house at The Summit on Pike to speak out on the importance of Medicare for All.

“It is time to transform our health care system in America,” said Jayapal, who introduced the Medicare for All Act of 2019, H.R. 1384, in February. “It is time to make sure that health care is a right and not a privilege reserved only for the luckiest few.”

The Washington Seventh Congressional District leader’s bill, which has 107 co-sponsors in the House of Representatives, aims to create a universal Medicare program to cover all Americans with one government-run health plan. This plan would cover hospital visits, primary care, maternity care and prescription drugs as well as dental benefits which came up several times Saturday as a source of financial hardship. Continue reading

Jayapal hosts Medicare for All Speak Out on our Capitol Hill

Our rep in the House of Representatives has a plan to fix the country’s broken health care system including coverage for “essential medical needs, including hospitalization, doctor visits, mental health, vision, dental and long-term care” while “controlling costs and allowing for free choice of doctors and hospitals.”

Saturday, Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA 07) will be on our Capitol Hill for a Medicare for All Speak Out:

Congresswoman Jayapal’s Medicare for All Speak Out

Jayapal is slated to answer questions about the legislation during the 90-minute session. “We’ll also invite members of the community like you to share your health care stories and take action to continue building the support for the Medicare For All Act of 2019,” organizers write.

Jayapal introduced “the most ambitious plan for government-run health care yet” in February that could create a future “where all Americans have health coverage and pay nothing out of pocket when they visit the doctor or hospital.” Critics have knocked the plan for not addressing how it would be paid for. Jayapal has pointed to “a wealth tax or repeal of Republican tax cuts as possible options for paying for the system,” Vox reports.

Country Doctor’s new dental clinic: Now helping smiles on 19th Ave E

Thursday, neighbors and supporters will get their first opportunity to visit the new Country Doctor building next to their longtime clinic at the corner of 19th and Republican. Patients and families are already being served with an expanded array of services from the nonprofit provider of health care regardless of insurance status or ability to pay.

Country Doctor Dental Clinic Open House

“It was a little bit behind but not by much when you consider these kinds of projects,” development director Michael Craig tells CHS about the project’s long journey to Thursday’s open house. “To me we’re kind of right on schedule.” Continue reading

Eat Out 2016 for Country Doctor: 21 bars, restaurants, and cafes supporting nonprofit’s quest to build new Capitol Hill home

14040017_10153958119527545_4576690007042986366_nCountry Doctor Community Health Clinic is making progress towards raising the funding it needs for a new structure to replace its old office space on 19th Ave E. A capital campaign to raise the remaining money necessary for the project is underway. Thursday, you can boost the nonprofit provider of community health care by going out to eat.

“A portion of your breakfast, lunch and/or dinner bill will be donated to our organization to help our patients get the high quality, caring, culturally appropriate primary health care they need and deserve,” the promo reads.

The list of participants is below: Continue reading

‘The Starbucks of health care’ working to upend the industry at 23rd and Jackson

Maxine Frazier loves her new doctor. The Central District resident started going to Iora Primary Care a few months ago, and it’s safe to say she wouldn’t go back to a traditional doctor’s office.

“This is the best thing I ever heard of,” she said.

Iora is a local branch of a growing national health provider. The fast-growing company has 12 offices across the country, with plans to open another 10 or 11 within a year, according to Kathleen Haley, senior director of marketing and communications for the Cambridge, Massachusetts-based company.

Locally, there’s an office in Shoreline, and another at 23rd and Jackson in the Central District.

Iora is looking to upend the typical fee-for-service health care model, and instead partners with companies or health insurers to offer services based on a more regular schedule. In general, the insurer pays Iora a monthly fee for each member, which allows the patient to visit the office as much, or as little as they need. Visits end up lasting longer than a usual doctor’s visit, with one-hour blocks of time set aside for each patient. The New York Times just called it “a kind of Starbucks for health care.”

“We’re just restoring humanity to health care. That’s it,” quipped Dr. Jay Mathur, a Central District Iora physician CHS spoke with. Continue reading