Country Doctor Community Health Centers Information

Inspired by the community we serve. We proudly operate two Seattle clinics started by community activists decades ago to serve neighbors in need. CDCHC is a mission-driven health care organization dedicated to the needs of its community. Today, it operates two primary care clinics and one after-hours clinic designed to reduce inappropriate use of the emergency department. Carolyn Downs Family Medical Center was founded in 1968 by community activists committed to the ideal that health care is a right for all people. Medical clinic services were originally part of a broad spectrum of community services that was overseen and developed by the Seattle Black Panther party. Country Doctor Community Clinic was founded in 1971 by a group of community activists who recognized the need for medical care services in their neighborhood. Originally operating from an abandoned fire station in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle, Country Doctor was an all-volunteer free clinic offering services only in the evenings. As the community’s reliance on the clinic’s services grew, Country Doctor evolved into a respected primary care provider. In 1978, the original Black Panther medical program became a freestanding community clinic, and was renamed for one of the clinic’s founders, Carolyn Downs. From 1975 until 1994, the Carolyn Downs Family Medical Center operated from a location in the Madrona neighborhood of Seattle. In 1988, Country Doctor Community Clinic and Carolyn Downs Family Medical Center merged to become one organization: Country Doctor Community Health Centers (CDCHC).