Health District considers how to evaluate proposals for single Orcas clinic

— by Susan McBain, Orcas Issues reporter —

The commissioners of the Orcas Island Health Care District discussed two major topics at their May 19 meeting:

• Responses to their request for proposals (RFP) for a medical provider to reshape the delivery of the island’s health care. The RFP, released May 11, describes the District’s desired model of service, “a single practice encompassing all healthcare providers on this island.” It includes descriptions of the Orcas community and current service providers; a detailed list of desired services and characteristics for the proposed practice; and descriptions of the information required in proposers’ responses. The complete RFP, including three requirements documents and five supporting documents, is available at this link.
  • Superintendent Anne Presson told the commissioners that Orcas Family Health Center (OFHC) and Island Hospital have said they intend to send in proposals. PeaceHealth does not plan to respond, while UW Medicine and Dr. Vincent Shu are still considering their plans. The commissioners discussed the possible effects of the COVID-19 crisis on bidding; they will consider the need to revisit the deadline if interested responders say they cannot meet the June 19 due date.
  • Because of the restrictions due to COVID-19, there are no plans are in place yet for engaging the public in the decision process. Commissioners Art Lange and Diane Boteler will present a plan at the next meeting, including possibilities for public meetings.
  • The commissioners then discussed how well they could align their individual expectations on key issues before evaluating proposals. They agreed they need to be able to offer “meaningful input” into selection of key personnel, including the medical director and clinic manager, but not necessarily have veto power. They discussed what level of collaboration they might want on other aspects of operations, but agreed that they would need to consider the pros and cons of each proposal as a whole before deciding if any one aspect might be a “deal breaker.” They will consider developing a scoring system for evaluation of the proposals.

• Bids on the roofing and HVAC RFPs. Esary Roofing & Siding of Burlington was the low bidder on the roof and had good references. Commissioner Patty Miller suggested a few precautionary steps before signing the contract. Commissioners Richard Fralick and Pegi Groundwater will finalize the contract after discussing the HVAC situation with the roofer, as repairs to the two systems need to be coordinated. Proposals for the HVAC system are due May 29.

The commissioners heard reports from OFHC and UW Medicine on operations during the pandemic. Both are continuing to increase services slowly: OFHC has added more in-clinic hours, and UW has begun vaccinations for children and some critical lab testing. Overall appointment numbers and income remain far below last year but are beginning to climb.

The District’s next regular meeting will be June 2 at 5 p.m. via Zoom. The Zoom link will be available on the Meetings Calendar page; to attend, click the June 2 “OIHCD Regular Meeting” link, then click the Zoom link. If you have not used Zoom before, the app will automatically download before opening.