Here’s your chance to speak your piece

The Orcas Island Medical Center Association (OIMCA) is eager to know what citizens want to be offered at the local clinic, and whether they expect medical care to be available 24/7.

Saturday, Aug. 16, at 10 a.m., islanders will get to state their preferences. The occasion will be a community meeting in the bay at the Eastsound Fire Station. OIMCA “will listen to the whole community,” says President Dave Grumney, indicating that board members will stay there all day if that’s what it takes.

Citizens will not only get an opportunity to speak, they’ll also be asked to fill out a questionnaire that will be handed out at the end of the meeting. Islanders will have just one week to return the questionnaires. The reason for the fast turnaround, Grumney says, is because Island Hospital will be terminating its contract to manage the clinic on Jan. 9, 2004, and OIMCA feels that it needs to come up with a solution quickly and have it put it into effect by that date.

Islanders unable to attend the Saturday meeting are also urged to fill out the questionnaires. They can be picked up beginning next Monday at the Eastsound Fire Hall, Orcas Island Medical Center, Ray’s Pharmacy, and The Sounder. The questionnaires should be returned to Box 515, Eastsound, WA 98245. The results will be presented in the Aug. 27 edition of The Islands’ Sounder.

Citizens’ concerns will be taken very seriously, as will those of the medical providers, Grumney says. “We have to know what makes the most sense for them,” he explained.

The meeting will begin with a 45-minute presentation by OIMCA board members regarding the history of the medical center and its current situation. Retired Lopez physician David Ashbaugh will speak about the Lopez experience, while Orcas Emergency Medical Services Coordinator Garth Eimers will talk about the local system for dealing with medical emergencies. After the presentations, the meeting will be opened up to the general public.

Editor’s Note: A University of Washington professor in the School of Medicine who has done consulting work with rural communities over a five-state area offers his views about what Orcas will have to do with its clinic and medical services. His views are presented on page A-4 of the Wednesday, August 13 Edition of The Islands’ Sounder.

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