Amber Arrington said her name, pausing to overcome her emotions.

She found out she was pregnant with her first child in February 2012.

“I had mixed emotions because I came here from Virginia and I had very little family,” Arrington told a crowd of over 40 people at the Public Health Center on Friday, when King County Executive Dow Constantine came to Federal Way to thank Mayor Jim Ferrell for his efforts to keep the center open for two more years. “I was unemployed, undecided on a career choice and so I had a lot of fear.”

Not knowing what to expect, Arrington sought the guidance of Public Health staff, who provided her with home visits from a nurse. The nurse taught her prenatal care and, when Arrington’s daughter was born, the nurse helped her through the transition.

“The convenience of the nurse traveling to my home was beneficial because I did not have a vehicle and my daughter was born prematurely,” she recalled, holding up a picture. “This is a picture of my daughter born three weeks early.”

She said Public Health staff offered her suggestions on how to soothe her daughter, how to distinguish her baby’s cries at night, how to breastfeed and how to handle her frustration of being a new, single mother.

“Today as I stand here, this is my daughter now,” she said, holding up a large photo of her daughter as the audience clapped. “I have gained so much confidence, I have the skills that I need to survive … In one week, my daughter will turn 2 years old and it’s due to the contributions of this office that she is healthy and she is very active.”

Now a full-time employee at the University of Washington, Arrington will graduate from Highline College in June with an Associate of Applied Science degree in business.

She thanked Public Health staff and said the programs they provided her have “motivated me to be the best that I can be and to pass that on to my daughter so that she can have a successful future.”

Seattle-King County Public Health officials announced in spring that four health clinics, Federal Way and Auburn centers included, could close come 2015 because of a lack of state and federal funding. The funding gap to keep the Federal Way clinic open is about $1.5 million in the county’s biennial budget, or $750,000 a year.

Concerned that the potential closure would affect 13,700 low-income mothers and children in Federal Way and 38 clinic staff members, the City Council last month voted to spend $221,000 toward the clinic’s operating costs for 2015. As part of the deal, King County agreed to cover the remaining 70 percent of the clinic’s operating costs for 2015, and all of the costs for 2016.

“I wanted to come here in person today to thank Federal Way, to thank Federal Way Mayor Jim Ferrell, who not once did he whine and complain but rather said, ‘Let’s roll up our sleeves. I recognize the financial realities but I also recognize the need. Let’s figure out how to make things work,’” Constantine said during the event. “That is the kind of local and regional leadership we need for the mayor of one of King County’s biggest and most important cities. I just want to say thank you for having the right attitude and helping us get this done.”

Constantine also thanked Public Health employees, who agreed to forego their scheduled pay increases to help keep the Federal Way clinic open, as well as King County Councilman Pete von Reichbauer, a “tireless advocate” for Federal Way residents, he noted.

The county executive will work to create similar partnerships for Public Health elsewhere — including Auburn, he said to loud applause.

“I arrived a little bit late today and that was for the sole reason that I was working with our staff and then on the phone with the mayor of Auburn, continuing to work to find the ways for us to keep that clinic open,” Constantine noted. “We are not there yet but we are making progress.”

He is also looking at ways to fund Public Health programs after this budget cycle and is working with community partners to develop a levy proposal for 2015 that ensures every baby born in King County has a strong start in life.

Ferrell said when the issue of the clinic closure first arose, he got on his cell phone with Constantine.

“The one thing I really remember him saying during that conversation is, ‘I don’t believe in no-win scenarios,’ and neither do I and neither do the people who live in this community and work in this community,” he said.

Constantine’s attitude also reminded the mayor of his football days with the University of Washington Huskies, when his coach said, “The definition of commitment is removing the option to quit.”

And that’s exactly what all of the Public Health stakeholders did, Ferrell said.

“I have to say that not one time did any of these stakeholders say, ‘I don’t believe we can’t make this work.’ They removed that option to quit and we allocated $221,000 …,” he said. “I think that represents an unwillingness to quit on the people in this community who have the least resources — nearly 14,000 young women and their infant children.”

King County Executive Dow Constantine thanks Mayor Jim Ferrell for his efforts to keep the Federal Way Public Health Clinic open for two more years during an event at the clinic on Oct. 17. Carrie Rodriguez, the Mirror