Downtown FAMILY MEDICINE

Downtown Family Medicine (DFM) has earned its reputation as Seattle’s safety net clinic. Many of the city’s immigrant and homeless communities recognize DFM as their medical home. Supported by an innovative partnership between Swedish and King County Public Health, the residents at DFM accompany the city’s most vulnerable people through the challenges of a rapidly changing city. DFM is on the second floor of a King County building, conveniently located with other community resources including a dental clinic, needle exchange, low barrier buprenorphine program, refugee screening, WIC, and public health nursing for pregnant women and homeless families. What better place to learn family medicine for the underserved than among a family of community-based organizations!

Residency Site Director: Viet Nguyen viet.nguyen@swedish.org

Location: Located in Belltown (1 mile from Swedish First Hill) within King County Public Health’s  Downtown Public Health Center

Population: DFM serves a diverse population of urban, underserved patients of all ages.  We care for a large immigrant and refugee population as well as people experiencing housing instability, lack of insurance, untreated mental health needs, and substance use disorders. We see patients of all ages, with a growing obstetric and pediatric population.

Staff: Three residents per year. Medical team: 3 teams made up of Resident, Faculty Member, dedicated RNs and MAs. Other providers at DFM: Single full-time MD, behavioral medicine counselor/social worker.

Payment Model: DFM serves patients regardless of their ability to pay. For uninsured patients, payment operates on a sliding scale.  DFM also sees patients with Washington Apple Health (Medicaid) and Medicare. 

Specialty Clinics: Procedure, Colposcopy (each ½ day per week). Procedures include arthrocentesis, joint and soft tissue injections, colposcopy, variety of gynecologic procedures (IUD, nexplanon, stringless IUD removal), dermatologic procedures (excision, biopsy, I&D), nail removal, cryotherapy. 

Features: In house lab and pharmacy, EKG, spirometry, NST, Ultrasound 

Other Clinic Highlights

  • Joint partnership between Swedish First Hill Family Medicine and King County Public Health 

  • Certified Federally Qualified Health Center 

  • Colposcopy and OB referral center for King County Public Health 

  • Suboxone Program 

  • On-site interpreters in Spanish. Phone interpreters for any other languages 

  • Downtown Public Health Center’s other resources that help provide collaborative, patient-centered care. 

    • Dental clinic serving homeless patients 

    • OB services- Public Health RNs through Nurse Family Partnership, Moms Plus and WIC 

    • Pharmacy 

    • Robert Clewis Center- Needle exchange and education center 

    • Refugee Intake Clinic 

  • Racial Demographics of Patients

    • 16% white

    • 21% Hispanic

    • 26% Black

    • 7% Asian

    • 3% AI/AN

    • 1% Pacific Islander

    • 26% More than one race

“One experience I had that epitomizes the teamwork and patient-centered care at DFM was with an ob patient who decided to establish care with us at 38 weeks. She had multiple barriers to care, including being unhoused and ongoing substance use, and everyone at our clinic treated her with the utmost compassion—from the front desk staff who gave her snacks and a reminder card on when her appointment was, to the medical assistants who stayed late to help her get labs and roomed, to the nurses who advocated for her to get weekly appointments, we all worked together to support someone in a time of great need. This snapshot of one Friday afternoon encapsulates so much of the care we provide patients at DFM and why I love working there as much as I do.”

— Rebecca Chen, Class of 2026

“I love DFM! It is a privilege to care for recently arrived immigrant and refugee families from all over the world and be a safety net clinic for people with Medicaid, Medicare and no insurance. Specifically, it has been a joy to accompany people through their pregnancies, watch children grow up who you delivered in the hospital, and get to know entire families (parents, siblings, infants, etc!) and help them navigate their health and wellness as they adjust to life in the U.S. During a busy afternoon, I saw patients for the following: miscarriage follow-up, gender care, pap smear and birth control counseling, 18 month well child check, second trimester pregnancy visit, and a phone visit for follow-up on colposcopy results.”

— Odette Zero, Class of 2025