Care Without Barriers: Inside Seattle King County Clinic's Mission to Serve the Underserved

In this episode of the Elevate Care podcast—and the first installment of the new series on the road—host Christin Stanford travels to Seattle, Washington to visit Seattle King County Clinic, a large-scale, free pop-up clinic that has delivered more than $33 million in health services over 11 years. Christin sits down with Julia Colson, the clinic's founder and project executive, to unpack the vision, partnerships, and community impact behind this remarkable initiative. Julia shares how a single episode of 60 Minutes sparked the idea, how a "stone soup" model of collaboration keeps the clinic running, and why her ultimate goal is to see the clinic put out of business. She also speaks to the power of language access in delivering truly equitable care—including a moving story about a patient who found an interpreter for Quechua, an indigenous language of the Incan empire. This is part one of a two-part series. Part two will feature medical director Rick Arnold and focus on the clinical delivery side of the clinic. Learn more about Language Services  at Language Services | AMN Healthcare About Julia Colson Julia Colson is the Founder and Project Executive of Seattle King County Clinic, operating under Seattle Center, a department of the City of Seattle. Without a background in healthcare, Julia built this community-driven initiative from the ground up—knocking on doors, forging partnerships, and uniting healthcare organizations, civic agencies, nonprofits, businesses, and volunteers around a shared mission. Over 11 years, the clinic has provided free dental, vision, and medical care to more than 36,000 patients, delivering over $33 million in services to underserved populations across the Seattle-King County region. Chapters 00:00 – Welcome and Series Introduction 00:28 – Introducing Julia Colson and Seattle King County Clinic 01:43 – What the Clinic Is and Who It Serves 02:32 – The Origin Story: From a 60 Minutes Episode to a Community Clinic 03:14 – What the Clinic Means to Patients and Volunteers 04:12 – Patient Demographics and the Biggest Care Needs 04:54 – Barriers to Care: Affordability, Language, and More 06:03 – Why Language Access Changes Everything for Clinicians and Patients 07:10 – A Powerful Story: Finding an Interpreter for Quechua 09:50 – The "Stone Soup" Model of Community Partnership 11:28 – Downstream Impact: What Happens After the Clinic Closes 12:45 – Advice for Communities Looking to Build Similar Models 13:44 – The Unexpected Goal: Putting the Clinic Out of Business 15:10 – What Julia Is Most Proud Of 16:06 – AMN Healthcare's Role as a Language Access Partner 17:38 – Preview of Part Two with Medical Director Rick Arnold Explore Solutions for Smarter Workforce ManagementWe're proudly sponsored by AMN Healthcare, the leader in healthcare staffing and workforce solutions. Explore their services at AMN Healthcare.Learn how AMN Healthcare's workforce flexibility technology helps health systems cut costs and improve efficiency. Click here to explore the case study and discover smarter ways to manage your resources!Discover how WorkWise is redefining workforce management for healthcare. Visit workwise.amnhealthcare.com to learn more.About The Show: Elevate Care delves into the latest trends, thinking, and best practices shaping the landscape of healthcare. From total talent management to solutions and strategies to expand the reach of care, we discuss methods to enable high quality, flexible workforce and care delivery. We will discuss the latest advancements in technology, the impact of emerging models and settings, physical and virtual, and address strategies to identify and obtain an optimal workforce mix. Tune in to gain valuable insights from thought leaders focused on improving healthcare quality, workforce well-being, and patient outcomes. Learn more about the show here. Find Us On:WebsiteYouTubeSpotifyAppleInstagramLinkedInXFacebook Powered by AMN Healthcare Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.