Clinic advisory to present to community

The Wahkiakum Family Practice Clinic Advisory Board will present its findings and recommendations to the community next month.

The first is November 5 at the Rosburg Hall from 6:30 pm to 8:30 p.m. The second presentation will be November 12 in the Multi-Purpose Room at Wendt School from 6:30 p.m to 8:30 p.m. The Clinic Advisory Board members will be available to address questions during these sessions.

The Clinic Advisory Board report is available on the Wahkiakum County website at http://www.co.wahkiakum.wa.us/index.htm for those with internet access. Printed copies of the full report will be available for reading at the County Courthouse, commissioners office, the Cathlamet Library, Wahkiakum Family Practice Clinic, WSU Extension Office, and the Wahkiakum Chamber of Commerce Office on the east side. Reading copies will be available on the west side at Wahkiakum West and tentatively at the new library at Johnson Park (formerly the Rosburg School). Copies of the executive summary will be available to take home from these locations and at the presentations.

“We look forward to clarifying many misunderstandings the community has had and continues to have about the Clinic," said Sandi Benbrook Rieder, the advsory board chair. For example, the Keep the Clinic Operating Fund is not to repay a loan but is for current and 2009 operating costs.

The Clinic Advisory Board has worked for more than one year to understand the issues plaguing the clinic and hindering its performance. One of the key messages from the board is that the clinic is not closing and will remain in business at some level.

“The level of service is entirely up to the community at this point,” said Doug Martin, board member. That is why the Keep the Clinic Operating Fund was established.

A major goal is to serve more patients more efficiently over the coming year. The 2008-2009 goal for the Keep the Clinic Open Fund is $220,000.

"We have received $30,000 to date, but the remaining $190,000 is critical to building improved service at the clinic," Benbrook-Rieder said. "Those funds need to be raised between now and the middle of next year."

“We are excited by the fact that we have 219 new patients since the middle of March,” said Dr. Janice McClean, clinic medical director. “We know we need to smooth out our patient flow and make sure that we are more efficient, but we know that we can do this.

"The Keep the Clinic Operating Fund will give us the opportunity to expand hours and meet the needs of our existing patients better. "

All the input and questions raised at these sessions will be summarized and included in the final presentation to the board of county commissioners.