— from the Orcas Medical Foundation Board —
If we continue to quarrel about the past and present, we may find that we have lost the future.
The proposal to establish a University of Washington Neighborhood Clinic on Orcas is not about today. It is about providing a long-lasting practice well into tomorrow.
All the alternatives to “fix” our fragile healthcare system on Orcas do not address the future. Two of the island’s fine primary physicians are at, or nearing retirement age. We have an opportunity before us to plan for the day when our current providers are no longer in practice.
All Orcas residents should be aware that UW Medicine’s proposal to establish a Neighborhood Clinic is a one-time offer to Orcas that will not be repeated. It is now or never; there is no “slow” alternative.
The time is now to send a message to the University of Washington by contributing to the UW Medicine Fund at Key Bank. Let UW know that most of the islanders believe that this is a wonderful opportunity, and that we welcome UW Medicine to Orcas. We are grateful that they are offering sustainable world-class healthcare to all islanders for all our future needs.
YOU can make this happen! The fund to raise the monies needed to establish a UW Neighborhood Clinic is growing, but we have not reached our goal. Every contribution is important. Please consider making a donation of any size to the fund to ensure the future of healthcare on Orcas. We have risen to similar challenges in the past. Please help do it again. Thank you.
OMFoundation Board of Directors: Catherine Henderson, Leslie Murdock, Douglas Ellis, Bill Tudor, David Slawson, Barbara Bedell, Lance Evans, Scott Williams, Carolyn Morrow Fiscus
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UW Neighborhood Clinics currently has 12 locations – all in Washington State. UWNC web pages identifies 6 as Virtual and 6 as Urgent Care. There is a vast difference. Which will we get if we are successful in raising the required funds?
For as long as I can remember we have collectively been saying “all our practices SHOULD find a way to work together.” Yet, dysfunction and disruption, have ruled. All our people are good people. They just CAN’T seem to play well together. So be it. We have traveled this road long enough. Let’s just acknowledge there is some toxic mix going on in our medical “family” that refuses to find common ground and settle into a viable whole. ok. –
All progress starts with acknowledging the truth. We just couldn’t get it done! At this late stage and given how often we have tried and failed we are left with only one professional, well respected organization willing to take us on (U of W). Lets express gratitude to all who have tried to bring order but move on and establish a future focused solution. It’s the right thing to do. Donate. Approve the hospital district and let’s get this organized.
Members of the community have come forth with extremely valid questions and concerns regarding this proposal. Where clear answers and information are needed, instead, you attempt to instill fear: ” Put up the million dollars now…without UW the other doctors practicing on Orcas *might* retire and leave you with nothing”. The Orcas community really deserves more than this, especially when you are asking them to put up a million dollars…
If UW is sufficiently interested, it’s unlikely that they will refuse to ever negotiate again if Orcas doesn’t raise this very large amount of money in a very short time. That’s not how business works. Is there a link to financial information showing that the UW clinic would be sustainable? How many years here are they willing to commit to in writing, at what subsidy level from the community? Will the clinic have medical personnel on call 24 hours a day every day? There are too many unanswered questions.
While attractive and perhaps workable, this is not the only possible solution to our fractured medical situation.
Hi Mr. Blisset, Regarding your comment above, Orcas Medical Foundation has a regularly updated link providing very clear answers to all questions and concerns. Go to this link to see all the information available: https://www.orcasmedicalcenter.com/q-a-omfuw-medicine
Now or never is somewhat deceptive and threatening. Answer all the questions and maybe the community will support you. Obfuscation never really works!
Kristen, Thanks for the helpful link to answers.
Assuming that the community will always have doctors who choose to practice on their own, rather than be under one roof, would the envisioned UW/OMC alliance provide a centralized facility for tests, x-rays, tele-medecine, after hours emergency staffing, to all island practitioners, regardless of if they were part of the UW/OMC facility?
Seems like this allows for practitioners to provide personal service as they wish, but when specialized tests or care are called for, the UW facility could carry that load, and spread the cost of those expensive systems and services around among a larger base of practitioners, thereby keeping utilizations rate higher, costs lower, and generally more efficient than would normally be common in a rural setting.
And, in cases where a patient would normally be referred off island to such a facility, they could more often get tests and such done on island, saving a trip, and all the complexity that goes with that.
A “one-time offer to Orcas that will not be repeated. It is now or never; there is no “slow” alternative” – frankly, that doesn’t sound like an “offer” to me. That sounds like a “threat”. Or “a scam for rubes”. I get better offers in my email every day from Nigerian Princes.
Surely the Orcas community deserves a better pitch…
My comment is only going to have one thing to do with OMF’s comments above which have been voiced before, that two of the primary physicians are at or near retirement age. Do doctors really have a set retirement age? Is there some requirement that they have to retire at a certain age? My husband was a DO (Osteopathic Physician and Surgeon for over 50 years and didn’t retire until he was 80 plus. I know a number of doctors who are over 70 or more who are still practicing because they enjoy what they do and want to help others. Let’s let the two primary doctors who are at or near retirement age make that decision for themselves. Maybe they are getting ready to retire, but let’s not blame this whole ongoing Medical Center issue on them.
Thank you!
We are being asked to commit a considerable sum of money without a comprehensive review of costs, charges, utilization, insurance or demographics relative to the whole island. There is no guarantee that this course will produce even a short-term solution with respect to all three practices, much less a long-term solution for the island, and it apparently relies heavily on the assumption that a hospital taxing district benefitting only part of the provider system would be approved. This makes no sense to me. It’s worth the time and energy to do this right.
Thank you for the link, Kristen. I have several questions that the FAQ doesn’t address.
First, as has been noted several times recently, the monetary figures say nothing about how many islanders are treated at the medical center vs. other practices.
Second, technology: does the Epic records system communicate with Peace Health, which is the largest health care player in our area, and the provider of a lot of advanced testing in Friday Harbor and the mainland? HIPAA has some issues with email communications.
Third, the only practitioners who have come and gone from Orcas Family Health Clinic have been PAs, and the level of turnover has been low compared with the number of doctors OMC has chewed up. What reason do we have to believe that UW can provide more stable staffing, given the realities of island life?
Fifth, two of the existing practices manage to staff 24 hour call without excessive expense. I don’t see anything in the FAQ about UW’s on-call availability, just a statement about solving this problem in the future. Two practices have already solved it.
The FAQ says that there is a lot of negotiating to be done about stability, income, number of practitioners, after hours care, and especially UW’s commitment to stay here for any length of time. However, OMF is asking us to pony up big bucks without those assurances. The only “tipping point” is that Island Hospital is leaving, and OMF is scrambling. As Ginny said, the retirement age argument is a red herring. This whole proposal seems rushed, expensive, and premature.
In all fairness to OMC, the title to this letter may not have been their own. Sometimes Margie and/or Lynn title the postings. I’m sure they will provide clarity as to that point.
It is clear that :
“All Orcas residents should be aware that UW Medicine’s proposal to establish a Neighborhood Clinic is a one-time offer to Orcas that will not be repeated. It is now or never; there is no “slow” alternative.”… was part of the original letter.
That sentence, in all of its literary glory, could have no other intention than to raise the level of fear in our community. I would much rather move to a solution in a slow methodical manner than react based on fear and uncertainty.
As Peg has stated in numerous posts, there is simply not enough valid data on the table for our community to risk $1 million on yet another failed attempt at a comprehensive health care solution – especially not one which is dependent upon drumming up fear to achieve success.
The letter, including its title, was published as submitted by the OMC board — Margie Doyle
When I read the OMF statement of “a one-time offer to Orcas that will not be repeated”, it makes me think of a shady used car dealer. All that does for me is make me want to hold my wallet tighter and become increasingly suspicious of those who are pushing this UW deal.
When I read the Q&A on the OMF site, I notice that the contract with UW Medicine has not yet been agreed. To me that means that the community is being asked to donate to support a deal with UW Medicine that they hope will work out because there is no agreement yet on key terms. I would suggest there should be at least a letter of intent that defines the commitments of both parties (duration of deal, level of service, maximum subsidy required).
Lastly, I note the current OMF Board President is “a Clinical Professor” at UW. Does that present a bias or conflict of interest that might present us from getting the best deal from UW Medicine?
My gut feeling is something is wrong here. I will keep my money rather than donate to this venture regardless of the fear mongering approach being used to sell it.
This is a good example of how important Orcas Issues is to our awareness, communication & understanding of community issues and perspectives. Where else could this discussion occur w/convenient access participation and visibility? KUDOS Orcas Issues, you really make a difference & are worthy of our support, thank you!
Yes.
Thank you Margie! An incredibly valuable resource to our community! And thank you for the clarity on this letter.
Thank you for providing this forum, Margie. Don, I doubt that having a UW-affiliated prof on the OMF board results in a worse deal for Orcas. More likely, Dr. Henderson is at least partially responsible for facilitating this opportunityl, providing connections that might not be available otherwise. FYI, Dr. Shinstrom has also been a clinical prof at UW.
Moana, Brian and Don are right; cut the “now or never” crap!
I would also like to thank Margie and the Orcas Issues staff for the valuable information they present to us on a daily basis. It is definitely my go-to news media for us.And the fact that we can communicate on issues in this manner are greatly appreciated.
Moana – I agree that on its own, the presence of UW affiliated folks on the OMF BOD does not indicate a problem.
That said, in my many years in business, I know it is not just avoiding conflicts of interest but also the “appearance of a conflict of interest”. I agree with Moana that it is highly likely that the existing relationships facilitated the early negotiations with UW. But as the process moved further along, the existing relationships with UW might also have caused the BOD to not push for an agreement on key contract terms before they asked the community for the money?
I agree with all the comments about Orcas Issues – timely coverage of important issues in our community and a valuable forum to share perspectives. Kudos to Margie and her team!
Brian E’s post deserves repetition:
“A “one-time offer to Orcas that will not be repeated. It is now or never; there is no “slow” alternative” – frankly, that doesn’t sound like an “offer” to me. That sounds like a “threat”. Or “a scam for rubes”. I get better offers in my email every day from Nigerian Princes.”
The tone of just about everything I’ve read coming from the OMF suggests, at least to me, that it’s a group of people who think they know how the world should be run, and for all I know, they may be right.
But in my book, power and control are overrated and often delusional.
If they fail to raise the funds required by the current proposal, I hope the board will have sufficient humility to step back and engage with the entire community to seek resolution of this long-standing and increasingly dreary problem.