Health Commissioners hear more about transition plans to Island Hospital clinic

||| BY SUSAN MCBAIN, theORCASONIAN REPORTER |||

The commissioners of the Orcas Island Health Care District heard a lot of details at the Feb. 16 meeting about Island Hospital’s (IH’s) plans for opening a new practice on Orcas in April. But for the community, perhaps the most interesting information was about IH’s community briefing, scheduled for this Thursday. The commissioners and IH managers will be discussing progress on provider hiring, after-hours care, the transition of medical records to IH’s electronic medical records system, and vaccination planning, and will also be answering community questions.

To attend the briefing you must pre-register. Click here and scroll down the page, enter the number of links (attached devices) you need, and fill out your contact information. Then click RSVP. You will receive the link to attend via the email address you enter.

IH managers also discussed their timeline for the transition from the UW Medicine practice to theirs. UW’s last day of operations will be Friday, March 26, but it will offer telehealth services through Wednesday, March 31. If in-person visits are needed, Orcas Family Health Care (OFHC) has agreed to see patients. IH employees will begin orientation on Monday, March 29 and will train throughout that week. They will begin seeing patients on Monday, April 5, with on-site assistance from IH staff members.

Transfer of medical information between practices requires patient authorization. UW and OFHC patients can now download forms for this authorization from the IH Orcas website page, www.islandhospital.org/orcas to print out and submit. Printed forms are also available at both clinics and at IH.

Aaimee Johnson has accepted the job of clinic manager. A few staff positions—nurse, receptionist, and medical assistant or licensed practical nurse—remain open. Discussions with current provider Dr. Camille Fleming are continuing.

OFHC, the County Department of Health and Community Services, and Ray’s Pharmacy are all now providing vaccinations when vaccine is available; they plan to work together to be sure shots are available as soon as possible. The statewide UW Medicine system has not received vaccine but will begin vaccinations if possible and is working to connect underserved patients to appointments.

The District’s next regular meeting will take place on Tuesday, March 2, at 5 p.m. The Zoom link for the meeting will be posted a few days in advance on the District’s Meetings Calendar click the link on March 2 to attend.