Bellingham Board of Health Tables Senior Clinic Funding Fight to March 17

BELLINGHAM — March 3, 2026 — Bellingham Board of Health tables fight over who funds senior blood pressure clinics. The board voted unanimously Tuesday to defer a funding dispute over bi-weekly clinics at the senior center to its March 17 meeting, after Health Agent Dylan Levante revealed the town's contract with its public health nursing vendor obligates the contractor to provide only five blood pressure clinics per year — far fewer than the bi-weekly schedule a nurse identified as Celeste has been providing. Celeste, who charges $60 an hour for 90-minute sessions every two weeks, has not been paid by the town; the Bellingham Elder Services group has covered her outstanding bills in the interim. Member Richard Martinelli argued that the senior center director's informal arrangement to hire Celeste independently may conflict with the town's existing VNA contract, calling it a circumvention of the agreement. The board plans to bring both Celeste and a VNA representative to the March 17 session to compare costs ahead of contract renegotiation and the town's active budget process.