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Over the past several years, communities across the North Sound region have experienced significant environmental changes from wildfire smoke and flooding, housing pressures, and food access challenges – all these issues affecting our health and well-being.

North Sound ACH was awarded funding to assess our five-county region on environmental justice – defined as “…when everyone enjoys the same degree of protection from environmental and health hazards and has equal access to the decision-making process to have a healthy environment in which to live, learn, and work.”

We have convened the Environmental Justice Community of Practice (CoP), made up of partner organizations and experts, to gather information on environmental impact. Hearing directly from community members’ voices and experiences through surveys, focus groups, and listening sessions is essential for us to better understand priorities and inform future action.

If you have any questions, connect with us at Team@NorthSoundACH.org.

This week, August 25–29, 2025, we join communities across the nation in celebrating the third annual National Community Health Worker Awareness Week (NCHWAW). We honor the incredible commitment of all those who are in frontline public health roles and their significant impacts in social services, health care, and beyond. 

At North Sound Community Hub, we are proud to partner with 24 CHWs through our contracted care coordination organizations. Their knowledge, compassion, and responsive support to our communities allow voices to be heard and improve systems of care for all. 

One of them is Kristena Sheldon, Care Coordinator at North County CARES, who believes that no one should feel alone when seeking help. 

“I love the outcome-based nature of the program, so we are not just going to people and handing them a piece of paper with phone numbers on it,” she explained. “We’re really able to walk with them through the process and make sure their needs are actually met.”

She recalled a client experiencing isolation but was hesitant to visit the senior center on their own. Rather than only offering information, she personally accompanied them, turning a referral into an opportunity for belonging.

“Community health workers are people who strongly identify with their community and have lived experience with the same struggles that our clients are going through, and are able to make connections that maybe other providers are not able to,” she added.

(from left) North County CARES Program Supervisor Brian Price, and Care Coordinators Michael Golder and Kristena Sheldon with North Sound ACH Chief Transformation Officer Arlesia Bailey.

In recognition of this essential workforce and network of partners, North Sound Community Hub is hosting the Community-Based Worker (CBW) Conference on October 3, 2025, at the Mount Vernon Library Commons. This gathering will strengthen the collective efforts of CHWs, promotores de salud, doulas, and others who play a vital role in advancing health and well-being across our region.

📅 For more event details and registration, visit northsoundach.org/2025-cbw-gathering.

I have lost track of the number of times I’m asked: 

“What is going to happen with Washington’s waiver?” 
“Will there still be funding for Medicaid programs?” 
“Do we have to change our program, our goals, etc. because of shifts at the federal level?” 

The short answer is usually some human version of the shrug emoji. It is hard to minimize the impact when people in our communities are being detained – without warning, without reasons, and without any understanding of the process that will follow their detainment. Families are being disrupted; jobs and incomes lost. 

Can I imagine myself in that scenario – an unmarked vehicle, armed individuals without identification, unwilling to answer questions, being handcuffed and taken away from my job, my family, at a store, a community center, my home?

If we cannot imagine that for ourselves, a family member, a neighbor, a friend – terror, trauma, agony – then we cannot be the strongest advocates, bearing witness to what is happening in our neighborhoods. 

So, let’s go a bit wonky for a few moments: the complexity for North Sound ACH is that our organization is strong, and hopefully can withstand the policy changes that may come our way. But North Sound ACH is also part of a network that currently has more than 230 organizations across the region. 

If the network has tendrils connecting us, then what happens with any group of partners should be of concern to us all. We are either building a connected ecosystem, or we are simply aware of each other. I’d like to think that we are building deeper ties to each other and therefore we care as much about what is happening to others as we do about ourselves. 

One of my mentors, Michael J. Garland, D. Sc. Rel., introduced me to Elinor Ostrom’s work around the Commons, which has in turn influenced the ACH strategies. The sustainability of North Sound ACH is built upon how well we connect and build relationships with one another. That connection makes us stronger; especially at a time when forces try to separate us, and have us mistrust others around us. 

The stressors coming to communities from federal, state, and local decision makers may tempt us to build fences and defend our precious spaces. But in the long run, we have to be together, and find ways to work together. It is only in those connections that we will all get to thrive. 

Nicole Willis has been selected to serve on the American Medical Informatics Association’s inaugural Health Informatics Certification Commission. The Commission’s work will expand health informatics certification opportunity for professionals and complement the clinical informatics subspecialty certification.

The 14 member Commission will be responsible for eligibility, examination development, and recertification requirements. Commission members represent different primary health domains, practice settings, and career stages. The Health Informatics Certification Commission is a committee of AMIA that will be autonomous with respect to all certification decisions and operations.

“I am excited about the opportunity to participate in the Health Informatics Certification development process,” shared Nicole. “AMIA is well-positioned to help shape, strengthen, and build leadership capacity in the wide spectrum of health informatics, and I am eager to be part of this inaugural national effort.”

The Commission members bring a broad range of perspectives and significant expertise to their work. They represent individuals who have training in nursing, health informatics, public health, pharmacy, medicine, dentistry, and nutrition.

For more information visit: AMIA Health Informatics Certification Commission:

https://www.amia.org/ahic-certification-commission

A growing number of communities are observing Indigenous Peoples’ Day in October rather than Columbus Day. Our team, as part of our learning journey, has been exploring the (incorrect) mythology of our nation being ‘discovered’ as a ‘new land’. In reality, the nation was rich with culture, history, and people who had been here, and remain here, even after many attempts to remove them and eliminate them from the history books.

To honor Indigenous communities is to acknowledge the horrors and injustices of the past, and those that continue today. There is much to learn. We are thankful to gracious teachers in our region’s tribal communities who share with us, patiently offering correction and further resources when we inevitably make mistakes.

We reached out to Candice Wilson, former North Sound team member, to hear her thoughts on this time of year. An article was shared by our team that we want to share with you: For Native Americans, Fall is the Least Wonderful Time of the Year.

Please continue to join us on this learning journey.

Liz

Another recommended reading: An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States for Young People (ReVisioning American History for Young People) – Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz. You can get this at your local library.

I read the article, For Native Americans, Fall is the Least Wonderful Time of the Year. There’s a lot of truth to it. I didn’t realize that Fall is like this for us, but it is. I’d like to ask you to take a moment to reflect on what it would mean for you as an Indigenous person.

Now Si’am Ne Schalecha Si’am – Greetings Friends & Family

The ambiance of Autumn. For those of us blessed to live in the beautiful Pacific Northwest of the North Sound we feel the welcoming cooler weather, the cool crisp air, the morning dew, we see the fog that blankets the landscape, and we change our clocks back an hour for daylight savings. It’s the transformation of seasons. A reminder that change allows us to find purpose.

I am hopeful that you find a sense of purpose to change the way you observe the norm, to look at a perspective differently, to summon and evoke thoughtful and meaningful considerations.

‘What would that look like?’ you may ask. It would look like a consciousness of reckoning. An acknowledgement of People who have been here since time immemorial. There would be a recognition of “Indigenous Peoples Day,” without controversy, but a mere validation of salutation. Imagine even more so, that there would be no more derogatory mascots or chants for schools, colleges, or professional sports teams. No more Native American caricature Halloween costumes or outfits. Visualize a transformation of the normative and envision a gratitude for Indigenous People. A symbolic appreciation to be right and just, to be the norm.

Could this possibly be? It’s up to you. Because during this time of the year, we as Indigenous People, either avoid the ignorance altogether, excuse it, or never-it-mind, or cringe at the thought of being dishonored or disgraced. By chance we speak up, in hope to educate others.

The change of season is good. Change of heart & mind is even better. Transformation is meaningful when we evolve with compassion and understanding. It is the purpose of change. I hope you consider change.

Est’itemsen – I am doing the best that I can.

Hy’shqe – thank you.

Quatz’tenaut – Candice Wilson