Charis Family Clinic was envisioned years ago as a place where all income groups would have access to high quality personalized holistic (encompassing physical, emotional, spiritual, and culturally appropriate) care. There were many conversations with stakeholders, but location and finance factors repeatedly failed to come together.
In 2005, together with Rodger McCollum, the CEO of Snoqualmie Hospital, Deonne Brown Benedict co-founded Hope Health Foundation, which provided resources to local safety-net clinics. After raising funds for volunteer-based clinics, it was clear there was still a need for better continuity of care and extended hours of service. One day, while looking for a gift for her mother's birthday, Deonne realized the place she was looking for was no longer in business. Instead, the space that was vacated was perfect for a small clinic. The dream that seemed to have died was serendipiditously breathed to life again.
Deonne Brown Benedict has been on a pilgrimage of sorts during her career. Prior practices she was part of either closed or were "restructured," eliminating part-time positions. Now is the time to bring a distinctly nursing--holistic and person-centered--kind of practice to clients. Working alongside other nurse practitioners in the specialties of family, adult, pediatric, and psychiatric/mental health, Charis Family Clinic offers a distinct and refreshing kind of health care.
Currently, we have a health care system built around illness and emergency service. Despite more money being spent on specialists, medicine, and high-tech care than any other society, what is still needed is care that caters to individual health needs, emphasizes prevention, and empowers consumers to take control of their health. This is the secret to nursing-centered care. After 12 years of developing relationships in the community, it seemed that the best way to extend the kind of comprehensive wellness based excellent health care longed for, but rarely offered except through expensive concierge services, would be to open a clinic offering this unique combination of care.