Orcas Island Health Care District (OIHCD) just celebrated its third year of operations

||| FROM ANNE PRESSON for ORCAS ISLAND HEALTH CARE DISTRICT |||

Orcas Island Health Care District (OIHCD) recently celebrated its third year of operations. Since the inception we have been committed to understand what it takes to deliver a sustainable health care model that truly meets the needs of our community. We learned that our success depends on supporting a single clinic to increase efficiencies, improve conditions for providers, and provide expanded and improved services to meet the needs of all residents, visitors, and guests.

Our rural and remote setting, combined with an economically and socially diverse community, requires a clinic operator with certain key characteristics. The culmination of three years of work resulted in a new partnership with Island Hospital. Our clinic opened on April 5, 2021, known as Island Primary Care – Orcas (Clinic).

Over these past three months, we have been pleased to see what was written in the Agreement begin to come to life. This includes:

• Committing to a staffing model with professionals who have the breadth of experience to serve all age groups within our community and are experienced working in a rural environment where health care needs are more comprehensive than typically treated in a traditional primary care clinic.
• Building of a cohesive health care system where primary care providers work in close partnership with EMS. This includes regular and ongoing meetings to greatly improve communication and facilitate patient transitions between the Clinic and EMS.
• Implementing programs in support of a shared philosophy around the importance of being directly in, and involved with community health resources. This has included:
  • Outreach to the Orcas Community Resource Center (OCRC) to establish a strong connection between medical and social supports.
  • Working in collaboration with SJC Public Health and the Orcas Island School District to create events that support to our local families.
  • Planning with IH Community Education and Clinic providers to understand the needs within our population and begin to create a calendar of events to support those needs.
• Providing reliable support for residents and visitors needing urgent care outside of clinic hours.
• Expanding the scope of services available on the island and providing access to specialists in the Clinic to increase convenience for patients. We currently have an Ob- Gyn routinely visiting the Clinic and will soon begin rotations of a Urologist. IH will continue to assess patient needs and expand the visiting specialist program.

While we have a lot to celebrate, we also know there is important work to be done. We have faced unexpected challenges to realizing this new long-term vision. In responding to those challenges, Island Hospital’s leadership team has demonstrated a commitment to delivering on our shared vision. They have shown the creativity and flexibility in working with us to find alternative ways to address challenges as they arise. Some examples of issues currently being
addressed by IH leadership team are:

• Call Center Process and Wait Times: IH has already hired additional staff and modified the prompts to make the system easier to navigate for Orcas callers. They are committed to ensuring a rapid response and are closing monitoring wait times to ensure a positive caller experience.
• Provider Staffing: IH has successfully recruited Dr. Frank James to serve as the Clinic’s Medical Director and physician. Dr. James is overseeing three Physician Assistants and Dr. Pederson. The Clinic recently hired another Physician Assistant and the recruitment of two additional full-time doctors is a top priority for IH and OIHCD leadership. The process is lengthy due to the importance of finding the right fit for our community in both culture and capabilities. IH is looking for doctors who are excited about taking care of the whole community, including the relationship between the Clinic, Public Health and EMS. There is also the requirement that providers be on call and available to come into the Clinic after-hours, as well as participate in events outside of the Clinic to help support community education around health and wellbeing. There are several very strong candidates who are moving through the process and the hope is to be able to introduce the full team shortly.

The OIHCD Commissioners and Superintendent are here to serve all members of our community, and we encourage you to give us the chance to serve you well. If you experience a problem or have a concern, the best first step is to contact Clinic Manager Aaimee Johnson. If you prefer to talk to the District, you can feel free to reach out to OIHCD Superintendent Anne Presson. These two individuals work closely together to problem solve when they are aware of issues patients face. Working through them is the best way to make sure we are aware of any issues and enables us to solve them timely. Contact information can be found on the OIHCD or Island Hospital website.

We are all committed to a patient-centered approach and are working hard to ensure patients come away with a positive experience. The providers and staff are dedicated to treating everyone with kindness and respect, and we ask that the community provide the same to our health care workforce.

It will take a Village for us to fully realize this long-awaited vision for stable health care on Orcas. We hope you will continue to support the Clinic as we realize the dream of bringing a sustainable, quality, island-appropriate health care model to all members of our community.