The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed wide gaps in our nation’s healthcare system and highlights the need for care and support for every member of our community, regardless of insurance or ability to pay.
Thanks to our partners at Neighborcare Health at Pike Place Market who are on the frontlines providing health care services to some of those most vulnerable populations during the pandemic.
Inside the Pike Place Market clinic, physicians, nurse practitioners, behavioral health consultants, and nurses are caring for their patients with onsite and telehealth visits. Meanwhile, the Clinic’s outreach team launched a COVID-19 mobile testing unit and is administering COVID-19 tests in addition to medical and behavioral health care to our neighbors living on the streets, in shelters and supportive housing throughout downtown and other Seattle neighborhoods.
As of September, the Neighborcare team from the Market has provided 9,600 medical and behavioral health visits and 2,600 mobile COVID-19 tests.
“It’s really important for our folks in supportive housing and outside to feel seen and heard by the healthcare system, because they often don’t feel that.” said a nurse at Neighborcare Health in Pike Place Market.
On the Western Avenue side of the Market Heritage House, the assisted living facility for seniors in the Market, went into shutdown in early March to keep residents healthy and safe.
They’ve remained COVID-free by providing one-on-one care, delivering meals and adapting healthcare visits to telehealth and family visits to video chats for all residents, among other safety and sanitation measures.
As unemployment increased, so did the loss of insurance and healthcare benefits that so many people rely on. The resource teams across the Market from The Market Commons to the medical clinic and Pike Market Senior Center were there to provide virtual healthcare resource navigation to community members, many of whom never needed to access these benefits before.
“I would like to thank you very much for these follow-ups!,” said one community member who was helped out, “It really means a lot during these hard times, I will never forget it!”
All of these social service teams are aiding any person with questions or concerns, taking closely into account their employment or housing status. By serving as liaisons between the community and the healthcare system, our frontline workers can personalize their guidance and mediate the stress and anxiety that can arise from needing medical services.
By closely monitoring and tending to the health of our community, we’re one step closer to bringing our Market neighborhood back to vibrancy.
