Odessa Brown was born in Arkansas in 1920. During the great depression, she moved to Chicago and experienced some health problems, but had difficulty obtaining the care she needed. At one visit to a Chicago area hospital, she was turned away and denied care. She reportedly said to the staff, "I am black and poor, but I will leave in peace so that I can keep my dignity."
Years later, at the height of the Civil Rights Era, Odessa was raising her four children in Seattle when she became a community organizer. Through a federally-funded effort to solve inner city problems by building "model neighborhoods," she fought to bring quality health care with dignity to children in the Central Area. Odessa died of leukemia in 1969 at age 49. When the new children's clinic opened the next year, a thankful community named it in her honor.
From that early beginning in 1970, when just one doctor delivered on Odessa's dream, we have grown into a comprehensive facility with medical, dental and mental health services that embrace patients and families throughout King County and beyond.
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| "OBCC has always provided excellent care regardless of insurance or background, from the front desk staff to security and medical staff. I was a patient when I was a child and returned with my kids. Like a fine wine they have only gotten better with time." |
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