— from Domenic Verbano —
I urge you to fund an Island Network of island physicians, chiropractors, acupuncturists, nutritionists, and movement therapists, as well as others, to work at and in conjunction with a locally owned and operated Orcas Island Clinic. We can do this together. Bring in people to help with the setup process. Building this network ourselves will cost much less than outsourcing the work to Island Hospital. We all know that Island Hospital is just looking for more revenue to fund their Anacortes operations.
If we set up a viable system that proves we are limiting emergency room visits and serving the low-income population, we can apply for federal grants to fund our programs, alleviating taxpayers. It may take much more work and time to set this up and run it, but it is the right thing to do, and it is worth it. This is a path to a sustainable clinic. Think about it. Will you commit yourselves to the time and energy needed to pull this off? It will be for the best.
Who are you urging to fund this? Where were you when the RFP was open?
This comment was for the Orcas Island Health Care District.
It should be noted that the numbers suggest that the District will be in a deficit situation very soon and will be looking to raise the District taxes to the full levy allowed by law, and possibly even take action to raise the levy lid in the relatively near future.
The notion that we can just get together, set up a clinic network ourselves, and get Federal grants is as realistic as a unicorn hunt. Our time is far better spent pursuing universal healthcare coverage.
I’m not sure where people were while the District was talking to experts and evaluating its options, but everyone should join the Zoom meeting tomorrow and catch up.
Ooops, the Zoom meeting was tonight. I’m on pandemic time. However, the District website provides a lot of information.
The results from the Zoom meeting are in:
https://orcasissues.com/breaking-news-health-district-will-proceed-to-negotiations-with-island-hospital/