North Country HealthCare’s roots reach back to the Flagstaff Community Free Clinic, which was founded in 1991 by a group of local healthcare providers. The founders were concerned about the large number of uninsured people who were showing up at the Flagstaff Medical Center Emergency Room because they had no medical home. During its first four years the clinic operated through the use of volunteers, community donations, and space donated by the Coconino County Health Department.
In 1996 the clinic became a federally funded community health center and moved into in an old roller The founders were concerned about the large number of uninsured people who were showing up at the Flagstaff Medical Center Emergency Room because they had no medical home.
skating rink in Flagstaff’s Sunnyside neighborhood under the name North Country Community Health Center. Since then North Country has added clinics across northern Arizona in communities where there has been a need for better access to primary care services. At North Country’s clinics, quality healthcare is offered regardless of a patient’s ability to pay. Nobody gets turned away.
In 2007, the organization changed its name to North Country HealthCare and moved its Since the beginning, training and education of health professionals has been an important part of North Country’s culture.
Flagstaff operations into a new facility with the help of a $3 million capital campaign. North Country has grown into a major healthcare provider in northern Arizona, serving fourteen communities ranging in size from remote rural crossroads to more urban areas. Today North Country HealthCare is delivering primary care services to over 48,000 patients, providing over 120,000 patient visits per year.
Since the beginning, training and education of health professionals has been an important part of North Country’s culture. North Country is the parent organization of Northern Arizona Area Health Education Center (NAHEC), which has a mission to improve the supply of health professionals in rural and underserved areas. Over the years North Country has worked with thousands of high school students, health professions students, and practicing health professionals to get more students in the pipeline to health careers and help retain them after they graduate. The latest initiative of NAHEC is a partnership in which North Country HealthCare has become a clinical campus for the A.T. Still University School of Osteopathic Medicine. Thirty medical students are based at the North Country Campus for their second, third, and fourth years of medical school. North Country hopes the partnership will help northern Arizona grow its own family doctors.
Another important part of North Country’s culture is outreach into the community. For example, the Health Start Program is a neighborhood program that works with pregnant women, new mothers, and their families to give families the best chance of success through education and referrals to community resources. The Well Woman HealthCheck program provides For example, the Health Start Program is a neighborhood program that works with pregnant women, new mothers, and their families to give families the best chance of success through education and referrals to community resources.
free mammograms and cervical cancer screenings to women who are uninsured or underinsured. The Diabetes Education and Self-Management Program provides a team approach to diabetes care including classes, case management, and integrated care. Other outreach programs include a Ryan White HIV/AIDS program, the Northern Arizona Center Against Sexual Assault (NACASA), and a radiation exposure screening program for people who were “downwinders” during the Nevada nuclear testing of the 1950’s and 60’s.
North Country HealthCare’s dedicated providers and staff have a reputation for excellence. By providing better access to primary care, which emphasizes wellness and prevention, North Country can help keep people out of the emergency room, resulting in tremendous savings to the healthcare system.
