Seattle/King County Clinic
The next clinic will be held April 24 – 27, 2025 at Seattle Center Patient Infovolunteer infoA Community of Compassionate Care
A project of Seattle Center and Seattle Center Foundation, Seattle/King County Clinic brings together healthcare organizations, civic agencies, nonprofits, businesses, and volunteers to produce the largest community-driven free health clinic of its kind in the United States.
With the help of thousands of volunteers, this four-day clinic transforms facilities on Seattle Center’s campus normally used for performances and events into a fully functioning healthcare operation offering dental, vision, and medical care to anyone who struggles to access and/or afford services.
As a low-barrier clinic, patients do not need any form of documentation or proof of income, insurance, or immigration status to receive care. Each year, 3,000+ people in need are seen on a first-come, first-served basis.
Bridging Healthcare Gaps
Seattle/King County Clinic provides an opportunity not only to address acute health problems, such as an infected tooth, the need for prescription eyeglasses, or a comprehensive medical exam, but to introduce patients to local resources that can help them stay healthy. Beyond providing healthcare that improves quality of life, we treat patients with honor and respect, ensuring that each person feels valued.
Dental Care
The Clinic operates 90+ chairs where patients can get cleanings, fillings, extractions, x-rays, root canals, crowns, and temporary partial teeth.
Vision Care
Patients receive comprehensive eye exams and can choose from hundreds of new frames to get made-to-order prescription glasses.
Medical Care
Patients can select from more than 15 services including primary care, behavioral health, diagnostic tests, acupuncture, dermatology, and more.
Social Services
Social workers, health insurance navigators, community health centers, and other organizations help patients find resources to meet their needs.
All services are provided at no cost to patients.
Community Impact
The community-driven project exists in direct response to significant gaps in our healthcare system, with the goal of treating the needs of underinsured or uninsured individuals who struggle to access and afford services necessary to support their overall health. Each year, Seattle/King County Clinic aims to save 3,000 patients more than $2.5 million in out-of-pocket healthcare costs.
How to Help
Each year, it takes approximately 3,000 clinical and non-clinical volunteers, donating 40,000 hours valued at more than $1.5 million, to produce the Clinic.
Seattle/King County Clinic is a community project funded by grants, philanthropic gifts, and people like you.
As a trusted and known local initiative, being a partner of the Clinic signals a commitment to improving healthcare access and equity.
Origin Story
Seattle/King County Clinic was conceptualized when Seattle Center’s public programming team was tasked with considering new and innovative ways to leverage their skills and resources for the benefit of the community. Inspired by a 60 Minutes episode on pop-up health clinics, employee Julia Colson envisioned using Seattle Center’s renowned event and community organizing expertise to create a temporary clinic aimed at addressing the immediate healthcare needs of the region’s underserved populations.
Equipped with extensive event management experience but lacking a healthcare background, Julia and her Seattle Center colleagues embarked on an ambitious community engagement campaign. They assembled a diverse coalition—including Seattle Center Foundation (the Center’s non-profit counterpart), civic agencies, healthcare entities, businesses, community-based organizations, and a dedicated team of volunteer leaders—to explore the project. United by passion, commitment, and mutual respect for each other’s expertise, this coalition played a pivotal role in developing a patient-centric clinic tailored to the unique needs of the community. After a year and a half of planning, the first clinic was held in 2014.
This collaborative foundation has fostered a culture of cooperation and partnership, centered on the shared goal of bridging gaps in the healthcare system—one patient at a time.
Patient Population
Clinic patients come from many backgrounds and include families, the elderly, low-income wage earners, immigrants and refugees, college students, and others who are unable to receive care because of disparities in our healthcare system. Many are part of what we call the “missing middle”: a growing number of people who make too much to qualify for assistance but not enough to afford their healthcare. Even with health insurance, many seek care in safety net clinics such as ours simply because they cannot afford their copay, deductible, and/or that services are not covered by insurance.
They are classified as underserved and vulnerable populations, but for us, they have a human face that those words do not aptly describe. They are our neighbors, co-workers, family, and friends who are struggling with immediate, treatable needs.
%
are housed
%
are uninsured
%
are unemployed
%
are people of color
Stories from Seattle/King County Clinic
A core tenet of the Clinic is to use its platform to engage in and promote dialogue around healthcare disparities. One way we do this is through storytelling.
Comic Book: Sketches from Outside the Margins
For three years, Clinic organizers invited artists to roam the Clinic, talk to patients and volunteers, and document the stories that were generously shared.
The experiences they heard resonated with the artists, many who also struggled to pay for healthcare, delayed treatment because they could not afford it, or knew people undergoing the same difficulties with healthcare access.
Through these stories, we aim to draw attention to the diversity of circumstances that brought people to Seattle/King County Clinic and the humanity of a community that came together to help those in need.
Documentary: Stronger Than Medicine
A Seattle Center Foundation and Gigantic Planet production, written and directed by Tony Grob, this documentary tells a story of leadership and community showing up for the common good. Spanning the Clinic’s founding and first five years of operation, it’s peppered with interviews from the Clinic’s volunteer leadership team, patients, and thought leaders on the topic of access to care.
Testimonials
Contact Us
Mailing Address
Seattle/King County Clinic
c/o Seattle Center Foundation
305 Harrison Street
Seattle, WA 98109
Social Media
Seattle Center Foundation relies on financial contributions of all sizes to provide the necessary equipment, supplies, food, and resources for the Clinic. Please consider making a tax-deductible donation today.
A special thank you to partners, donors, and volunteers!