Two public health clinics in North King County, the North and Northshore public health clinics, will stay open for six more months with interim funding.
King County Councilmembers Bob Ferguson and Julia Patterson joined County Executive Ron Sims on Sept. 28 to announce that the Executive’s proposed budget will include six months of funding for the two public health clinics.
The North Public Health Center is located near Northgate and the Northshore Public health Center is located in Bothell. A dental clinic, operated in conjunction with one of the health clinics, also will remain open.
“These are two of the primary centers in the north end,” Ferguson said. “If those closed, citizens seeking health care would have to travel greater distances.”
About $2.5 million in funding will keep the two health clinics and dental clinic open through June 2007. For budget reasons, the recommendation to close the clinics came from the health department, said Ferguson. The recommendation was then included in the Executive’s initial budget for the County Council, which has since been revised.
“It really is a short-term victory,” Ferguson said. “It is not a solution; it is a temporary funding solution to a much, much larger problem that impacts thousands of King County residents.”
Ferguson attended a rally at North Public Health Center on Saturday, Sept. 30, which was attended by hundreds of people. The rally was originally organized to protest the recommended closures. After interim funding was announced, the rally turned into a gathering to express support for the decision.
“I talked to many people from Shoreline and Lake Forest Park,” Ferguson said. “This is a big impact on those folks if these close.”
Shoreline Deputy Mayor Maggie Fimia also attended the rally. Speaking on behalf of herself, not the Council, she said she expressed support at the rally to keep the health centers open.
“A month-to-month lease for public health is not acceptable,” Fimia said at the Oct. 2. Council meeting.
The issue of funding for state health is one that the county will make a legislative priority in the upcoming session, said Ferguson, who anticipates some recommendations will surface.
“My hope is that the stars are getting in line,” Ferguson said, “and that we will come together this session and reach a long-term solution.”
Washington State used to fund public health through the Motor Vehicle Excise Tax. However, passage of Initiative 695 in 1999 repealed that tax, cutting state funding for public health that has never been fully restored, according to a press release.
Since 2001, the proportion of people in King County who completely lack health insurance has risen sharply from 11 percent to 16 percent of the population, about 190,000 people. Those residents don’t have employer-paid health insurance, but they also don’t qualify for Medicaid, according to a press release.
In recognition of the need to examine how Public Health can best protect and promote health, the King County Council has spearheaded a strategic planning process called the Public Health Operational Master Plan.
The master plan will develop a long-term sustainable solution for funding critical public health functions, according to a press release.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
