01/17/2007: "Time For A Hospital On SJI?"

WAIT! DON'T HANG UP! Your voice can be heard in a telephone survey that will be conducted starting January 17th and continuing until the 28th.

A group of islanders has come together to explore the possibility of creating a small community hospital on San Juan Island. As part of a feasibility study, 560 county residents will be phoned and given the opportunity to help shape the final proposed by responding to a number of questions. The organizers ask that if you are called, please take a few minutes to talk with the surveyor.

The following are a series of rhetorical questions sent out by the organizers, that may help answer some of the questions the proposal raises:

Why do the islands need a hospital?

Sooner or later almost everyone must leave the islands for a meaningful portion of their medical care. A small local hospital would relieve the stress of those off island trips as well as provide a continuity of care not now possible. It would also bring relief to those suffering from chronic problems who now must be treated off island. And it would relieve financial stress—did you read the article about the possibility of ferry fares doubling?

It would expand the availability of urgent and emergency care on the island.

Basic diagnostic services currently available only on the mainland would be offered. In addition, a hospital designation would make it financially feasible to offer services such as colonoscopies.

A hospital would provide overnight inpatient monitoring not currently available on the island.

What would the hospital be like?
This would be a hospital with Community Defined Medical Services. The services would be shaped by the telephone survey, by feedback from outreach organizations, and from professional statistical analysis, as well as feedback from individuals through questionnaires or other response methods.

The hospital would be Island Appropriate, with expanded outpatient services and limited inpatient capacity. There would be appropriate technology for the services provided. The architecture will blend in with island surroundings. Most importantly, this hospital would be created by islanders for islanders.

Mainland Quality Services would be offered at the hospital. Services would be equal in quality to mainland services or they would not be provided. In addition, this expanded island medical facility would allow for integrated case management and health care coordination, as well as inter-operative medical records. It would include state of the art equipment and diagnostic capability for services provided.

The hospital would form Partnerships with Regional World Class Health Care Organizations, including major public organizations such as UW Medicine, Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, VA Puget Sound Health Care System, St. Joseph Hospital, and Island Hospital. It would also partner with private institutions such as the Institute for Systems Biology and the Institute for Systems Medicine for new patient care technology and services. Partnerships with local public institutions would also be pursued. All these interactions would include clinical and/or education opportunities.

The hospital would be Fiscally Responsible—with the goal to have a financially sustainable mix of services. Also, the hospital designation would allow for significantly higher reimbursements from Medicare.

So when that phone rings, you are asked to "think about what such a medical center could do for you and other islanders—talk to the surveyor, and help out by offering your sincere opinions."