— from Anne Presson for Orcas Island Health Care District —
At our August 4, 2020 Regular Board meeting, the motion to enter into negotiations with Orcas Island Hospital of Anacortes was unanimously approved. As the process to negotiate a contract gets underway, should an
agreement be reached Island Hospital will take over management of a single, consolidated clinic in the Orcas Medical Building in early 2021.
Throughout the Request for Proposal process, the OIHCD has received support for the need to consolidate health care on Orcas from leadership at both UW Medicine (UW) and Orcas Family Health Center (OFHC). Dr.
David Shinstrom, OFHC Medical Director, submitted a letter of support for Island Hospital’s Provider-Based Rural Health Clinic model. In addition, Debra Gussin, Executive Director of UW Neighborhood Clinics, has continuously stated that “whatever decision OIHD makes in terms of future management of the clinics, we will partner with you for the best benefit of the community… working on a smooth transition to new management.”
The Board is now engaged in the process of drafting a Clinical Services Agreement (CSA) that will outline the requirements and expectations for each party over a five-year term. Once the Commissioners reach consensus
as to the proposed elements, which will be discussed at the August 18 th Board meeting, a draft CSA will be submitted to Island Hospital.
The other action taken at the August 4 meeting was to appoint Commissioners Pegi Groundwater and Art Lange to lead the negotiations on behalf of the District. Once both sides have secured legal counsel, formal
negotiations will begin and could take anywhere from 4-6 weeks to reach agreement and sign a final CSA.
While negotiations like this are complex, the OIHCD and Island Hospital are committed to making these negotiations a very efficient and effective process. All of the participants involved have had considerable experience with such transitions and the collective wisdom at the table is a benefit to all parties.
As Commissioners, we have undertaken a long and thoughtful process to get to this point. We have appreciated the community’s participation and engagement at the numerous Regular and Special Board Meetings/Town
Halls that have taken place over the past three months. We will continue to inform our community about the process of negotiations and a possible transition.
We recognize that significant change, especially one that is as personal as one’s healthcare, is a serious concern to all the members of our community. The OIHCD’s website contains a list of answers to frequently asked questions. We will continue to update the Q&A document as more details become known.
As always, we encourage you to contact our District Superintendent, Anne Presson, or any Commissioner if you have questions. Please refer to the Contact Us tab of the website for contact information.
We all look forward to a positive future that ensures quality, island-appropriate primary, acute and acute after- hours health care is available to all members of our community in a financially sustainable and cost-effective manner.
OIHD residents and directors: Thank you for wrestling toward solutions in the interest of health-care needs and provisions. I will do my part by informed voting and support of local providers.