Orcas Island Health Care celebrates two years of service on Orcas

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||| FROM RACHEL LAMBERT for ISLAND HEALTH |||

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Celebrating two years of serving Orcas Island!
As we near our two-year anniversary of clinic operations, we reflect on the terms of our agreement with the Orcas Island Health Care District (OIHCD) and celebrate our partnership to serve our community. In addition to providing Primary Care, we are proud to have these additional offerings and deliver on the terms of our agreement. This includes:

 After-hours care
 Community health survey
 Additional clinic providers
 Care coordination for patient referrals
 Patient liaison to link patients to resources
 X-ray and lab services for patients and community members
 Robust online patient portal
 Periodic quality measure reports
 Updates at meetings with the OIHCD
 Strong partnership with EMS
 Community outreach
 Financial assistance
 Telehealth appointments

We look to the future and are committed to providing quality healthcare to the Orcas Island community.

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Childhood Trauma’s Effect on Health
Join Island Primary Care – Orcas’ Pediatrician Evan Buxbaum, MPH, MD, for a class focused on the impact that adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) have on health as well as factors that help foster resilience and recovery. This talk will outline the revolutionary work taking place in this emerging field.

This virtual program will take place on Wednesday, April 12 at 1 p.m. and is $10. To register, visit https://islandhealth.org/event/childhood-traumas-effect-on-health/ or call 360.299.4204 to register over the phone.

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Shout Out From Orcas Island Fire & Rescue
Island Primary Care – Orcas is grateful for our relationship with Orcas Island Fire & Rescue (OIFR). Read the wonderful shout out we received from OIFR!

Care Courageously

“Orcas Island Fire & Rescue appreciates the collaborative working history we have with Island Health. Under the Island Health management, OIFR has experienced initiatives from our local clinic to provide more direct communication between EMS and the clinic providers for emergent situations, and, we have established improved coordination between our care providers to support the health and well-being of our patients. Island Health has quality professionals working on Orcas Island and OIFR is grateful for the services we experience from those providers and staff.”

We appreciate this important relationship and look forward to continued partnership with OIFR.

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Manage Your Healthcare Online
The myIslandHealth Patient Portal is a FREE online service to help you securely manage your
healthcare information anytime, anywhere.
With the portal you can:

 Schedule or cancel appointments
 Pre-register before your appointment
 Message your provider’s healthcare team
 Gain proxy access to view and manage the health record of your spouse or child
 View your health record

o Labs
o Diagnostic Imaging
o Visit history
o Current billing activity

Signing up is easy! Visit our website at islandhealth.org/patient-portal for tips and videos on how to get started and features the portal offers. If you still have questions or would like support, call our portal support team at 360.299.1385 or email portalsupport@islandhospital.org.

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Starting the Conversation that Matters
Advance care planning promotes care that is consistent with your goals, values and beliefs. It helps you and your loved ones prepare for the future and it begins with an open conversation. It’s important to think about your wishes and write them down in an Advance Directive to ensure they are protected, in the event that you are no longer able to voice your decisions.

There are a number of different Advance Directive forms including a living will, durable power of attorney and a POLST (Physicians Orders for Life Sustaining Treatment). The POLST form tells medical providers how you want your care to be handled in an emergency and for end-of-life conditions. Check out this video to learn more about the POLST form:

Care Courageously. Each of these forms play an important part in your healthcare. To learn more about Advance Directives, visit islandhealth.org/advance-directives. Talk to your provider about what’s right for you.

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We Heard You!
In September of 2022, Island Primary Care – Orcas got their own dedicated phone line into the Island Health call center. The phone number 360.376.2561 is reserved for our Orcas patients, bypassing greetings and messages for other departments and clinics within Island Health. We made this change to expedite services to our Orcas patients and better track the call volume for our Orcas clinic.

Hear some great feedback regarding this change, from our Orcas community:

• “I got right through to someone who could help me!”
• “It is great to hear the Orcas greeting. I didn’t get confused about where I was calling.”
• “I really appreciated that I didn’t have to choose from a list of options. Thank you for doing this!”
• “I got right through, left a message for a call back, and a nurse from the clinic got right back to me. It was easy and I got my concerns taken care of!”

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