Our team was thrilled to receive a UW Medicine Well-Being Grant in 2025, which made it possible to launch Community Building Connections: a project designed to strengthen relationships between UW Medicine providers and the local organizations that form the backbone of health equity for our region’s refugee, immigrant, and migrant populations.
This half-day tour brought together UW Medicine residents, Harborview Medical Center (HMC) doctors, and staff to meet directly with community leaders. Each visit provided invaluable insight into the cultural and systemic barriers their communities face, while also helping our providers build a foundation of trust, understanding, and cultural humility with patients from diverse backgrounds.
Through these tours, participants reconnect with long-standing EthnoMed and HMC partners and form new relationships with organizations serving our shared patient populations. Together, these experiences deepen our collective understanding of cultural nuances and community-specific health needs.
If you are a UW Medicine and/or Harborview Medical Center student, resident, doctor, and staff and you would like to attend our next tour CLICK HERE to be added to our tour waitlist.
Casa Latina
Our first stop was Casa Latina, a Seattle nonprofit empowering the local Latino community through employment, education, and advocacy. We were welcomed by a lively group of members preparing for day-labor opportunities and skill-building classes.
Suzanne B., Education Program Manager, shared a passionate overview of Casa Latina’s programs, which include technology training, domestic violence awareness, community organizing, and support for the Domestic Workers Bill of Rights. She also emphasized the importance of addressing stress-related health issues such as diabetes, substance use, and untreated trauma and noted opportunities for volunteers to help through shift dispatching or Spanish classes.
Ethiopian Community Seattle
Next, we visited the Ethiopian Community Seattle, where Tsega D., Program and Housing Director, greeted us in a vibrant room filled with community art. Tsega discussed the organization’s work supporting housing, substance use, and mental health needs.
She shared how several faith leaders in the Ethiopian community completed Mental Health First Aid training to help recognize symptoms and reduce stigma around mental illness. Tsega also highlighted a key cultural consideration for healthcare providers: many Ethiopian Orthodox Christians fast up to 250 days a year, a practice that can significantly impact nutrition and medical care.
Congolese Integration Network
Our next presenter, Francoise M., Executive Director of the Congolese Integration Network, traveled from their SeaTac office to speak with our group of twenty. CIN supports families through early learning programs, women-to-women support, and culturally informed trauma care.
Francoise shared powerful reflections from new arrivals:
“We came to America to find rest and peace, but we sleep like animals and wake up like animals—engineers and doctors are now sleeping in tents.”
Her message underscored the profound stress faced by asylum seekers and the urgent need for trauma-informed, culturally responsive healthcare. She reminded us that trust is built through empathy, listening, and taking time to understand a patient’s cultural and historical context, her words deeply moved everyone in the room.
Mother Africa
We then met Risho S., Founder and Executive Director of Mother Africa, an organization based in Kent that builds sustainable alliances for African refugees and immigrants. Originally from Sudan, Risho now leads a team of 33 staff members providing mentorship for refugee youth, seed funding for small businesses, and education programs for healthcare providers on topics such as FGM/C.
Mother Africa’s work is grounded in community language and values, for instance, using the term Support Sister instead of case manager to reflect a more culturally resonant model of care. Risho also invited healthcare providers to collaborate on addressing substance use and mental health concerns in the African diaspora community.
Othello Station Pharmacy
Dr. Ali and his multilingual team (fluent in Amharic, Dari, Hungarian, Oromo, Tigrinya, and Vietnamese) at The Station Pharmacies provides an essential bridge for patients navigating complex medication regimens. He spoke about challenges such as vaccine hesitancy, chronic medication management, and confusion caused by differences in pill color or branding.
The pharmacy also offers an impressive suite of travel vaccines including yellow fever, typhoid, and malaria prophylaxis which drew enthusiastic attention from our Global Health residents.
Closing Reflections
The tour concluded with a delicious lunch from Bananas Grill, a locally owned restaurant. We’re deeply grateful to the Well-Being Grant for funding the meals, snacks, and coffee that fueled our learning and connection throughout the day.
Feedback from participants was overwhelmingly positive:
“This event really helped reinvigorate everyone who attended. It’s so important to see and understand the robustness of Seattle and King County’s diverse communities and how they support our patients.”
Another attendee shared:
“I find what you do to be so incredibly inspiring; doing for your communities so much more than I could possibly do in one clinic day, week, or month. I’m so grateful to hear how you’re supporting your communities.”
The day was everything we hoped for and more: an experience of insight, cultural awareness, and human connection. Community Building Connections reflects Harborview Medical Center’s core mission: learning from and with our communities to provide compassionate, equitable care for all.
