Harborview clinics to close?
http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2014/01/16/out-of-the-hospital-and-off-the-books-should-harborviews-primary-care-clinics-be-closed&cb=103ccc9c6d6e7d0c1d56d8cd3f813c02&layoutId=PostComment&view=comments#comment-18694701
Harborview Medical Center officials acknowledged last month they were considering moving or closing the hospitals primary care clinics.
This would be a very bad idea.
Harborview is a critically important medical care resource for many thousands of people in King County, the state of Washington, and even surrounding states. One of the reasons it works so well is that while Harborview has a regional mission, it is grounded in the immediate communities it serves, which include those patients who often have no other options to access health care. These clinics go far beyond the traditional bounds of primary care, providing essential coordinated, complicated, and unduplicated outpatient care to our communitys most vulnerable patients. Labeling these clinics simply as Primary Care is incorrect and doesnt reflect the mix of services required for good outcomes. The likelihood that equivalent robust services can be provided cost-effectively and sustainably is low.
Please write the King County Council about this ASAP
larry.gossett@kingcounty.gov; kathy.lambert@kingcounty.gov; larry.phillips@kingcounty.gov; dave.upthegrove@kingcounty.gov; jane.hague@kingcounty.gov; pete.vonreichbauer@kingcounty.gov; joe.mcdermott@kingcounty.gov; reagan.dunn@kingcounty.gov