— by Susan McBain, Orcas Issues Reporter —
Steady progress on all fronts seemed to be the theme of the July 31 meeting of the Orcas Island Health Care District Commission. But there were two exceptions, significant milestones in the Commission’s brief history, both of them positive:
- The completion of one of the Commission’s most important documents, its proposed model of acute care services for Orcas Island, both during open hours and on nights and weekends. The draft model is now with the two clinics, UW Medicine (UW) and Orcas Family Health Center (OFHC), and the fire department’s EMS managers for negotiations and costing. Once agreement is reached, the Commission can estimate what additional costs the services might require. The proposed model, Island Wide Acute Care Model 07312018, is available on the District website.
- The support of the new superintendent, Anne Presson, for several aspects of the Commission’s work, particularly scheduling and compliance with legal requirements. The commissioners’ sense of relief at the help was palpable.
In the “steady steps” column, bids for costs of maintenance work on the OMF building are on the way, to help the commissioners plan for funding and possible ownership of that facility. Earlier plans had been for the Commissioner to receive the building from its current owner, the Orcas Medical Foundation (OMF), at no cost. However, the commissioners may instead opt to pay OMF for the building, providing funds that OMF could then use to continue its contribution to UW’s expenses in running the medical practice.
At least one Town Hall meeting to gather community input will take place, probably in late August or the first half of September. Refinements continue on the questions for a community-wide survey after that.
Both clinics and the Commissioner’s attorney, Don Black, are providing more information for metrics to be used to measure practice performance, quality of care, and patient satisfaction. And finally, both clinics are working on protocols for joint use of OFHC’s X-ray machine.
The Commission cancelled its regular meeting on August 7; the next regular meeting will be August 14.
I must be confused. I thought that the clinics would continue providing PRIMARY AMBULATORY care. “Acute” care has always meant hospital care in my experience. We have no hospital, nor could we ever hope to support one. People seeking primary care go to the clinics; people seeking after-hours care call the after-hours coordinator? To what end? Why not the EMT, if it’s urgent or emergent? And waiting until the next office day if it’s not? Looking for clarity here.
I thought that the goal was having more office hours, later and on Saturday, to allow working people to see the PCP?