Health District/Island Hospital presentation available online

||| BY SUSAN MCBAIN, ORCASONIAN REPORTER |||

At least 100 community members tuned in to the Zoom presentation by Island Hospital (IH) and the Orcas Island Health Care District on Dec. 17. They were there to hear IH CEO Charles Hall, his senior staff, and District representatives describe the services of IH’s new clinic.

Not everyone who wished to see the presentation was able to sign in because of Zoom limitations, but the presentation, and also the slides used during it, are both available on the District’s website at https://orcashealth.org/2020/12/18/community-briefing-a-message-from-the-oihcd-superintendent/. (Note that to view the one-hour Zoom presentation, viewers will need to copy the passcode on that page to use on the next page.)

Hall began the presentations with a summary of COVID-19 news. He described the Centers for Disease Control’s schedule for vaccine distribution, estimating that Phase 2 will begin in late February/early March, Phase 3 will begin 2-2½ months later, and Phase 4 will take place in early summer. (See the slide presentation for details on phases.) The Washington Department of Health will be developing an app that lets people know about when to expect to be vaccinated.

Then Hall moved to discussing services of the new clinic. The slide presentation has extensive detail on those services, including community engagement; core services (primary, same-day, and after-hours care); enhanced services such as a patient liaison and integrated behavioral health; and online classes and screenings. Also, in 2021, IH will be opening a new Health and Wellness Center in Anacortes providing targeted information and education services to help patients manage chronic conditions and to promote healthy lifestyles.

Hall noted that the IH website now has an Orcas page describing services, summarizing the transition plan, and linking to a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page. That page also includes space to submit a question or comment on the FAQs.

For patients, Hall suggested their most important step was to sign a Medical Records Release Form at their current provider’s office, allowing medical records to be transferred into IH’s system as easily as possible. Another suggestion was signing up for IH’s patient portal, myIslandHealth, where patients will be able to make appointments, see lab results, and request prescription refills.

A Q&A session followed the slide presentation. Among the many questions were:

• Will we be able to receive COVID-19 vaccinations on Orcas? IH would prefer to use the Moderna vaccine because it is easier to store and to transport to remote locations like Orcas. The new clinic will offer vaccinations to its patients once it begins operations in April. San Juan County Public Health will also offer vaccinations, but timing is unclear, and people will need to be patient.
• The new clinic will ideally have six providers, a mix of physicians, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants. That number will allow four practitioners to be available each day. The number of each type is yet to be determined.
• Will lab services be expanded? Yes. New equipment will allow analysis of some blood panels in the clinic building, and funds for a new x-ray machine have been donated by a generous islander.

To hear all the questions and answers, view the last half of the Zoom presentation.