The Odessa Brown Children’s Clinic was built in the 1960s in the heart of Seattle’s historically African American Central District. No other clinic in the region is better equipped to treat sickle cell disease, an overwhelmingly African American disease. But as Seattle grows, the Central District is being gentrified and families that used to walk or bus short distances to the clinic are being pushed outside the city limits. Because resources for sickle cell are so scarce in the region, families are nevertheless forced to commute long distances to meet appointments at Odessa Brown. As a result, proactive care and community support – both at the core of Odessa Brown’s mission and essential to managing sickle cell – have become much more difficult. The staff of Odessa Brown admitted that, as the community it was meant to serve fades, the clinic is breaking its promise of being accessible and open to all. As a potential solution, the clinic’s leadership is considering satellite clinics across the region to increase access.
