Submitted by Gretchen Wing.
The good news is that the Lopez Clinic will endure. The board members of the Lopez Island Hospital District and the Catherine Washburn Medical Association assured the seventy people gathered at the Lopez Community Center on December 10, plus another 70 participants via Zoom.
Sandy Melzer, a physician, health care consultant, and part-time Lopez resident, served as moderator, explaining the purpose of the meeting: only to provide an update on the planning process. No decisions have yet been made, Dr. Melzer emphasized, adding jocularly, “Don’t expect that you’re going to walk out of here tonight with a plan.” Then, in a tag-team approach, members of the two boards narrated the process of how Lopez got to this point, beginning last summer with the University of Washington’s announcement to disengage as Clinic partner in June of 2026.
Following this announcement, LIHD and CWMA boards contracted the services of Jody Carona, from Health Facilities Planning and Development. Carona then guided the boards to form two committees. The Partnership/Oversight Group is researching a health system partner to operate the Clinic, while the Independent Group is responsible for analyzing the feasibility of a clinic operated independently of a health system partner. Both groups are comprised of two representatives each from LIHD and CWMA, as well as other community members.
Over several months, both groups held multiple listening sessions with a wide range of community organizations and individuals, creating a list of must-haves for Lopez, going forward. These requirements for care are:
• Minimum of two providers, at least one being an MD or a Doctor of Osteopathy
• Electronic Health Record (like “My Chart”) with direct access to Physical Therapy, Pharmacy and EMS
• Same-day care
• Robust telehealth availability
Further lists covering A) the community’s requirements for management, oversight and logistics of the Clinic, and B) additional “Desired” items may be found at this link: https://lopezislandhd.org/town-hall-report-powerpoint-slides-and-qa/
CWMA board member Randall Dickson explained the Independent Group’s process: meeting regularly with Carona and consulting with several independent providers and systems that contract clinic management services. Dickson acknowledged that proceeding with a partner “would be easier,” but declared, “The good news is, we likely can do [the Independent Model] financially.”
LIHD board member and Finance Committee Chair Albert Berger explained that LIHD has “banked capacity” from Lopez Island property taxes to help support potential increases in health care costs in 2026 and beyond. “Bringing on a new operator of the clinic likely will result in substantial initial and ongoing operating costs for the Clinic,” Berger said. “For example, when UW Medicine began to operate the clinic in 2017 there were substantial start-up costs. But having what is termed banked capacity enables us to directly meet the financial challenges of increased costs associated with operating the Lopez Primary Care Clinic and other health-related services.”
To explain the process, CWMA Board President Katherine Bryant Ingman teamed with LIHD Board President Iris Graville. After casting a wide net, the group focused on six potential partners. All agreed to the initial conversation; three later dropped out, and one could not meet the required staffing model.
The remaining two organizations signed a Mutual Confidentiality Agreement, then received an Information Packet, including: Clinic history; CWMA/LIHD roles and responsibilities; downstream revenues; the desired care model and more. One of the two organizations then opted out.
Thus, CWMA and LIHD are currently entering into discussions with the remaining interested organization. LIHD Superintendent Edee Scriven noted, however, that two of the other potential partners offered other support.
“One offered interim help in transitioning from UW to the next clinic operator,” Scriven said. “The other offered some back office support for an independent model.”
During the presentation, CWMA and LIHD board members collected audience questions on slips of paper. Over a dozen questions were answered. The answers to the entire list and more, are now posted at https://lopezislandhd.org/town-hall-report-powerpoint-slides-and-qa/
“While our original goal was to have a decision made by Dec. 31, it seems unlikely that we will be able to get a lot of the conversations done with the potential partner during the holiday season,” said Scriven, who now sees a decision coming at the end of January. To stay updated, visit https://lopezislandhd.org/transition/.
