STANWOOD — Safe Harbor Free Clinic, a state-of-the-art walk-in clinic providing professional health care and referral services to uninsured and under-insured patients, has been open on Saturday mornings twice a month, starting this month, and is accepting patients by appointment only, who are not seen at its weekly Friday night clinics. As many as 6-8 patients are treated at each Saturday clinic, which is conducted at the Skagit Regional Clinic in Stanwood.

“Our new Saturday clinic is designed to meet the medical needs of patients who could not be seen at one of our Friday night clinics,” said Julie Vess, executive director at Safe Harbor Free Clinic. “Patients are seen by appointment only, and while we cannot take new patients at this time on Saturday mornings, we anticipate that expansion of medical services at the Saturday clinic is likely inevitable. In the meantime, we will have limited medical services available on Saturdays.”

The Saturday clinic operates from 9 a.m. to noon, and will offer acute medical care for patients. Lab services will also be provided, as will resources for low-cost and free medical services, patient care services and spiritual care. Safe Harbor is also open to the public on Friday nights from 6-9 p.m. at the Skagit Regional Clinic in Stanwood, serving under-insured and uninsured patients. Safe Harbor has served approximately 4,000 patients in the three and a half years it has been open, from as far away as Seattle, Gig Harbor and Bellingham. In addition to urgent care, Safe Harbor offers specialty clinics that include chronic care, women’s health and podiatry.

Skagit Regional Clinics have played a major role in making the new Saturday clinic possible, by donating space and furniture for Safe Harbor. This agreement came as part of a new two-year lease, signed recently between Skagit Regional Clinics and Safe Harbor, that took effect on Dec. 1.