St. Vincent Partner Neighborcare Opens Meridian
St. Vincent de Paul is in a long term partnership with Neighborcare Health. Our Aurora complex includes our St. Vincent Thrift Store and a Neighborcare primary care clinic.
We are proud and excited that Neighborcare Health has now opened a very innovative and creative integrated care facility in North Seattle, the Meridian Center for Health. The multipart care facility offers a seamless, coordinated and integrated experience for people who have multiple health or social service needs. This is especially important for those who have financial, insurance, language, transportation, health or other barriers to overcome.
For patients at the Neighborcare Aurora clinic, this means they will now have access to a much deeper and broader array of medical and dental care services that will literally take care of all their needs.
The partners at the Meridian Center for Health — Neighborcare Health (medical, dental and pharmacy), Public Health – Seattle & King County (WIC nutrition and maternity support services), and Valley Cities (mental health and substance use recovery services) — have embraced a “no wrong door” approach, with each organization helping clients get what they need, regardless of where they begin.
“There is a huge and under-acknowledged need for health services for low-income people in north Seattle, particularly for dental care, and we are poised to meet that need,” said Mark Secord, CEO of Neighborcare Health, the largest community health provider in Seattle. “By getting people the care they need before reaching crisis, we see better health outcomes, lower the cost of care, and improve lives.”
The Meridian Center for Health will
Improve access for those who have had difficulty connecting with a full range of healthcare services, providing care for more than 14,000 patients per year.
Enhance much needed support for pregnant women, moms and young children, who can get help with parenting skills, nutrition and breastfeeding at the same location as their medical, dental and behavioral health care.
Serve as the base for home-visiting nurses, who offer preventive care and connect pregnant women and new moms with all the services offered at Meridian.
Promote clients’ mental health and substance use recovery by coordinating closely with their physical health treatments.
Ultimately, the Meridian Center partners aim to improve the overall health of the population of North Seattle, by bringing additional resources into the facility and creating extended partnerships that impact determinants of health, such as access to healthy food.