How new partnership with Swinomish will bring opioid treatment resources to Bellingham
Whatcom County Health and Community Services has partnered with the Swinomish tribe’s didgʷálič Wellness Center to bring a new avenue for medication-assisted treatment and counseling for opioid use disorder to Bellingham.
Through the partnership, announced Wednesday, didgʷálič Wellness Center will send mobile medical units to Bellingham six days a week to provide medications like methadone and buprenorphine to those struggling with addiction.
“It has really left all of us feeling really hopeful about being able to work together on an issue,” said Malora Christensen, manager of the Whatcom County Health Department’s Response Systems division. “If just one entity is working on it on their own, it feels next to impossible. But together, it feels like we can do something really significant.”
There were 80 probable overdose deaths in Whatcom County through November 2024, according to the Whatcom County Medical Examiner’s Office. And while it shows a decrease from the year prior, health officials and providers are continuing to work to address the crisis.
How did the partnership form?
Leon John, outreach coordinator at didgʷálič Wellness Center, said he reached out to Bellingham governmental leaders in early 2023 about a possible partnership after seeing a news story about homelessness and drug use around City Hall.
They came up with a plan to send mobile medical units to Bellingham to provide another avenue to reduce overdoses and help people enter and sustain recovery. Anyone in need of these services will first need to be assessed and admitted to the program, John said. They will then be able to access the medication assisted treatment.
These medications work by binding to the same receptors in the brain that opioids like heroin and fentanyl activate, according to research published by the National Institute on Drug Abuse. This reduces withdrawal symptoms and cravings without producing a high.
“This is medication that is treating a disorder,” Christinsen said. “We wouldn’t look down on someone with diabetes who is taking medication.”
A whole-person approach
Some counseling services will be available on site along with the medication, John said. Those seeking additional medical services will be taken to didgʷálič Wellness Center’s main campus in Anacortes. The center takes a whole-person approach to substance use disorder treatment. It employs many people who are in recovery themselves and can provide judgment–free, trauma-informed peer support and counseling.
“The stigma doesn’t follow (clients) inside our building,” John said. “Everybody’s treated the same. They’re like family, and we take it to heart that we’re going to take care of our family when they’re with us.”
John said no one will be turned away from services, even if they don’t have insurance or a means to pay for them.
“We’re hopeful that we can keep pushing the envelope on what the solutions are and how we make true investments in the health and wellness of our community,” Christinsen said.
A “soft launch” of the mobile medical units is slated for Jan. 27.
This story was originally published January 20, 2025 at 11:21 AM.