Health District Holds First Town Hall Meeting

— by Susan McBain —

What are the community’s most important concerns with regard to health care? That was the focus of the Orcas Island Health Care District’s (OIHCD’s) Town Hall on Saturday, September 9. The commissioners came to listen, and the majority of time at the meeting was for questions and answers from community members.

The commissioners first gave brief summaries of what they had been working on, including the current status of after-hours and acute care, a model of after-hours and acute services the commissioners would like to see in place, budgets and funding decisions, services that could be delivered at several different levy rates, key metrics for measuring performance, and community engagement. The presentation is available on the OIHCD website by clicking here.

The meeting was then turned over to moderator Lisa Byers and to questions from those attending. The questions and comments addressed a range of topics; major ones are below.

• The tax increase could cause real hardship for some members of the community, especially those on fixed incomes. The commissioners assured those attending that they are well aware of this issue, and that their intent is to keep the levy rate as low as they possibly can. They will be completing a budget by Nov. 15 and setting a levy amount, but the actual millage rate won’t be known until all appraisals are in and the value of new construction is known. The millage rate will be based on the most recent available assessed values.

• The model of OIHCD’s desired services does not match the model of services that Orcas’s UW Neighborhood Clinic has contracted to provide. For example, UW’s Neighborhood Clinics on the mainland refer patients needing immediate care to UW urgent care clinics or emergency rooms, but neither option is available on Orcas. The commissioners have been working long hours with UW representatives to come up with workable compromises to meet needs on the island. The latest report on the desired model and possible compromises is available by clicking here.

• Working with two different clinics that serve different sets of people is complex and inefficient. The commissioners described how the two clinics have been working together to allow all patients access to the x-ray machine at Orcas Family Health Center (OFHC) if needed. They agreed that moving the two clinics toward eventual consolidation would be optimal. They also assured those attending that they intend to treat both clinics equally.

One comment the commissioners were glad to receive was a compliment and a round of applause on what a great job they’ve done!

One of the commissioners’ main concerns is getting input from the entire Orcas community to help them in their decision making. This Town Hall and another on Sept. 20 are intended to help them gather that input. Another method is an online community survey from Madrona Voices (www.madronavoices.com), which will be emailing a link to the survey to its extensive email list. The survey can be done at home or at the library; the commissioners hope to have helpers available at the library who can assist people to complete the survey online. Finally, community members are welcome to contact any commissioner through the OIHCD website from the Contact Us page.

The next regular OIHCD meeting is Tuesday, Sept. 11, 4-6 p.m. at the Fire Hall. The next Town Hall is scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 20, 6-8 p.m., also at the Fire Hall.