Our History

It began as a story about community concern and commitment to the uninsured when two physicians at Flagstaff Medical Center, John Caskey, MD and Holly Vigil, MD, recognized the need for a free clinic to provide care for people who could not afford it. Some of the founders included Ken Frost, Joe Haughey, Karen Holder, Miquelle Sheier, Hal Stern, Kathleen Stokes, and Sally Trotter. In 1991, what started as a story became a reality.

During its first four years the clinic operated through the use of volunteers, community donations, and space donated by the Coconino County Health Department.

In 1996 the clinic became a federally funded community health center and moved into in an old roller skating rink in Flagstaff’s Sunnyside neighborhood under the name North Country Community Health Center. Since then North Country has added clinics across northern Arizona in communities where there has been a need for better access to primary care services. At North Country’s clinics, quality healthcare is provided on a sliding fee scale regardless of people’s ability to pay. Nobody gets turned away.

In 2007, the organization changed its name to North Country HealthCare and moved its Flagstaff operations into a new facility with the help of a $3 million capital campaign. Today North Country HealthCare is delivering primary care services to over 30,000 patients at eleven clinics in northern Arizona, providing over 100,000 patient visits per year.