||| BY SUSAN MCBAIN, ORCASONIAN REPORTER |||

My top story of the year was the finalization of the contract with Island Hospital. A lot happened at the Orcas Island Health Care District this year — the commissioners finalized their preferred model, released a request for proposal for a partner to help implement that model, and selected Island Hospital as that partner. But the die wasn’t cast until all the details of negotiations had been worked through and the contract was signed.

The signing was the culmination of more than 2.5 years of work on the part of the commissioners and Superintendent Anne Presson — hard work, long hours, with no pay for the commissioners. I must add that I can’t imagine a commission working any better than this one has. All five commissioners are thoroughly professional, competent as a group in all the needed areas of expertise, cooperative and patient, respectful of each other and the public, and absolutely committed to doing the job transparently and right. And they aren’t afraid to get their hands dirty. I bet Richard Fralick will never agree to crawl into the clinic’s attic again!

I’m hopeful the new clinic will be a model of what Orcas has wanted for years. There will be adjustments, frustrations, and differences of opinion in the beginning, but all the factors seem to be in place for creation of a first-class rural health care system.”


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