Health Care Commissioners Do a Lot in a Short Time

— by Susan McBain, Orcas Issues reporter —

The Orcas Island Health Care District (OIHCD) commissioner meeting on Sept. 11 set a new record for brevity: it ran only 90 minutes. But as usual, it covered many topics.

• The community survey, called the PHD September Survey, has been emailed to the Madrona Voices email list. Anyone wishing to take the survey can sign up at madronavoices.com to receive it. It will also be available in the library.
• The longest discussion of the afternoon was about metrics for measuring clinic performance in terms of patient satisfaction, fiscal responsibility, and quality of care. Commissioners have met with representatives of both Orcas Family Health Center (OFHC) and UW Neighborhood Clinics (UW). Both clinics already use a number of standard metrics that the commissioners want to see, both have target levels of achievement for those metrics, and both are willing to expand what they measure. Commissioner Art Lange recommended that, rather than specify desired metrics in its contracts with the clinics, OIHCD use the metrics and targets the clinics already use (plus a few others) and monitor those results on a trial basis. Lange commented that recent contract negotiations “have been very productive; we’re made good progress in reaching mutually acceptable agreements with both clinics.”
• The commissioners have created a list of OIHCD’s priorities for the rest of 2018. Both clinics will receive this list, with details specific to each clinic about agreements still to be reached.
• The commissioners and Washington Federal have agreed to maximum loan amounts: a $250,000 two-year line of credit, and an $800,000 long-term loan to be repaid over 10 years.
• Debra Gussin, Executive Director of UW Neighborhood Clinics, and several staff members attended the meeting, which occurred on the one-year anniversary of the opening of the Orcas clinic. She reported that the number of daily patients had exceeded expectations by about 14% to date, and that scheduling has been adjusted so that one-third of daily visits are for same-day walk-in patients. New physicians and staff are being added, and work continues on making the best use of resources.
• Public comments addressed the need to make sure that the Commission has information on the kinds of medical services needed by the island’s most vulnerable residents. There was also a counter-proposal to OIHCD’s proposed health care model, questioning whether immediate access to a clinician at all hours is medically necessary and whether other health care services may be more important.

The next regular meeting of the Commission is Sept. 18 at 4 p.m. at the Fire Hall. The next Town Hall meeting will be on Sept. 20, 6-8 p.m. at the Fire Hall.