A long-awaited school-based health clinic in East Whatcom County is on track to open in late summer.
Interim Superintendent Phil Brockman said in a May 28 email that the school district is aiming to open the clinic by the beginning of the fall sports season in late August so it can provide physicals to athletes.
Hosted at Mount Baker Senior High, the SeaMar-operated clinic will initially only be open for high school students for basic medical care, including physicals and mental health referrals. But as soon as the 2025–26 school year, it could open up to families and other schools in the district, said Aly Robinson, a community health specialist at Whatcom Health and Community Services.
With the clinic’s opening, it will be the first federally qualified health center in the Mount Baker School District, Robinson said. The district includes Acme, Deming, Nugent’s Corner, Maple Falls and Glacier. Eventually, the goal is to expand the services offered and create a clinic that can provide health care to the entire community.
Health care access in the district is limited, with nonprofits, community members and Whatcom County Health and Community Services putting together “Band-Aid” solutions to bring care to people, including an annual health and wellness fair and mobile clinics that visit the area frequently.
But this will be a step up for a community that’s been asking for better, more permanent health solutions for years.
Robinson said the ultimate goal of the clinic is to allow students to spend “more time in the classroom and less time going to and from appointments” in Bellingham.
“The goal is to minimize learning loss that happens when students have to go to appointments, and the burden that puts on families who may be working hourly jobs and unable to take them or it’s hard to get an appointment,” she said. Timely, accessible sports physicals in particular have been a big need for the district, Robinson said, and this clinic will allow athletes to get those done at school.
Mount Baker School District Finance Director Brian Fraser, who is overseeing the project due to the school district’s superintendent transition, said it will also likely mean more students can access health care. Brockman has a contract ending on June 30.
Robinson said the “deep health disparities” in the school district also make it an important target for this kind of program. “It’s just really trying to provide services where they’re needed most,” she said.
The construction and operation of the clinic will be entirely funded by grants held by the health department and SeaMar, Fraser said, putting no burden on the school district which has struggled with its finances over the last year.
“We’re really excited about the project,” Fraser said. “We’re really pleased to be bringing this service to our families and to our students. We really have high hopes for the difference that [we’re] making [in] some children’s lives.”
Charlotte Alden is CDN’s general assignment/enterprise reporter; reach her at charlottealden@cascadiadaily.com; 360-922-3090 ext. 123.
