Health District Finalizes Draft Budget for Nov. 6 Public Hearing

— by Susan McBain, Orcas Issues Reporter —

The final draft budget to be considered at the Nov. 6 public hearing of the Orcas Island Health Care District (OIHCD) is now available on the OIHCD website. The commissioners expect to approve this budget when the hearing is complete. No substantive changes to the budget can be made after that point without another hearing, although minor changes are allowed.

At their Oct. 23 meeting, OIHCD commissioners approved the purchase of the Orcas Medical Foundation (OMF) facility, which currently houses the UW Neighborhood Clinic (UWNC), for $354,441 if all insurance needs are met. OMF will use the funds to pay its obligations to UWNC for the last half of 2018.

Work on the final 2019 contract with the Orcas Family Health Center continues to make progress. The commissioners plan to sign an interim contract with UWNC calling for current services to be continued until a final contract is signed.

The commissioners continued to discuss the differences between the model of services they would like UWNC to provide and what UWNC has agreed to. The commissioners would like a provider to be on call and available on Orcas to see anyone needing acute/urgent medical care around the clock if deemed medically necessary, but

• UWNC providers are not required to see patients after hours even if medically appropriate, although they may choose to see patients on a voluntary basis;
• UWNC will not refer after-hours callers not already registered with UWNC to an on-call provider;
• EMS must contact on-call providers through the UW triage process rather than directly; and
• one provider considered by UWNC to be “on call” for after-hours care is located on Lopez.

UWNC has requested that OIHCD fund a consultant to explore how other small rural districts have met the health care needs of their communities. The commissioners decided to propose instead funding a small working group consisting of OIHCD and UWNC representatives to define the project’s goals. They hope to continue working with UWNC management to move closer to their desired model of care on Orcas.

The next regular OIHCD meeting is Oct. 30 at 4 p.m. at the Fire Hall. The public hearing will be held as part of the following regular meeting on Nov. 6, same time and place.