Clinic closes, new provider starts preliminary work

Published 1:30 am Wednesday, August 10, 2016

Neighborcare Health — the medical network that will soon administer the clinic at Sunrise Ridge — plans to reopen the medical facility next month, initially offering primary care and expanding services after learning more about islanders’ needs.

Last week, Michael Erikson, Neighborcare Health’s chief executive officer, said his agency is on a 45-day time schedule to open the doors, with many of the current providers returning. A wide range of tasks, from credentialing the providers and hiring staff to ordering medical supplies and installing electronic systems, need to be completed between now and then, he added, but stressed they plan to adhere to that timeframe or shorten it if possible.

“All of those things need to go well for us to start on that 45 (day schedule), but we are committed to that 45-day time horizon, and it could even happen sooner if all goes well,” he said.

Erikson made those remarks as part of a conversation last Friday with area politicians that worked to make this transition in health care services possible. The conversation, broadcast live on Voice of Vashon (VoV), included state Sen. Sharon Nelson, King County Executive Dow Constantine and Rep. Eileen Cody. Rep. Joe Fitzgibbon also attended the event, moderated by VoV’s Susan McCabe, as did staff members of Constantine, Neighborcare Health and The Beachcomber.

With more than 62,000 patients, Neighborcare Health has been providing medical and dental care and a variety of other health-related services to low-income individuals and families for more than four decades, Erikson said. On Vashon, it is expected to serve people across the economic spectrum and will take all commercial insurance plans, including Group Health, as well as Medicare and Medicaid, or Apple Health. It will also see uninsured patients.

“We have been removing barriers to accessing great primary care for over 45 years. And so that same commitment we have had to every community we have stepped in and been a part of is going to extend to the Vashon-Maury Island community. We are excited to be the partner to Vashon to deliver that kind of health care,” he said.

Longtime island physician Gary Koch, MD, has previously said he would stay on, and last week Erikson noted the others who will remain or join the staff are medical doctors Jeffrey HansPetersen and Jessica Wesch, osteopathic physician Scott Chaffin and nurse practitioner Laura MacGregor.

Before they are in place, however, the island will face an interim period without care available at the health center. Erikson noted he hopes that necessary tasks with the providers, including credentialing and training on Neighborcare Health systems, will be completed within two to three weeks, enabling them to work on an interim basis at a Neighborcare clinic less than two miles from the ferry dock in West Seattle. If those steps cannot be completed quickly, he added, it would likely make more sense for them simply to resume working on Vashon when the clinic reopens. Once that situation is clear, Neighborcare Health will make that information known. Also, Erikson noted, the agency intends to open the clinic phone number up a few weeks before the clinic itself opens so that patients can schedule appointments as soon as possible.

As previously indicated, King County is planning to provide support to Vashon Island Fire & Rescue if it is needed in this interim period. The department has staffed up internally for the first two weeks, adding an extra team of emergency medical technicians during the day — roughly during previous clinic hours — and will call on assistance from other departments in King County if help is needed after that. King County will fund those efforts.

Constantine spoke to this arrangement last Friday, noting that people with non-emergency medical needs may need to seek care off-island, but other assistance, if needed, will be provided.

“For emergencies, we will have additional capacity to make up for what is being lost with the temporary lack of a clinic,” he said.

Nelson also noted she has been in communication with Washington State Ferries and that she can update them again with the latest information. Ferry personnel always coordinate with the fire department, she noted, but they are considering other measures to make sure they can assist if there are additional needs during this time.

With the interim period underway, on-island providers have limited capacity to take on new patients. Gail Fulton of Fulton Family Medicine had previously indicated that her clinic could not accept new patients, but more recently clinic manager Kathy Henke said for patients with Medicare, the clinic is creating a waiting list and will see them as they are able. At Vashon Natural Medicine, four of the five providers — naturopathic physicians, medical doctors and a nurse practitioner — can accept some new patients, but the clinic does not accept Medicare and has limited room for patients covered by Medicaid. Finally, naturopathic physician Nicole Maxwell can accept some new patients, but does not accept Medicare or Medicaid, although she provides a discounted rate for patients with that coverage.

For people who must travel off island for medical care during this time, limited assistance is available through travel vouchers provided by Vashon Youth & Family Services. Nelson also said that people with concerns about the expense of medical travel are welcome to contact her office to see if assistance might be available through the ferry system. Additionally, Constantine noted officials should check to see if Metro’s Access program might have enough flexibility to assist during this period.

During the course of Friday’s conversation, Erikson noted that he has heard some complaints about problematic aspects of care at the clinic, including long phone hold times and excessive waits. He said that will change.

“We will answer the phone. It will be timely, and it will be a good call,” he said.

And he noted he has already addressed the long wait times with the providers.

“Day one, this long wait phenomenon, we have to stop,” Erikson said he told them. “We have to figure out how to work together and make sure if the patient has an appointed time, we are doing everything we can to see the patient at their appointed time.”

He noted that interruptions and complexity occur in medicine, but they do not need to disrupt the entire clinic.

“There are effective ways to make sure we stay on time on a regular basis, so that is our commitment,” he added.

Erikson also spoke to why he believes Neighborcare Health will be successful financially when others have failed. Part of that reason, he said, is that it is a federally qualified health center and as such receives higher reimbursements than other providers when caring for patients with Medicare and Medicaid. He noted that currently the clinic serves 40 percent of islanders with Medicare, but as the clinic becomes established, that number should increase substantially.

However, while the financial picture is expected to be more stable than with previous providers, Neighborcare Health is seeking initial financial support from the island. Nelson, who spearheaded that effort, said details about a fundraising campaign are still a few weeks out, but that she expects about $300,000 will need to be raised. She noted that some state funds might be available and that King County has provided $20,000.

Neighborcare Health officials say that the money raised from the community will help fund the purchase of equipment lost to the CHI Franciscan exit and that any excess donations will support other health care needs on the island.

At Sunrise Ridge, which operated the health center for 40 years before Highline took over, Executive Director Carolyn Anderson said the Sunrise Ridge Health Services board is working with Neighborcare Health on a lease, that talks are going well and that the board was “very optimistic” it would finalize a lease for the clinic this week. She noted she does not expect any issues with CHI Franciscan and terminating that lease, which would have expired in February, and that the board looks forward to Neighborcare Health opening its doors to care for islanders.

“Sunrise Ridge Health Services is pleased to continue its mission of serving the health and well-being of the people of Vashon-Maury Island by housing primary care on the island,” Anderson said.

For more information on Neighborcare Health’s move to Vashon, see neighborcare.org/news/neighborcare-health-vashon-island.

To contact Neighborcare Health about the upcoming transition or its services, email Vashon@neighborcare.org.

To listen to the full Voice of Vashon broadcast of Friday’s conversation, see voiceofvashon.org/user-content/neighborcare-health-at-the-vashon-clinic.

To contact state Sen. Sharon Nelson, call her office at 360-786-7667 or email sharon.nelson@leg.wa.gov.