By Jeff Noedel
Journal contributor
It’s been a tough year so far for Mount Baker Planned Parenthood’s clinic in Friday Harbor and that concerns many of the organization’s impassioned supporters here.
MBPP is a leader in reproductive health services and it enjoys deep support among many residents in the San Juans.
For months a sign was taped to the darkened clinic at 470 Reed St. stating that the clinic was closed two weeks of every three, and encouraging patients to phone the main clinic in Bellingham with questions about services. At some point in the summer, even that sign wasn’t accurate and the clinic apparently was closed altogether. A newer sign was recently taped to the door stating the clinic is temporarily closed.
A web page for the MBPP Friday Harbor Clinic lists the major holidays the clinic is closed but makes no mention of the clinic being temporarily closed. The web page still lists many services the clinic offers in person.
Details have been sparse and hard to come by. Requests for information have gone unanswered. Even an administrator for the San Juan County Hospital District #1 was in the dark, incorrectly stating to this reporter this summer that the clinic was still open one week out of three. The local Hospital District coordinates reproductive health services among multiple agencies and nonprofits in part because some reproductive health services are inconsistent with the mission of PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center, which operates PeaceHealth’s Peace Island Medical Center in Friday Harbor.
The reason for the temporary closure of the MBPP Friday Harbor clinic appears to be a lack of nurse staffing to operate the clinic. This summer a Hospital District spokesperson cited the industry-wide shortage of healthcare professionals, exacerbated by the lack of affordable housing in San Juan County, as factors in the nurse position vacancy. The main office of MBPP is also working to find a successor to its Executive Director, who has been with that office for decades and is considered a hero in the hearts of many supporters in Whatcom, Skagit, and San Juan Counties. Executive Director Linda McCarthy had announced her decision to retire at the end of 2024, but has since extended her retirement date a few months into 2025.
That leaves the San Juan County government to try to address the need for reproductive health services for its citizens, assuming MBPP will succeed in reopening a Friday Harbor Clinic.
However, details from the County are sparse, as well. It appears that the County’s Community Health Services Manager Jessica Nye has been working hard to respond to the need. She told The Journal of The San Juans that she is not able to discuss her department’s plans yet, but those plans will be presented publicly in an upcoming meeting of the San Juan County Board of Health.
According to the County’s website, “The Board of Health has responsibility over all matters pertaining to the preservation of the life and health of the people of San Juan County. This is an eight-member board consisting of three Council members, one Town of Friday Harbor representative, one tribal representative, and three at-large members with a diversity of public health practice and lived experience.”
One public health official who commented with the expectation of confidentiality told the Journal there is a plan in the works for a new location and services for Planned Parenthood here.
The Journal reached a spokesperson of MBPP and submitted a dozen questions about the Friday Harbor clinic’s recent past and impending future. However, MBPP has since declined to comment.
