— from Susan McBain, Orcas Issues Reporter —
At their July 14 meeting, the commissioners of the Orcas Island Health Care District made their decisions about the two proposals they received to operate a consolidated medical clinic on island. They decided to thank the Orcas Community Integrative Medicine Clinic (OCIMC) for its proposal but decline to continue discussions with them, and to continue discussions with Island Hospital (IH). They made clear, however, that narrowing the field did not mean they were offering IH a contract at this point; they still need more information on the services IH is proposing and the costs of those services.
The meeting began with careful and thorough explanations of the information the commissioners had gathered from each clinic during the preceding week. They acknowledged that each proposal offered
interesting ideas and that each had weaknesses that would need to be addressed before a consolidated clinic could be opened. In the end they felt that the OCIMC proposal, which would create an entirely new entity to operate the clinic, did not offer enough certainty about its operations and finances to give them confidence in its success. The IH proposal offered the full range of services the District seeks—although cost details will need discussion—as well as concrete data on current operations and finances.
Next steps:
- The commissioners will prepare further questions for IH, focusing on additional available services and costs. Commissioners Pegi Groundwater and Patty Miller will discuss those questions with IH representatives this week and decide whether discussion with the whole commission is needed.
- If so, the commissioners may begin their July 21 meeting early, at 4 p.m., to allow time for thorough discussion with IH CEO Charles Hall and other IH staff. The final start time will be posted on the District calendar, along with the Zoom link for the meeting.
- The Town Hall scheduled as part of the July 21 meeting will begin at 5:30 p.m.
- IH’s finalist presentation—its final opportunity to describe how its services will address the needs of Orcas Island—is tentatively scheduled for July 30 at 5 p.m.
- On Aug. 4, the commissioners will decide whether or not to award a contract to Island Hospital.
I like being with UW, I or my providers can go to their WEB Site and see information from Peace Health,Skigit Hospital, all from one WEB Site IH does not share their information with this system. This means you will have to make sure any test or visits with other providers get to the the provider you are visiting.
If memory serves… in the past, haven’t we been involved with Island Hospital? I wish that the Hospital District had chosen better in this instance. Dr. Shu is a cardiologist and has a Heart ECHO Machine in his office to determine if chest pain is actually a heart attack symptom, (that would require an airlift) or one of six other conditions that would not require an airlift.
It seems unfortunate to me that the Hospital District seems to be stuck on a rutted road and is not open to all of the needs of this island community, of which a large proportion is the elderly.
Spirit Eagle