The island’s largest health clinic recently announced that beginning next month, it will no longer provide after-hours office visits to its patients.

The Franciscan Medical Group, which has operated the Franciscan Medical Clinic – Vashon at Sunrise Ridge for the last two years, sent a letter to patients earlier this month informing them of the decision and indicating that the clinic’s on-call policy has hindered administrators’ ability to hire new health care providers.

“We have tried to recruit more doctors, and it is something we have had to take a look at,” said Scott Thompson, a spokesman for CHI Franciscan Health.

The change is slated to begin Aug. 1.

It is unusual for primary care clinics to provide after-hours care, Thompson said, and Vashon is the only one of Franciscan’s primary care clinics to do so. Furthermore, the letter to patients indicates that after-hours visits have declined over time to just eight or nine per month.

While those visits will end, the clinic will continue to be open on Saturdays for urgent care and concerns that require same-day appointments, and after-hours phone consultations will also continue. Additionally,  Franciscan Virtual Urgent Care, which allows patients to speak with a doctor or nurse practitioner by phone or video at any time, is available for $35.

Because of those options, Thompson said Franciscan officials expect patients will not be affected dramatically.

“We believe this will be a minor change in the overall schedule of the clinic,” he said.

Thompson noted that between March 2014 and May 2015, the after-hours nurse service fielded 550 calls, which includes calls from patients as well as the nursing home, the pharmacy and the fire department. Out of those calls, the on-call provider was contacted 300 times, though visits were not always necessary.

“We do not feel it (the after-hours appointment option) is being used to the extent we still have to offer that service,” he said.

The current providers at the clinic were receptive to the change, Thompson added, noting that they had been willing to provide after-hours visits over the years, but it can be burdensome and negatively affect their work-life balance.

Meanwhile, efforts are still under way to hire more providers for the clinic, Thompson said, and administrators are in discussions with two providers they may bring on as early as this fall.

While Franciscan officials say they have seen the number of people seeking after-hours care go down, officials at Vashon Island Fire & Rescue (VIFR) say they have seen the number of calls go up, which they attribute to several factors, including reduced access at the Franciscan clinic.

“We have already noticed a definite increase related to people who wanted to go to the clinic but could not get in during regular hours or could not be seen after hours, and we have had to transport them,” George Brown, interim acting fire chief at VIFR, said last week.

Just last month, when VIFR was trying to recruit more volunteers, Brown discussed the department’s limitations and noted that its calls have increased from under 800 calls in 1995 to more than 1,700 calls last year.

The latest development at the clinic will likely further increase the calls to the department, which is often stretched thin, he noted.

“We only have so much depth we can handle with volunteers and career staff,” he said.

Regardless, he stressed that islanders should call VIFR in emergencies, such as when there is severe bleeding, difficulty breathing, chest pain or any injury or illness that is beyond their capability to cope with.

Health challenges that can wait for a doctor visit later in the same day likely do not warrant a call to VIFR, he said, but he encouraged patients not to hesitate if they are unsure of what to do.

“By all means, if there is a question, call us,” he said.