Health District considers how to involve community in medical care provider decisions

— by Susan McBain, Orcas Issues Reporter —

All Town Hall meetings held in the next few months by the commissioners of the Orcas Island Health Care District will have a virtual component, even if they are also open to in-person attendance. The commissioners reached that decision at their June 6 meeting, partly for reasons of safety but also
because more people have attended their meetings since those became accessible via Zoom.

Scheduling of in-person meetings will depend on restrictions and guidance regarding the COVID-19 situation.

The decision came as the commissioners considered how to inform the community, answer questions, and gather public input into their decisions on choosing a partner to provide health care services on Orcas Island. Their plan also calls for several articles to be published beginning immediately, and for up to three Town Halls to be held in June and July, possibly preceded by an informational video on their process and decisions to date.

Two potential partners have so far said they will respond to the District’s request for proposals (RFP): Orcas Family Health Center and Island Hospital. PeaceHealth said that it would not bid, even after District Superintendent Anne Presson raised the possibility of an extended deadline for proposals. UW Medicine indicated that it could continue operations “as is” but would not be responding to specifics of the RFP. At Island Hospital’s request, District commissioners agreed to change the due date for proposals from June 19 to June 26. The change will not affect the overall decision timeline.

The commissioners continued the discussion of how they would evaluate bidders’ proposals. They agreed that each commissioner would provide both numerical scores on how well each proposal meets various requirements plus a narrative summary on his or her overall reactions.
Presson received two bids on HVAC systems for the clinic building. The low bid was about $300,000, which, combined with the least expensive roofing option, would bring the total repair costs to a minimum of about $400,000. The commissioners still must reach decisions on roofing and HVAC options
regarding insulating the attic space, which could increase costs but also extend the life of the repairs and result in energy savings.

Finally, the commissioners approved up to $2000 for assistance in developing a new financial modeling tool that will allow them to more easily change assumptions underlying future financial projections. It
will be simpler and more flexible than the detailed financial model they developed in their first year.

The District’s next regular meeting will be June 16 at 5 p.m. via Zoom. The Zoom link will be available on the Meetings Calendar page; to attend, click the June 16 “OIHCD Regular Meeting” link, then click the Zoom link. If you have not used Zoom before, the app will automatically download before opening.