Vashon Healthcare District outlines local partners, plans to expand mobile care

At a Vashon-Maury Community Council meeting on May 21, Vashon Healthcare District communications coordinator Sarah Howard presented the district’s network of partners and described how residents can access care. “We do not directly provide services, but we rather partner with organizations that do,” Howard said, listing Sea Mar, Vashon Natural Medicine, Dispatch Health, Mobile Integrated Health and Dove Project among partners.

Tim Johnson, the district superintendent, described operational details and plans. He told the council Sea Mar’s new facility should be open around September, and said the district funds social workers who operate through MIH and at the senior center. “We are funding the personnel that provide the MIH services so that we can utilize that fire department resource,” Johnson said, noting that tax-district dollars cover MIH staff and that NIH (the district’s locally funded unit) does not bill patients served by the district.

Council members asked about staffing and services. Howard said dispatch-health-style point-of-care lab capacity remains something NIH is still building toward, while Johnson said the district is working to scale NIH services to seven-day coverage and to add behavioral health and dental services. He also described outreach and case-management work to serve isolated residents and older adults who can’t attend meetings. “One of the great things about having a local taxing district is that your money stays here,” Johnson said.

The presentation closed with an offer to share a resource page (vashonhealthcare.org/resources) and follow-up contact information so residents can ask the district for help finding appropriate services.

The presentation ran during the council’s island partner organization update and was followed by a question-and-answer session with multiple council members.