The Wahkiakum County Eagle - Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891

The Wahkiakum County Commissioners want to thank Rick Nelson the Editor and Publisher of The Wahkiakum County Eagle for providing this space to the commissioners for the first of what is planned to be regular information pieces around topics and issues of importance to the citizens of the county. The topic of highest public interest and concern currently involves the financial and operational status of the Wahkiakum County Family Practice Clinic. This is the subject of this article.

Future pieces will look at the overall county financial situation and ideas being worked on to improve our timberland revenues; will present our review and deliberations on the county's Comprehensive Plan Update and Critical Areas Ordinance; and will deal with economic development issues and the like.

The purpose of these articles is not to propagandize particular courses of action but to provide the public with much of the same information the commissioners and other public officials are gathering around these important issues to inform their decisions. We understand that in all these issues "honest minds can disagree," but if we try to base our opinions and decisions on the best information available to us at the time, we will have the best chance for successful outcomes for our community.

The Wahkiakum Family Practice Clinic

Let's start with some basic points of agreement among the three commissioners and the general public. (1) We know that the clinic is a critical component of our Wahkiakum community's infrastructure, providing essential health care services for about three-quarters of our county's population, many of whom do not have the mobility to seek their healthcare elsewhere. (2) We know that the clinic is also a major economic engine, similar to an anchor store at a large retail mall, whose presence is required in order to support numerous other businesses, employment opportunities and even our schools. Therefore, let us here and now dispel any lingering ideas that the county would "close the clinic." That will not happen.

What will happen however is that the make-up of the clinic staff will change and as a result, some of the services currently provided at the clinic will be modified or will no longer be provided. For example, acting on the recommendations of several outside consultants over the last three years, the difficult decision to reduce the registered nurse staffing from 1.6 FTE to 1.0 FTE has been made. Other cost saving measures likely to be implemented soon will include changing our transcription service from an in-house transcriptionist to a transcription service; reducing the Saturday morning staffing to a medical assistant instead of an RN; and the clinic will be enforcing its policy of requiring copays at the time of service more firmly. So patients - be advised - come ready to pay your copay before your appointment or except to be rescheduled. After all, you don't go to a grocery store, do your shopping and go to the checkout counter without your means of payment ready.

The commissioners plan to select from a lengthy list of prospects, nine individuals to serve on a Citizens Community Healthcare Task Force / Advisory Group and will be announcing their names as soon as all of those selected have consented to serve. In addition to studying additional improvements to the operation of the clinic, this task force will be asked to investigate the various models used by communities that provide healthcare services in "wellness centers" and explore other options we as a community ought to consider around the issue of delivering the best healthcare we possibly can, not only for the near term but into the future.

Additionally, the commissioners have decided to remove the advisory ballot for a hospital district from the August primary election in order to allow the Wahkiakum Community Foundation to plan and undertake a capital campaign to raise money through philanthropy for underwriting the clinic's operations and more importantly, to create a Family Practice Clinic Endowment Fund. The fund will provide long-term financial support of our community healthcare clinic.

We strongly urge everyone to consider making a donation, pledge or bequest to the community foundation's Clinic Endowment Fund in order to ensure the ongoing capacity of our Wahkiakum County communities to enjoy high-quality, locally delivered healthcare.