2021 Community Report

Dear Friends,

This year marks HealthPoint’s 50th anniversary. From our first volunteer-run clinic in a Renton apartment, to a health care home for tens of thousands of people and a leader in whole-person care–we’ve come a long way.

The HealthPoint of 1971 (then called Valley Pulse) had no paid employees, no computers, and occasionally even no phone service. Times were tight for our organization and the community. Between 1968 and 1971, more than sixty-seven thousand people in South King County lost their jobs. Unemployment hovered at 17%, there were long lines at food pantries, and so many families were struggling to get by. Our community needed help.

The folks who founded HealthPoint saw that need and took action. They opened their homes and private medical and dental practices, they volunteered their time, they became self-taught experts in helping neighbors apply for things like food stamps and housing assistance. Described by one local paper as a “miracle agency,” the first HealthPoint provided more than health care; they created hope.

And a half-century later, we’re still at it. While much has changed, that passion for helping people live healthier, happier lives, and that dauntless determination to support and strengthen our community remains the same.

Through booms and busts, recessions and global crises, these core qualities have kept HealthPoint relevant and our communities resilient. This has never been more true than in the past 18 months. As needs changed with COVID, our staff worked relentlessly to re-imagine and transform how and where we care for our community.

While we responded quickly to help our patients stay safelycared for during the pandemic, we also kept moving forward on many exciting projects like the Family First Center in the Cascade/Benson area of Renton. A neighborhood hub for recreation, learning, and essential services, Family First is a model for the next generation of health centers—and where HealthPoint is headed as we move into the next half century of living our mission.

We know that there is more to health and well-being than just the delivery of health care services. That’s why we are rooting our new clinics in community hubs and partnering more deeply to create places and programs that address inequity, help people prosper, and empower wellness in both body and mind.

With so much opportunity ahead, it feels fitting that fifty is the “golden anniversary.” Thank you for helping us reach this milestone and for being part of our living legacy. Together we will create a brighter future for all.

With gratitude,

Lisa Yohalem, CEO