About Bellingham Health

Bonnie Sprague, ARNP, IFMCP

Bonnie Sprague, ARNP, IFMCP, graduated from Seattle Pacific University in 1983 with a BSN and Family Nurse Practitioner degree. She is certified through ANCC and is an active member of the American Nurse Practitioner Association. In her twenties, Bonnie enjoyed practicing at several rural and migrant community health centers. She was the initial Nurse Practitioner for the Interfaith Clinic, now known as Unity Care, and enjoyed working as part of the team for thirteen years.

Bonnie began Bellingham Health in 1999 after a severe knee injury forced her to change how she worked. She studied with the Institute for Integrative Women’s Health for two years and earned certification from their program. This included a balanced approach to women’s health, Naturopathic use of herbs, and best effective practices for women’s issues. Bonnie also studied with the herbalist KP Khalsa and learned about the practical application of herbal treatments, such as the adaptogens used in Chinese Medicine and Ayurveda.

In 2016 Bonnie began her studies with The Institute in Functional Medicine and completed the requirements for practitioner certification with them in 2017.

Bonnie practiced integratively with both Functional Medicine and Primary Care until December 2020. In 2021, Bonnie stopped doing primary care and now enjoys semi-retirement and a half-time schedule of seeing patients for Functional Medicine and Women’s Health.

Bonnie grew up in the Northwest and has enjoyed many outdoor activities. She skied, kayak guided, hiked, and camped through her 30’s. At age 43, Bonnie had a severe knee fracture limiting her physical activities.

She now enjoys sailing with her husband, Steve, and kayaking in the San Juan Islands. Bonnie also enjoys cooking, growing a deck garden, reading, traveling, drawing, painting, and her sweet cat, Zoe. Bonnie loves her grown-up step-children and being called “Grandma” by her grandson. Bonnie had two knee replacements in 2021, and she is thrilled with her healing and the activities she can continue.

Clinic Operations

Our clinic is in the Fairhaven neighborhood of Bellingham Washington.  We are on the second floor of the Larrabee Square building, Suite 204.  Ground level handicap access is available from the alley/parking lot behind the building.  You can use the Google Maps QuickLink  in the upper right corner of this webpage to find us on your phone or computer. Our address is:

Bellingham Health
1050 Larrabee Ave, STE 204
Bellingham, WA 98225

The clinic’s office hours are normally Monday to Wednesday from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM.   Patients will be seen, and most communications will occur during these office hours.  Due to remote work, staffing and other constraints, the office may not be physically open for unscheduled “drop in” visits during office hours.  We encourage you to communicate with us by phone or the clinic portal, and to make an appointment for all visits.    

Established patients can make appointments by logging into the clinic’s secure patient portal (Use the Portal QuickLink on the top right corner of this webpage).  You can also call the office to request an appointment through our messaging system. See more details on the Help for Patients page.

New patients need to establish with the clinic before they can schedule an appointment.  Follow the instructions in the New Patient section of our  Help for Patients page.

Cancellations must be made at least 24 hours before the scheduled appointment.  There is a $50 No-Show fee for appointments missed or cancelled with less than 24 hours notice.   You can cancel your appointment by logging into the clinic portal and going to “Scheduling”.  You can also cancel by calling the clinic and following the prompts on our automated messaging service.  

The best way for patients to ask questions, pay bills, make appointments, and conduct other business with the clinic is through the patient portal.  Use the Portal QuickLink in the top right corner of this webpage to open the portal.   

Patients and others without a portal account can leave messages and manage their appointments by calling the clinic at (360) 756-9793 and following the prompts on our messaging system. 

When you receive a prescription from us, it will include enough refills to carry you through to your next planned follow-up appointment.   Your pharmacy can normally do the refills without having to contact us.    We can update your prescription at the scheduled visit. 

The number of refills and follow up frequency depend on the kind of medication you are taking.  For example, controlled medications such as testosterone require follow up visits every six months.  All medications require follow up visits at least yearly.  Please plan ahead. 

If the unexpected happens, and you find yourself without medication, please contact the clinic by phone or portal.   

Bellingham Health will not be initiating any pain narcotic or benzodiazepine prescriptions.  Please see your Primary Care or appropriate specialist for these medications. 

How We Practice

Bellingham Health is no longer providing Primary Care.  We are focused on Functional Medicine and Women’s Health.  We require patients to establish with another provider for their Primary Care needs.  We will work with your PCP and send copies of consultations to keep them informed about our work together.

Bellingham now has a few large clinics providing most of the Primary Care.  Options include:

  • PeaceHealth (A large organization with specialty clinics including Family Health, Internal Medicine, and Geriatric Health)
  • Family Care Network
  • Associates in Family Medicine
  • Mt Shuksan Medicine (A smaller, Nurse Practitioner run clinic)

Yes!  That is exactly how we prefer to work with our patients.  See your primary care provider for the urgent and routine care they are geared to provide.  See us when you have an issue or question that your primary care provider is not able to address well.  We will communicate with your PCP as needed.

You should have a yearly check with your Primary Care Provider to assess your general health, and have your routine medications reviewed and refilled.  You should see your PCP for any recent injury or illness. 

See Bellingham Health when conventional care is not meeting your needs.  For example: If your PCP says that your labs are all normal, but you still don’t feel well.  We can help with:

  • Lingering feelings of fatigue, poor digestion, or impaired mental function.
  • Women’s health issues that may require hormone treatment.
  • When you want to explore further treatments or understand your health better. 
When Bonnie began semi-retirement, she significantly reduced the clinic’s hours of operation. With the reduced hours and income, keeping the larger clinic and support staff that we used to have wasn’t practical. By downsizing the clinic, increasing the use of technology, and making other changes, Bellingham Health can continue practicing independently and with intention.

Our patients benefit too. The new tools, like our clinic portal and our advanced phone messaging system, allow our patients to complete the routine and administrative parts of their visits on their own schedule, 24 hours a day. This includes making appointments, filling out pre-visit paperwork, updating health histories, making payments, asking questions, and more.

Overall, these changes allow Bonnie to focus on your medical needs and continue providing high-quality personalized care.

Yes, to become a patient, you need access to a web-capable computer or smartphone.

As explained above, Bellingham Health does not have a receptionist or other staff to answer the phone and manage the other administrative parts of your visit. Our communications, record sharing, most appointment scheduling, and many office visits occur online. If you can’t comfortably use this technology, you will need a family member or friend to manage all communications for you.

The good news is that if you are reading this on a phone or computer, you probably have everything you need to work with us. You can find detailed instructions for using our clinic portal and other systems on our Help for Patients web page.

Yes, we use telehealth or video visits when practical. We do about half of our visits this way, and we bill insurance the same as if you came into the clinic.

There are some limitations:

  • It’s best to schedule your first appointment as an in-person visit.
  • Physical examinations must be in person.
  • We can see anyone in the office, but state licensing restricts video visits to residents of Washington State.

Insurance and Payment

We accept most common insurances in the Bellingham area.  If we take your insurance, we will bill them for your visit as a service to you.  Prompt payment of unpaid fees is expected within 30 days of the insurer’s determination of benefits.  Patients are responsible for reviewing and updating insurance changes each visit to ensure efficient billing. 

Bellingham Health generally accepts insurance from the carriers listed below.  Since coverage and benefits change frequently, patients are responsible for understanding the level of benefits that their insurance provides,  and for verifying that Bellingham Health is an approved provider under their plan at the time of service.


Insurance carriers that we normally work with include;  Regence, Premera, Lifewise, Cigna, Aetna, First Choice, and United Healthcare.


We accept Traditional Medicare (Part B) and Supplemental Medicare plans (Medigap)  from the insurances listed above.


We participate in some, but not all Medicare Advantage (Part C) plans. Review your policy guidelines and requirements carefully to make sure that Bonnie Sprague, ARNP is listed as  a provider, and that you follow the referral and approval process for your plan (Bonnie cannot be your PCP).   Requirements change frequently, so use caution.


Kaiser Permanente plans are partly covered, but have restrictions that are a little complex.  We are credentialed to provide “Women’s Health” and “Transgender Care”.  This means: 

  • “Women’s Health Care” is covered and does not need a referral for things like a Woman’s Well Exam, hormonal concerns, menopause, PMS, and polycystic ovaries.
  • If a woman has an issue concerning something not specifically related to female organs, they need to get a referral from their PCP.  For example, if a woman has a thyroid disorder, her PCP will need to create a referral to “Bonnie Sprague, ARNP a Women’s Health Specialist” with Kaiser Permanente.   A key point to making a successful referral is that it be specifically to “Bonnie Sprague, ARNP a Woman’s Health Specialist” and not a general referral to Naturopath or other type of provider.
  • We cannot see men with Kaiser Permanente insurance.
  • We can see people for transgender care, but they need a referral specifically to “Bonnie Sprague, ARNP a Transgender Care Specialist”.

 

We do not accept insurance from: DSHS, State Sponsored Apple Health, Molina, and Community Health Plan of Washington.   If you have one of these insurances, we can still see you, but you will be billed under our affordable cash payment plan.  Also be aware that labs ordered by Bellingham Health may not be covered by these insurances.

Yes.   Our affordable cash fees are based on time with the provider and must be paid at the time of service.   

Typical fees for 2023 are: 

  • 15 minutes = $70
  • 30 minutes = $125
  • 50 minutes = $225
     

Extra fees based on time will be added for more extensive visits.  Complex or multiple issues may require additional visits to be scheduled.