2024 Community Report

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MEDICAL CARE DENTAL CARE BEHAVIORAL HEALTH SUBSTANCE USE DISORDER CARE PHARMACY ACCESS EQUITY COMMUNITY

THE POWER OF AND

Dear Friends,

How many hats do you wear on a given day? I would guess that, like me, you wear many, and often several at the same time. That’s because we are not one thing or another. We are parents and children, siblings and friends, co-workers and caregivers, learners and leaders. Every day brings new nuances to navigate, new complexities to consider.

And yet, despite this complex reality, our society is often more comfortable with simplistic labels. Things are good or bad. Issues are right or wrong. People are us or them, worthwhile or undeserving.

The problem with “either/or” thinking in the context of health care is that it is inherently limiting. Whereas people, their complexity and capacity, are limitless. You can’t put people, or their care, into a series of tidy boxes.

That’s why at HealthPoint, we believe in the power of “AND.” This small but mighty word fuels our belief that everyone deserves great care.

And that inclusivity applies to who, where, and how we serve.

At our health centers and at local hospitals. At schools and at community events. In homes and in houses of worship. In shelters and encampments.

And we continue to evolve our care to meet the needs of our communities, including:

Families arriving as refugees and asylum seekers from
Ukraine, Afghanistan, Angola and beyond.
Students in south King County.
Community members with complex health concerns and unstable housing.
Neighbors harmed by the growing overdose crisis.

Our vision is to have the healthiest communities in the country, and we are working towards that vision by expanding the definition of health care and partnering to give people the best opportunity for health and well-being.

Because good health is about more than health services. Good health is also housing, safety, food security, employment opportunities, connections to other people, and access to social services that help families thrive.

That’s why we are committed to rooting in community and growing partnerships like the Redmond Together Center (2022), the Family First

Community Center (2023), the White Center Community Hub (2025), and the Tukwila Health & Wellness Center (2026).

These hubs bring together recreation, community building, education, social services, and health care all in one easy to access location. That means that every time a child comes to basketball practice, or an adult attends an English language learning class, or a teen drops in for tutoring, they also have access to health care and health education.

Health and community together. It’s a powerful pairing because each strengthens the other and benefits us all.

So, here’s to “AND.”

To listening and innovation. To equity and belonging. To care and partnership. To deepening our roots and growing our future.

And here’s to us and our shared healthy future. Because we are in this together, and we all deserve great care.

In health and community,

REFUGE PROGRAM

From arrival to integration: How HealthPoint’s refugee care team welcomes families

Besides the language and cultural barriers, one of the many exhausting aspects for refugees navigating a new health system is retelling the same, often traumatic story.

To better serve refugee families, the refugee team at HealthPoint replaced individual appointments with a more inclusive, family-centered care model that saves time and reduces stress. Instead of having patients retell their family’s migration story repeatedly to different providers taking their history, the whole family experiences the first medical visit together.

An initial family visit can take up to a few hours, and a particular emphasis is placed upon listening. Shoshana Aleinikoff, MD, refugee health specialty director, says, “Refugee care is about affirming people’s lives and history before they came to the U.S. So many of our refugees come with expertise and vibrant lives they left behind. Just asking what your life was like back home can be empowering.”

The refugee team works in all HealthPoint health centers, strategically visiting clinics experiencing a high volume of refugees seeking care. When families need care beyond that provided by the refugee care team, staff help them access appointments with specialists. For those who need social services, like housing, diapers or food, our Care Support Team refers them to agencies who can fill those gaps. “Whatever their next steps might be, our team goes above and beyond to get people into care,” says Dr. Aleinikoff.

Refugee Program:

3,467 new patients seen in 2023

288 average number of new patients every month

CENTERING PREGNANCY PROGRAM

‘Wildly successful’ prenatal care group program bonds refugee mothers together

When refugee patients near their due date, one question Jessica Karp, MD asks is who will watch their other children during delivery. There’s no easy answer for many of Seattle’s new arrivals, who left behind their family and community. But for people who join Midway’s Centering-Pregnancy program, their response is obvious. The expectant mothers in the cohort take care of each other.

“They meet in this pregnancy group, and create such a strong bond that their plan is to watch each other’s kids when they go into labor. That’s a key magic moment,” says Dr. Karp.

HealthPoint’s CenteringPregnancy program is reshaping prenatal care at Midway –– as well as the lives of newly arrived refugees. The program was launched in 2017 when Midway’s clinicians noticed they were having the same conversation with pregnant Afghan refugees who felt isolated in their new country. Expecting a baby left them feeling particularly vulnerable.

Bringing them together for conversation and prenatal care was a way to build community and trust in a new health care system. “The first few groups were wildly successful,” says Dr. Karp.

Today, many pregnant people at HealthPoint Midway join the Centering-Pregnancy program for prenatal group sessions that include prenatal care visits. The program transcends the traditional one-on-one prenatal check- ups, by fostering a supportive environment where people experience pregnancy in their new home together, building a close-knit community.

With three to four cohorts running at any given time, each is structured around participants’ culture, language and community needs. People attend sessions led by providers and other pregnant people at similar gestational stages. The goal is to blend culturally sensitive medical care with facilitated group discussions, while also building a tight-knit community, and empowering patients to take charge of their health and that of their families.

Ob/Midwifery/CenteringPregnancy Program:

3,467 new patients seen in 2023

288 average number of new patients every month

WHOLE CARE PROGRAM

Supports Auburn’s Most Vulnerable Residents

As a primary care provider for patients who suffer from severe mental illness, substance use disorders or lack adequate housing, Nathan Kittle, MD knows his patients often have more pressing day-to-day needs and sometimes aren’t able to show up for a scheduled appointment or follow through with his recommendations or medication management.

Instead, providing health care to Seattle’s most vulnerable residents requires meeting chronically ill patients where they are.

HealthPoint’s Whole Care program is redefining the approach to treating chronically ill patients. Led by Dr. Nate Kittle, this program is designed to address the comprehensive needs of those frequently caught in the cycle of emergency room visits and hospital stays due to unmanaged chronic diseases, mental health disorders and substance use.

Since late 2022, providers at HealthPoint’s Auburn clinic have supported chronically ill patients who typically fall through the cracks of the health care system. Patients with severe mental illness and substance abuse disorders, who are often unhoused, typically seek medical attention when it’s an emergency. Rather than waiting for these patients to end up in the hospital, HealthPoint providers offer wraparound health care services that make it easier for vulnerable patients to access care.

Understanding each patient’s circumstances is key to successfully improving vulnerable patients’ health, says Dr. Kittle. “We start by being curious about why people aren’t succeeding. Without that curiosity, we wouldn’t know what we would need to do to help patients.”

The Whole Care program isn’t just about treating illnesses. It’s about restoring dignity and enhancing the quality of life for every patient it serves.

SUBSTANCE USE DISORDER CARE

Redefining Recovery: Integrating Substance Use Care into Primary Health Services

If Nathan Kittle, MD had his way, substance use care would be a standard part of primary care instead of a subspecialty for those with specific training. While his own background in family medicine includes additional substance use training, his goal at HealthPoint is for all clinicians and staff to be well-versed in treating patients experiencing substance use disorders.

The continued rise of the opioid overdose epidemic has challenged health care providers to innovate inclusive and accessible models of care. HealthPoint is becoming a model for treating substance use disorders within all 10 primary care clinics. “We recognize that sobriety may not be the answer today, but it might be the answer in the future. We try to keep patients alive long enough to be able to engage them in meaningful conversation about their substance use in the future,” says Dr. Kittle.

Since adopting ways to better accommodate patients suffering from substance use disorders, the team at HealthPoint is able to treat between 300 and 500 patients monthly.

Patients benefit not only from harm reduction care but also can access the full spectrum of medical care at HealthPoint, such as dental treatment, chronic disease care and behavioral health. “We try to open the door for them to access all of that by shifting the environment and experience so that people want to engage in harm reduction and overall health care. I see people at rock bottom and over the course of several years, I start to see people flourish and grow again,” says Dr. Kittle.

Dr. Kittle and his team’s approach to integrating substance use disorder treatment within primary care is a testament to the potential of primary care to significantly impact the opioid overdose epidemic. When patients feel supported and have access to comprehensive services, their overall health and well-being can significantly improve.

“The goal for the care we’re providing is to be a place you can show up again and again until you’re able to stand on your own two feet and start walking on the path that will lead you toward health,” says Dr. Kittle.

OVERCOMING ADDICTION AND
HOMELESSNESS WITH HEALTHPOINT’S
WHOLE CARE PROGRAM

When David Flores first visited our Auburn clinic, he was just out of inpatient recovery and had little other than the clothes on his back. While his medical needs were many, the Auburn staff knew there was little they could do to help if Flores didn’t have his basic needs met.

Flores is in recovery from alcohol, opioid and methamphetamine use. His years of substance use and homelessness took a toll on his mind and body. With the help of Whole Care’s multi-disciplinary team, he’s able to get treatment for his mental health diagnosis, chronic pain, dental neglect and other ailments that come from years of hardship.

“I was so long in neglecting my body, my spirit, my emotions, my teeth, everything. I use every aspect of that clinic,” he says.

With the help of HealthPoint and other community partners, Flores continues on his road to recovery in mind and in body. He considers anyone who’s a patient at HealthPoint fortunate to have found them. “They remove a lot of barriers. Their goal is to better the individual, and their approach is flawless and seamless in my experience,” he says.