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North Sound ACH

North Sound Accountable Community of Health

Archives for December 2024

Readying for a new year

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We are a few weeks since the winter solstice, marking the time when, for our part of the planet, the sun is furthest south. In other words, the closer one is to the north pole, the shorter the hours of daylight. Now we are on the other side of the solstice, and we’re already feeling  the earth’s cycle shifting again. 

Imagine living without clocks and other timepieces to know ‘what time it is.’ People used the path of the sun and moon to measure seasons for planting, harvesting and storing food, work patterns, and sacred celebrations. There is something miraculous about the solstice, knowing that the path of the earth and its space in the universe is something that all people around the world hold in common, reminding me always of Maya Angelou’s poem Human Family: “we are more alike, my friends, than we are unalike.” (You can hear her beautiful voice at this link – Human Family)

For North Sound ACH, the new year has us planning for the January Partner Convening, where partners will be in space together, getting (re)introduced to our grounding frameworks, and hearing about successes and opportunities. We are honored to be joined by hundreds of partners, and attendees will hear from john a. powell (Othering and Belonging Institute), Michael Greer (ArtsFund), Becky Payne (Rippel Foundation), and Barbara Juarez (Northwest Washington Indian Health Board). Space is limited at the location, so register as soon as you can, and let us know if your plans change as we know there will be a waiting list that emerges. 

And, if you’ve read the recent newsletters, you know that we are actively searching for the next CEO for North Sound ACH. We hope to have final candidates by early spring, and I have been excited to hear from many of you about how you want to be involved in the search. We have such gratitude for your interest and support. You can see the posting at this link. Please share it with your colleagues and across your networks!

As 2025 brings a new year, we have you all in our thoughts and wish you the very best in this new year. 

Be well, and we look forward to seeing you on January 22-23 in Everett at the Convening. 

Network Dispatch: The Way Station

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Before the pandemic, people experiencing homelessness lacked access to primary medical and behavioral health care, and services we don’t always think about: toilets, showers, and laundry. COVID-19 created even more barriers to accessing these services. The Way Station provides a safe place to recuperate after a medical event, access to hygiene services, and comprehensive medical and behavioral health services that are currently lacking in our community.

The Way Station facility manager, Don Cook. Photo provided by Unity Care NW.

The Way Station celebrated its grand opening on November 12 – open Monday to Friday from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. in downtown Bellingham, 1500 N. State St. Partners instrumental to this facility include Unity Care NW, PeaceHealth, Whatcom County, and Opportunity Council, in addition to North Sound ACH Collaborative Action Network funding.

“We recognize that good health extends beyond the walls of our hospital and clinics,” said Chuck Prosper, chief executive at PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center. “By investing in these community organizations, we are helping address the impact of social drivers of health and creating pathways to a healthier, more equitable future.”

Conversations about this idea started at Unity Care NW in 2017, and the project partners came together in 2019. The planning phase included site visits to similar facilities in other communities, and they recently hosted a group of representatives from Langley BC, WA Representative Joe Timmons, and Whatcom County Executive Satpal Sidhu to learn about The Way Station. 

They have stayed consistent to the original vision for The Way Station based on their 2018 needs assessment, with some additions to the services planned, including a hot box for cleaning items affected by body bugs, and providing clean socks, shirts, and underwear. PeaceHealth is working on advocating for Medicaid reimbursement for respite services (they will be the referrer; Opportunity Council will manage those services at the Way Station). However, they are facing challenges finding funding for ongoing operations: many funders want to support launching new programs, fewer will help sustain work that is ongoing and will be transformative in the long term. Unrestricted operating support is the most pressing need, especially for hygiene supplies. 

Rachel Lucy, director of community health for the Northwest Network of PeaceHealth, said supporting The Way Station aligns with PeaceHealth’s core values of respect and social justice, and the facility meets a very critical need in northwest Washington. “There are few circumstances more morally distressing for our health care workers than knowing that someone they just cared for in the hospital will be returning to life on the streets or unstable housing,” she noted.

The Way Station is located at 1500 N. State Street in Bellingham. Photos provided by Unity Care NW.

“In Whatcom County, this is the reality for patients experiencing homelessness following a hospital stay. This was the driving motivator” that brought PeaceHealth and its partners together to establish the new facility, she said.

Unity Care NW led public engagement through listening sessions and panel discussions with businesses and residents located around The Way Station site, helping them see the facility as one of the solutions to the challenges they expressed about the concentration of unhoused folks in the neighborhood. For example, Unity Care NW staff explained that The Way Station will offer a private and dignified place for folks to use bathrooms, reducing requests from individuals experiencing homelessness for use of businesses’ restrooms.

There will be acute walk-in care at The Way Station (addressing immediate health needs onsite and then refer them to a regular provider for primary care), as well as substance use disorder treatment. Don Cook is the new facility manager; a Unity Care NW employee of 20 years, who has built a great rapport with his clients and is highly skilled at de-escalation.

Changing Seasons

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First off, what a wonderful way to start November (Native American Heritage Month) after being in space with Children of the Setting Sun Productions at the launch of the Setting Sun Institute and the inaugural celebration of Netse Mot: One People Gathering in October. I hope you will check out their website, watch the videos that reside there, and keep them in your bookmarked list of places to visit again and again.  Their work will inspire you today and for generations to come.

After election day, a funny thing happened. I shared a poem from Venice Williams, director of Alice’s Garden Urban Farm in Milwaukee, ordained minister, and Cultural & Spiritual Midwife at CLARA Healing Institute and a few of you graciously responded as if I had written the poem, expressing appreciation for the power of her words in turbulent  times. So it seemed only fitting that this month I share one written actually by me, with prompts from Quaniqua Williams (her artist name is Khemistry).

Khemistry has been a poet/artist in residence with North Sound ACH for the past year; working with our team, partners, and community members to connect art with healing, resilience, and health. A few weeks ago, Khemistry led our team through a couple of exercises that included each of us writing a poem around the theme of “I am,” and then working in teams to make dreamcatchers. Expressing ourselves in ways that we don’t often get to touch – from our hearts – was pretty powerful. So here goes my poem:

I am a daughter
I wonder what my mother saw in my eyes
I hear her voice every day
I see her in my grandson
I want to carry her always
I am here.

I pretend I am not bothered
I feel the energy of others
I touch the air, the ground, the raindrops
I worry I am not enough
I cry when I am alone
I am alive.

I understand we need each other
I say what I mean
I dream of a ribbon connecting us all
I try to be honest with myself
I hope for a future that embraces us
I am part of creating that future.

As we head toward the winter solstice, a special time of year for this part of the planet, we turn from the shortest days of daylight and see the magic of the seasons change. Please join us in being the best stewards of this place that we call home. Hearing the wisdom of elders in my ear, we get to choose what type of ancestor we will be to future generations. Let’s hold onto that with our words and our actions as we end one year and move to another.

Wishing you all well –