As the year winds down, it’s worth taking a look back at some of our community’s biggest stories of the year in terms of healthcare on Vashon.

It’s difficult to talk about healthcare without talking about Washington State Ferries, right? As islanders, we’re now headed into the fourth year of diminished and degraded service to our island, with no end to the situation in sight — a serious problem for many in terms of accessing appropriate healthcare.

What this means, of course, is that now more than ever, Vashon needs to take care of its own.

Luckily, this has happened in some remarkable ways in the past year.

Last week, we reported on an effort by the Sam Yates Community Foundation that resulted in 353 young islanders being tested for silent heart abnormalities in an event at Vashon High School. Most of the students who attended got good news — their hearts were perfectly fine.

However, a few of the kids who attended were flagged for follow-up care and consultation that they would have never known they needed if not for the efforts of the Sam Yates Foundation’s partnership with the larger Nick of Time Foundation to conduct the testing.

The Sam Yates Foundation was formed in 2023 to honor the remarkable life of islander Sam Yates, who died of sudden cardiac arrest in 2022 at the age of 24, just days shy from the graduation ceremony of his officers class at the Marine Corps Basic School.

We’re so grateful to Sam’s family — Jill, John and Wyatt Yates — for the creation of their foundation, which also aims to place automated external defibrillators (AEDs) in public locations throughout Vashon, and train islanders in their use.

Through the family’s unimaginable tragedy of Sam’s death — a grievous loss shared by our entire community — they’ve created something to keep islanders safe and healthy.

Throughout 2023, VashonBePrepared has also continued to inform islanders about ways to stay healthy and safe. It’s our practice, here at The Beachcomber, to partner with this nonprofit and its affiliated teams, (including Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT) and Medical Reserve Corps (MRC), by publishing the group’s weekly health and safety updates.

It’s been a good year, too, for Vashon Island Fire and Rescue. The district, under the capable leadership of Chief Matt Vinci, has made remarkable strides — expanding its ranks of first responders, re-opening the Burton Fire Station, replacing some of its aging fleet, and laying the groundwork to launch its Mobile Integrated Health (MIH) program early next year.

The MIH program — partially funded by an already existing King County levy — will provide home visits to vulnerable islanders referred by the fire district as needing preventative and health maintenance check-ins by a firefighter and a nurse. We’re eager to report more on the program, its staff, and its hours of operation.

And this week, the fire district is poised to do something else — with the agenda for its Wednesday board meeting (to take place after press time) including a proposal to eliminate all “balance billing” to islanders following transports to off-island emergency rooms.

For years, the district has billed islanders’ insurance for these trips to the ER. But, in cases when those insurance companies did not pay the entire cost of the bill, the district billed islanders for the remainder. If Vinci’s recommendation to eliminate “balance billing” passes as expected at Wednesday’s board meeting, those bills will become a thing of the past for islanders.

Bravo to that, we say.

The commissioners and superintendent of Vashon Health Care District, as we reported last week, have also been hard at work throughout the year to redefine the focus of the district following its split last January with Sea Mar Community Health Centers. Now, they have settled on two immediate needs: providing urgent care services to the island as well as supporting mental health services for island youth.

Some islanders have been understandably frustrated with the taxing district this year, and even called for it to go dormant until it is needed again.

But in fact, the district is needed right now. If the Health Care District can bring urgent care to Vashon in 2024, it will have all been worth the wait. And if the funding it provides for for youth mental health helps our island youth stay positive and connected, that too, will be worth the wait. Our expectations for the District are high.

We take care of our own around here.

That said, we recognize we need the help of other healthcare entities as well here on Vashon, and in the coming year we look forward to reporting on Sea Mar Community Health Center’s construction of its new and modern primary healthcare clinic on Vashon.

Likewise, we look forward to following the Seattle Indian Health Board’s arrival on the island with its nationally recognized treatment program for substance abuse disorder. The treatment center will be open to all.

Last month, the Health Board also announced its plan to expand one wing of the facility, potentially making even more beds accessible to islanders who can pay with private insurance. So many on our island struggle with addiction and sorely need the healing that will be offered at the facility.

The news that the Health Board will also share the services of its dental van with islanders also fills a much-needed gap in healthcare services on Vashon.

So here’s to a healthy new year on Vashon. We’ll keep you informed.