Submitted by Catherine Washburn Medical Association
The community is invited to a town hall meeting this Sunday to hear details of Lopez Clinic’s new partnership with UW Medicine at 2 p.m. Sunday, June 25 at Lopez Center. In addition to a presentation by UW Medicine and a Q&A session, the new Public Hospital District (PHD) commissioners will be introduced.
“This is very important and we expect a large turnout,” said George LeBoutillier, new president of the Catherine Washburn Medical Association (CWMA), the group that solicited UW Medicine as a partner and negotiated terms of the new agreement. “We were at risk of losing our clinic, but Lopez rallied, did the hard work necessary, and found a way not only to keep our clinic but to strengthen it. In addition to everyone having a chance to learn about the new model of care, this is an opportunity to gather as a community and acknowledge this accomplishment.”
Jay Priebe, director of primary care for UW Medicine and Debra Gussin, executive director of UW Neighborhood Clinics will be presenting. “I know there is a lot of interest out there,” said Priebe. “Our goal is to bring the community together to learn how the clinic will change and how services will expand once the partnership takes effect in September. Once the new commissioners are introduced, Debra and I will give an overview of UW Medicine and primary care, then talk about the new services we’ll be offering.”
Some of those include telemedicine, a virtual care clinic (24-hour care available by video); use of the advanced Electronic Health Record (EHR); and implementation of E-Care, a service where patients email the clinic or their provider to request appointments, ask medical or medications questions, review their health records, labs or imaging results. Following the presentation, Priebe and Gussin will be taking questions about the new services, the partnership, the model of care, clinic operation changes, etc.
According to Priebe, as a rural clinic, Lopez Clinic will benefit from best practices and resources within the UW Medicine system.
“We have an extensive network and an excellent track record operating primary and specialty care clinics. UW Medicine leadership is committed to bringing this expertise to Lopez. What I want people to know is that UW Medicine is really excited to be considered a community partner. I’m inspired that we get to bring top-notch care to rural communities, to help those folks get access to the same quality patient care that people in Seattle receive. My role here is to ensure that we bring the quality care that UW Medicine is known for to Lopez.”
