— by Dr. David Shinstrom —
I am writing to strongly encourage you to vote for the Orcas Public Hospital District In April. Passage is critical to the survival of primary care medicine on Orcas.
Over the past few months I have met several times with members of the Coalition for Orcas Health Care and attended some of their town meetings. I am extremely impressed by their thorough evaluation of the many variables in considering a hospital taxing district. They have had to make many assumptions as they put together possible scenarios and of course there is extreme uncertainty. But, considering all that, they have done an excellent job of outlining the problems. I encourage you to visit their website https://www.coalitionfororcashealthcare.com. and to attend their town meetings.
I have practiced family medicine on Orcas for 25 years. At no time can such a small rural practice break even. There will always be a loss due to inadequate number of patients to sustain a practice. UW has announced they will cease operations at the Orcas Medical Clinic if the levy does not pass. In addition, Orcas Family Health Center would have to close if the vote for the hospital tax district fails. If you have questions you can contact me at OFHC, 360-376-7778.
Thank you Dave for encouraging us to vote for the Orcas Public Hospital District in April and explaining why. Hopefully everyone is paying close attention to the situation and will vote in favor. This isn’t just important to a few but all who live here.
Ginny Reagles