INSIDE

Medical center on track for Point

By Meg Olson

“I love seeing all of you in this room excited about health car services here in Point Roberts and I commend you as a community,” Mary Looker of the state health department told a crowded meeting at the Point Roberts community center. “Community interest and participation is key and that’s how you sold yourselves.”

On April 10 Looker joined members of the local Pioneer Group, the fire department and representatives from the Interfaith Community Health Center in Bellingham to present to the community a collaboration that, fueled by federal grant dollars, will see a medical clinic in Point Roberts by this fall.

“The concept we believe will reduce the cost of primary health care in Point Roberts far below what it would cost to have a permanent facility or health care provide,” said Pioneer Group president Brian Canfield. The group applied for and got a $200,000 federal grant, renewable for three years, after getting the Point designated a medically underserved area. The fire department was selected as the official agency to receive the funds and agreed to provide space for the clinic. The health center was brought on board to manage the clinic operation, staff and billing, drawing from its existing operation in Bellingham. Two members from each of the three partners will make up the six-person board that provides oversight to the clinic.

“This is a unique partnership,” said Glen Gelhar, director of the health center. “We’re breaking new ground here that we’ll see spring up in other places. We really think this model will cut down the cost of health care.”
Gelhar described how the clinic would operate, staffed by nurse practitioner Virginia Lester. “Through Interfaith Community Health Center Virginia will act as a medical core with a variety of medical practitioners,” he said.

Lester explained that, as a nurse practitioner, she could do most of what a family doctor can do, providing primary care and writing prescriptions. “I don’t do emergency care or anything that would require a specialist,” she said. She also would serve as a liaison with patients’ doctors in Bellingham, providing routine monitoring on the Point and keeping the doctor informed. She added that, through Interfaith, she would be working with a pharmacy to have low-cost prescriptions delivered to the Point. “As a community health center we have access to pricing no other organizations besides the Veterans Administration have,” Gelhar said.

Interfaith Community Health Center also provides specialist care, mental health and dental service, which Gelhar said could come up to Point Roberts as needed. “Once Virginia gets to know what you need we can bring in some specialists,” he said.

Most questions from the audience dealt with what the clinic could and couldn’t offer patients. Gelhar said basic labwork and bloodwork could be covered at the clinic and a small laboratory might be put on site to avoid having to cross the border with samples. A mobile mammogram unit was a likely possibility, but he said it was unlikely an on-site x-ray would be cost effective. “If a lot of people start falling out of trees we can look at that,” he said.

Most community members received assurances that, with the clinic operating, routing care could be taken care of on the Point. “I spent an hour in line going both ways to get a blood sample that took five minutes,” said Everett Abbey. “I’d really like to miss that.”

Esther Rosenthal asked what insurance would be accepted by the clinic and whether Medicare patients, now not being accepted as new patients by most county physicians, would be welcome. “We’ll take pretty much everything,” Gelhar said. “The one that may be a bit of a problem is Group Health but I think any carrier will be willing to use the service at this clinic if we can demonstrate quality.”

For patients with no insurance, Gelhar said they would charge on a sliding scale based on income. “We will not deny care on the ability to pay,” he said. He added any shortfall would be covered by federal grant dollars, which Interfaith receives to be a safety net in the health care system. “If we obey the rules I can look to the federal government for dollars to keep us floating. We are subsidized to take care of people.” However, Canfield pointed out, that funding would go away if the clinic wasn’t used. “We have to find a way after three years to make the clinic self-sustaining. I truly believe that if the community gets behind it, it will work.”

Bruno Moras asked if Canadian visitors would be welcome at the clinic and would they be charged the same fees as Americans. Gelhar said they would, but he had yet to determine if the clinic could bill Canadian insurers, “Those are technical issues we still have to work out,” Lester said.

Current plans are to have the clinic open before September, starting with two or three days a week. Whether the clinic is open or not, Gelhar said a round-the-clock toll-free telephone service would put patients in touch with a nurse at Harborview medical center who would counsel patients. “They are trained to assess the situation and work with you to decide what you really need to do,” Gelhar said.

With the clinic close to becoming reality, Canfield thanked Ed and Kathy Aydon for spearheading the local drive to bring primary medical care to the Point, starting with collecting aluminum cans to generate funds for the project. “The initiative they started with collecting cans is bearing fruit,” he said. “They deserve all our respect.”.

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