Christ Clinic, a longtime nonprofit primary-care clinic located at 914 W. Carlisle on Spokane’s North Side, will close at the end of this month.

Officials say the clinic’s closure won’t affect its sister organization, Christ Kitchen, although both are part of the same nonprofit corporation. 

Roger Chase, the clinic’s interim executive director, says although the clinic has served patients with limited or no health insurance coverage for 26 years, it was facing operating challenges in today’s health care environment. 

“We’re a stand-alone clinic, which is a difficult position in today’s health care world,” says Chase. “It’s difficult to sustain things financially without the support of a larger organization.” 

Chase says a number of factors contributed to the decision to close, including the continually increasing cost of providing care, competition to recruit medical providers, difficulty relying on volunteers, and a decline in its number of patients. 

“We have seen a drop in patients the past few years, likely due to a combination of things,” he says. “There are more patients with insurance now, and they have more choices for care.” 

Founded in 1991 by four physicians, the clinic since has grown to include a staff of eight, supplemented by a handful of volunteer assistants and other providers.

Currently, the organization shares a campus and parking lot with its sister organization, Christ Kitchen. While the clinic occupies a 4,800-square-foot building at 914 W. Carlisle, Christ Kitchen occupies a slightly smaller, nearby building at 2410 N. Monroe.

Christ Kitchen is a job-training project that provides work, instruction, support, and fellowship to women living in poverty in the Spokane area. 

Through the production and sales of dried food products and catered meals, the project seeks to help women learn work skills and eventually support themselves and their families.

 “We feel it’s important to let people know that the clinic’s closure will not affect Christ’s Kitchen,” says Chase. “This won’t affect their staff, volunteers, products, or the women who benefit from those services.” 

Chase says the nonprofit’s 10-member board of directors, with input from the founding physicians, determined late last month that there weren’t enough resources to continue operating both organizations. The clinic is set to close Feb. 28. 

“We had to look at our resources and our ability to sustain both organizations,” says Chase. “It was a tough choice, but one we concluded was the right thing given the circumstances.” 

He says the clinic has served thousands of patients over the years and has a current patient count of around 1,800 people. 

“If you look at it in terms of the number who’ve been regular patients in just the past three years, that’s the amount who will be affected by the closure,” he says.

Chase says the board is pursuing affiliations with other health care providers, including faith-based organizations to determine if one might be willing to assume responsibility for operating Christ Clinic. 

“If there is a way to see that space continue to be used for health care, as was intended by our donors, we’d like to see that happen,” he says. 

In addition to seeking a new use for the clinic building, Chase says the organization is focused on helping patients to find alternative providers and assisting them with continued access to their medical records. 

 “It’s hard to see a health provider with our focus on the uninsured and the underinsured close down, because it does have an impact,” he says. “The need for that care doesn’t go away, and we’ll need more providers who’re willing to serve that population.”