New doctor joins clinic

Dr. Janice McClean is preparing to start her practice at the Wahkiakum Family Practice Clinic. Sunny Manary photo. Beginning in mid-May, Dr. Janice McClean will begin practicing medicine at the Wahkiakum Family Practice Clinic.

Dr. McClean, a 1991 graduate of Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska, will spend the next few weeks learning the clinic functions and computer system.

McClean was at the Everett Clinic in Snohomish County, but after working with a recruiter at the Department of Health for Rural Recruitment in Olympia, she found that Wahkiakum County was in need of and in danger of losing health care. The clinic and the community drew her interest, and after interviewing and visiting the community, she decided to join the clinic staff.

In an interview this week, she said that her main priorities here are to help to accomplish a smooth transition from what people have known in their doctors. She wants to understand what the community wants in their healthcare provider.

“Communities are very unique," she said. "Each one is going to be very different and even a few miles of difference can make an enormous difference in what the care needs are.”

Clinic longevity is another means of importance to McClean. She said clinic staff and advisors would like to eliminate the need to use tax money to support the clinic, and they want to create a sustainable system so the clinic will be available and financially independent for years to come.

“I don’t think there is a clinic in this country that isn’t undergoing enormous transformations due to the complexity of medicine and the shrinking reimbursements, a lot of clinics are really struggling,” she said.

McClean hopes that her presence will allow the clinic to take on more patients, which should help the clinic's profitibility.

Clinic hours at this time will remain the same, but she said they would like to make the clinic more available for acute care, meaning more availability for medical urgencies, such influenza patients, or for patients that need to come in without warning, such as ambulance calls. She said they will try to find a balance for both.

For many, going to the doctor can be a nerve racking experience. McClean wants people to feel at ease. Going to the doctor can mean many things, from telling the patient what they ought to do, to being their consultant.

“I think of myself more as a consultant,” she said, it is my job to give you the information that we know.”

McClean said it isn’t her style to judge a patient if they don’t want to try certain therapies, or if they are afraid. However, she said that she will do her best to give patients just a little push in the right direction.

“I am your support system. I am your champion in health care. I’ll tell you what we know, and I’ll tell you how we know it,” she said.

Ultimately it is up to the patient in what they decide to do. Many people are trying natural therapies by using vitamins or exercise. If those alternative therapies don’t work, she said she encourages people to come back, and perhaps try something else.

McClean is hoping for patience at this transitional time.

“Change is never easy, and I would like them (the community) to know we have them in mind,” she said. “The communication will be really important because of transitions and changes.”

It is her hope, she said, that people will express their concerns; what they are happy with, what they aren’t. “We will be asking!” she said.