SEATTLE — For nearly 50 years the Odessa Brown Children's Clinic has provided medical, dental, mental health and nutritional services to families in Seattle's central district regardless of their ability to pay. Now the clinic is opening up a second location in South Seattle to serve families who have moved to the area in search of more affordable housing. Dr. Ben Danielson from the Odessa Brown Children's Clinic joins New Day Northwest to talk about the new location, and how you can help.
An often overlooked but critical aspect of Odessa Brown's care are the mental health services which often benefit children in difficult situations.
"We're realizing every community is underserved in mental health services, young or old," Dr. Danielson said. "I think the families that we serve especially deserve holistic care so their children can grow up and do the amazing things they all tell me they want to do when they grow up."
Dr. Danielson is going on 20 years at the children's clinic and is excited to see it grow to another location. The families who utilized the original clinic often had to move out of the area in search of more affordable housing, so the new clinic will provide better access to healthcare for low-income families. Dr. Danielson also sees the new location as an opportunity to improve Odessa Brown's services.
"Some things we really want to do is integrate our care better," Dr. Danielson said. "We want to bring issues like medical, dental and mental health in the same space."
Moving services closer together will make it easier for families to get any kind of care they need in the same location.
The new clinic will be a part of a new development called Othello Square right next to the light rail. The square will also feature an early learning program called Tiny Tots, housing, adult education programs, and a high school.
Odessa Brown is innovating healthcare by working with community services to take care of the community's health, not just the health of the individual.
"We're really building something that's smart and heart at the same time," Dr. Danielson said. "We're really holding on to this legacy of how much this clinic has cared for this community for 50 years now."
Odessa Brown will offer the best results-driven services communities' can find in public health, and use that information combined with input from families and the community to give them the best care possible.
"This innovation center is really going to be the brains of the operation, to make sure we're doing things better, and to make sure we can stop doing things that aren't as beneficial as we want," Dr. Danielson said. "We're just really making it efficient and really being able to fulfill that promise that we're going to be there for kids all the way through their childhood."
Dr. Danielson believes Odessa Brown is modeling the future of healthcare. The clinic's unique, integrated, data-driven services will have people and communities healthier than ever.
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This story is sponsored by Seattle Children's. Watch New Day Northwest 11:00 weekdays on KING-TV Ch.5 or streaming live on KING5.com. Connect with New Day via Facebook, Twitter, Instagram.