EVERETT – Like many Snohomish County residents with no health insurance, Pat Cryer waits until a medical problem worsens before seeking help.
Five months ago, the Everett woman wound up in the emergency room at Providence Everett Medical Center with an attack of bronchitis.
“I couldn’t walk from here across the room without running out of breath,” said Cryer, 48. “I never felt so sick in my life.”
Cryer realizes that checkups can prevent such severe attacks. But she doesn’t make enough money to afford to regularly see a doctor.
Several days ago, she discovered she doesn’t need a lot of money to get care. Community Health Center of Snohomish County charges as little as $15 a visit to help people like Cryer.
The Everett City Council today is scheduled to vote on whether to award the health center a $20,000 federal grant. The group is one of 10 nonprofits that are up for a total of $200,341 in community development block grants this year.
The $20,000 for the health center would treat 200 Everett residents, said Kenneth Green, the group’s executive director. The organization has three medical clinics and two dental clinics in Everett and Lynnwood, in addition to a homeless outreach program.
Demand for clinic services has been rising in recent years, in part because of layoffs from employers including the Boeing Co., he said. The 21-year-old group hopes to replace its south Everett clinic with a much bigger building in the next two or three years, and it is planning another clinic in either Mountlake Terrace or Edmonds.
Nearly 20 percent of the clinics’ 28,786 patients last year had no insurance. More than two-thirds had Medicaid or Medicare. Many private physicians reject Medicaid and Medicare patients because of poor government reimbursement rates, Green said.
Anthony Crane, 30, of Everett, said Community Health Center has been a godsend. He’s been going to the clinic for the past year for head injuries.
“The doctors here have been really, really good,” he said. “They really care.”
Reporter David Olson: 425-339-3452 or dolson@heraldnet.com.
Schedule an appointment
To schedule an appointment at a Community Health Center clinic, call one of the following numbers:
* Broadway clinic, 1410-30 Broadway, Everett; 425-258-1830.
* Evergreen clinic, 8609 Evergreen Way, Everett; 425-347-7797
* Lynnwood clinic, 4111 194th St. SW, Lynnwood; 425-775-2589
* Colby dental clinic, 2722 Colby Ave., suite 318, Everett; 425-258-1892
* Lynnwood dental clinic: 4111 194th St. SW, Lynnwood; 425-741-1134
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