PORT HADLOCK — Ken Brown, a longtime Port Hadlock advanced registered nurse practitioner who has worked at times at the Port Townsend JC MASH clinic since it opened in 1994, saw a need for such free medical services in the southern reaches of East Jefferson County.

So he is excited about opening a new JC MASH clinic in Port Hadlock on Dec. 14.

JC MASH, which was founded as Jefferson County Medical Advocacy and Services Headquarters, provides medical care to those who can’t afford it or who lack insurance. The Port Hadlock clinic will be an extension of its services.

“I’ve been working the MASH clinic in town and obviously, short of health care reform, we need it, especially for indigents,” Brown said at the private clinic where he works, Port Hadlock Medical Care, 121 Oak Bay Road at Kively Center.

Brown said many have difficulty getting to and from the Tri-Area and the south end of East Jefferson County to downtown Port Townsend.

The free JC MASH Port Hadlock clinic will operate from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. each Monday.

Brown will share duties with Jeanne Battenburg, ARNP. A nurse/receptionist has also joined the team, Brown said.

Brown owned the clinic on Oak Bay Road and sold it to Peg Carlyle SEmD who is donating use of the facility for the JC MASH clinic. It has a waiting room and examination rooms.

JC MASH beginnings

JC MASH grew out of concerns primarily among local church members who saw many without medical insurance or the ability to afford medical care, such as the underemployed and those who earn too much to qualify for state benefits but not enough to afford medical insurance.

The intent was to help such people get access to comprehensive medical care by acting as their advocates.

In fall 1993, Grace Lutheran Church wrote to other community churches asking for interested persons to meet and discuss ways to help “people who fall through the cracks” of the medical system.

JC MASH has been operating in its small offices in the basement of American Legion Post 26, 209 Monroe St. in downtown Port Townsend, since it opened in August 1994.

“You see urgent care people, people who really need care, and refer them on to the hospital,” if necessary, said Brown, who has practiced in Port Hadlock since 1996 and as a nurse practitioner since 1980. He started out as a hospital corpsman in the military in the 1950s.

The need is great, Brown said.

“The MASH clinic downtown is always full.”

Sarah McMahan, JC MASH board secretary, said she and other board members noticed a growing need in South County and the Tri-Area.

“Many could not make it to Port Townsend in the evening,” she said.

“There are just so many people, and more so now with the economy the way it is, so the need is there,” McMahan said.

She and other board members thought Brown was just the person to approach about the new clinic.

“And he was so excited about it. He was so enthusiastic,” she said. “In just a blink of an eye he had everybody recruited.”

Need growing

JC MASH in Port Townsend, which is open from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. each Tuesday, served 301 patients in 2008, an increase of 18 percent over the previous year, McMahan said.

“The need is much higher this year,” she added.

Among those served in 2008 were 15 from Quilcene. About 40 percent of those who were served live outside Port Townsend, she said. Thirty-two patients signed in as homeless.

Those served were mostly adults — 63 percent male and 37 percent female.

They were treated for everything from colds and hypertension to asthma and depression, she ad.

The costs of operating the Port Townsend clinic were about $15,000 in 2008.

The Port Townsend clinic is funded through United Good Neighbors, the Rotary clubs and others.

Services such as those provided by Brown are volunteered.

Dr. James K. Rotchford is the JC MASH medical director and founding board member in Port Townsend.

Dr. Catherine A. Parkman also shares duties at the Port Townsend clinic and Registered Nurse Joan Cole is the clinic manager and patient advocate in Port Townsend.

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Port Townsend-Jefferson County Editor Jeff Chew can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at jeff.chew@peninsuladailynews.com.