Medical Mergers in Kitsap County!

The Kitsap County Medical Society is trying their best to reach out to all of our
members with our business and social events. Understanding that our interests
are diverse, we have created a variety of annual events that we hope meet the
needs of our entire membership.
· Fun Run ~ Annual Community Event Spearheading a National Issue (Childhood Obesity)
· Fire & Ice ~ Medical/Community event & staff
appreciation supporting
Nursing Scholarships, Kitsap County Safe Swimmers and the WSCFF Burn Foundation
The Newsletter for the Kitsap County Medical Society
Email: kcmsmed@gmail.com
· Family Events ~ Summer Family BBQ and
Winter Holiday Celebration at the Country Club
· Strictly Business Membership Meeting ~
WSMA/KCMS Meeting about current legislative
happenings with the WSMA
· KCMS Membership/Spouses
Installation Dinner Meeting
· Informal small summer pool gatherings
hosted by the KCMSA
EXECUTIVE BOARD
President
R. Christopher King
President-Elect
Michael Armstrong, MD
Vice-President
Gregory Duff, MD
Secretary/Treasurer
Paul Kremer, MD
Immediate Past-President
Glen Carlson, MD
Winter 2010
Medical Mergers
in Kitsap County!
In the fall of 2008
Independent Anesthesia and Olympic
Anesthesia merged
to form one large
group; the new
expanded Olympic
Anesthesia
KCMSF President
Michael Armstrong, MD
Membership Dues Season!
Thank you to everyone that has paid their 2010
Membership Dues. If you have not yet paid, please
do so by February 5th so you are not left out of the
KCMS Membership Directory. To obtain another
membership dues form please contact Rebecca
Carlson at (360) 689-2928. Thank you!!
Do you have a teen interested in Baby-Sitting,
Pet-Sitting, Lawn-Care or Tutoring?
If YES, then please share their name, age, the town
they live in and contact information (phone or email) with Rebecca Carlson and then the KCMS will
post it in the back of the Membership Directory.
If you have any other information to help your
son/daughter acquire business; for instance with
baby-sitting, are they CPR trained, have they taken
a baby-sitting course or do they drive independently, then please also share this with Rebecca
Carlson at the KCMS @ (360) 689-2928 and she
will post this with your name/phone number.
The Communiqué is produced by KatCole Studios, katcole@wavecable.com, for the Kitsap County Medical Society and
is distributed to all members. Responses, inquires orsuggestions for articles may be directed to
Rebecca Carlson at: KCMS (360) 689-2928 • fax (360) 204-5709 • kcmsmed@gmail.com • PO BOX 490 • Silverdale, WA 98383
WSMA President
Deborah Harper, MD
Executive Director
Rebecca Carlson
MARK YOUR CALENDAR
WSMA Legislative Summit
Monday, January 25, 2010
Red Lion Hotel - Olympia
Concussion in Youth Sports
Tuesday, March 16, 2010 - 6:00pm
The Zone - Poulsbo
KCMS Foundation
Family Fun Run
Sunday May 23, 2010 - 11:30 AM
Bremerton Fairgrounds Pavilion
KCMS Installation Meeting &
WSMA Update
Friday June 4, 2010
6:00pm - 8:30 pm
Fountain Room - Bremerton
KCMS Membership Luau
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Private Home - Stay Tuned...
In the fall of 2009 Kitsap Internal Medicine and Olympic
Internal Medicine merged to form one large group; the new
expanded Olympic Internal Medicine
Please see page 5 to learn more about why the groups
merged and how they are doing now
Winter 2010
Board of Directors
Executive Board
R. Christopher King, MD – President
Michael Armstrong, MD – President-Elect
Gregory Duff, MD – Vice-President
Paul Kremer, MD – Secretary/Treasurer
Glen Carlson, MD – Immediate Past President
Welcome to the Kitsap County
Medical Society!
Medical Mergers in Kitsap County!................Front Page
KCMS, KCMSA & KCMSF
Executive Board Members........................................................................ 2
Welcome New Doctors....................................................................... 3
R. Christopher King, MD
President
Roger L. Cox Jr., PA-C
Westsound Orthopaedics
Erin Dawson, MD
Family Medicine
The Doctors Clinic
Mary Maier, MD
The Doctors Clinic
Allergy/Immunology
Suicide, Guns, and Public Health .............................. 4
KCMSF Board Of Directors:
Michael Armstrong, MD – President
Gregory Duff, MD – President-Elect
R. Christopher King, MD – Immediate Past-President
KCMSF Board Members:
Ann Armstrong
Lisa Ballou
Scott Bosch
Bob Bright
Heidi Hutchinson
Lincoln Miller
Katie Perrone
Frank Warner
Melissa Ford
KCMS
Board
Members
Michael Armstrong, MD
President-Elect
The New Olympic Internal Medicine!
Anesthesiology Group Consolidation
in Kitsap County...................................................................................... 5
Fire and Ice................................................................................... 6
&7
Nursing Residency Program......................................................... 8
Gregory Duff, MD
Vice-President
William H. Reed, MD
Cardiothoracic Surgery
Michael B Steele, MD
Olympic Internal Medicine
Ismael C. Vargas, PA-C
Westsound Orthopaedics
Paul Kremer, MD
Secretary/Treasurer
National Youth Leadership Gratitude................................... 9
One person can make a difference................. 10
KCMSA Board Of Directors:
Rebecca Carlson – Charitable Events
Pam Dore – Scholarship Chair
Kim Duff – Caring Fund Chair
Darcy Lund – Alive shelter/YMCA Chair
Karen Olch – FOT Chair
Stephanie White – Special Events Chair
Executive Director KCMS, KCMSA & KCMSF
Rebecca Carlson
Thomas J. Curry, Executive Director & Chief Executive Officer
Jennifer Hanscom, Senior Director & Chief Operating Officer
Len Eddinger, Senior Director, Legislative & Regulatory Affairs
John Arveson, Director, CME & Special Projects
Amy Fredericks, Director, Finance
Tim Layton, Director, Legal Affairs
Shannon McGeoy, Director, Administration
Bob Perna, Director, Health Care Economics
Karen Chapman, Associate Director, Membership
2.
Washington State Medical Association
2033 6th Ave., Suite 1100
Seattle, Washington 98121
206-441-9762
Toll-free 800-552-0612
& 11
2009 Fitness Warrior....................................................................... 12
2010 WSMA Legislative Summit. ....................................... 15
Save the Dates! ................................................................ Back Page
Attention!
Please take note of our NEW
KCMS email address:
Prasert Vijitbenjaronk, MD
Kitsap Cardiology
Partners with
Quality care and comfort for our patients is our highest priority.
KPS Health Plans proudly
offers one of the largest
provider networks in
Kitsap County.
400 Warren Avenue
Bremerton, WA 98337
360-377-5576
www.kpshealthplans.com
kcmsmed@gmail.com
We offer Comprehensive Diagnostic
and Preventative Imaging
K itsap
P hysicians
S ince 1946
And, with more than 45,000
Washington providers, as well
as nation-wide coverage, KPS
is the perfect choice to insure
you and your staff.
Thomas Wixted, MD
Kitsap General Surgery
Glen Carlson, MD
Immediate Past President
Manfred Henne, MD
20700 Bond Road, Bldg. B
Poulsbo, WA 98370
Phone: (360) 598-3141
Fax: (360) 589-3431
www.inhealthimaging.com
• MRI
• CT
• Fluoroscopy
• Mammography
• Ultrasound
• Bone Densitometry
• Image guided pain
management injections
• Nuclear Medicine
• Xray
3.
Suicide, Guns, and Public Health
Most efforts to prevent suicide focus on why people take their lives.
But as we understand more about who attempts suicide and when
and where and why, it becomes increasingly clear that how a person
attempts -- the means they use -- plays a key role in whether they live or
die.
The New Olympic Internal Medicine!
• Access to firearms is a risk factor for suicide.
In the peanuts cartoon, Snoopy always started his stories with “It was a dark and stormy night”. With ever
increasing need for primary care, declining insurance reimbursements, and over four years of unsuccessful
attempts at recruiting new physicians, coupled with a seventy-five percent decline in internal medicine graduates going into primary care, it truly was a dark and stormy night for the physicians of Kitsap Internal Medicine
and Olympic Internal Medicine Associates. After more than a year of planning and remodeling, the solution has
come to be. The two groups have merged into a new entity, Olympic Internal Medicine, Inc. The new group
consists of Doctors Frederick Dore, Ryan Gross, Gary Gretch, Joseph Herman, Charles Woodman, Ward Colignon,
Michael Steele and TJ Thompson. We practice in the remodeled and expanded OIMA office on Wheaton Way.
While many of the physicians have been in Kitsap county for years and have large practices, the recent addition of Doctors Steele and Thompson allows new patients and referrals to be seen in a timely fashion. Our continued goal is to provide our patients with exceptional care now and in the future. We believe that as a united
team we can accomplish this endeavor. We look forward to continuing to
serve the patients and community with the same enthusiasm the former
independent groups possessed. I believe a dark and stormy night has given
way to a bright future.
• Firearms used in youth suicide usually
belong to a parent.
Gary Gretch, MD
“Means reduction” (reducing the odds that an attempter will use highly
lethal means) is an important part of a comprehensive approach to
suicide prevention. It is based on the following understandings:
• Many suicide attempts occur
impulsively during a crisis.
• Intent isn’t all that determines whether
an attempter lives or dies.
• 90% of attempters who survive do NOT go
on to die by suicide later.
OLYMPIC INTERNAL MEDICINE, INC., P.S.
• Reducing access to lethal means saves lives.
Firearm access can be a politically-charged topic. This approach however, is designed to introduce a non-controversial,
“lethal means counseling” approach to reducing a suicidal person’s access to firearms and other lethal means.
*Source: HARVARD School of Public Health Means Matter Campaign http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/means-matter/
One of the risks for which the empirical evidence
is strongest, and the risk whose death toll is greatest, is that of completed suicide. In 2005, the most
recent year for which mortality data are available,
suicide was the second leading cause of death
among Americans 40 years of age or younger.
Among Americans of all ages, more than half of all
suicides are gun suicides. In 2005, an average of 46
Americans per day committed suicide with a firearm, accounting for 53% of all completed suicides.
Gun suicide during this period accounted for 40%
more deaths than gun homicide.
Why might the availability of firearms increase
the risk of suicide in the United States? First, many
suicidal acts — one third to four fifths of all suicide
attempts, according to studies — are impulsive.
Among people who made near-lethal suicide attempts, for example, 24% took less than 5 minutes
between the decision to kill themselves and the
4.
actual attempt, and 70% took less than1 hour.
Second, many suicidal crises are self-limiting.
Such crises are often caused by an immediate
stressor, such as the breakup of a romantic
relationship, the loss of a job, or a run-in with
police. As the acute phase of the crisis passes,
so does the urge to attempt suicide. The
temporary nature and fleeting way of many
suicidal crises is evident in the fact that more
than 90% of people who survive a suicide attempt, including attempts that were expected
to be lethal (such as shooting oneself in the
head or jumping in front of a train), do not go
on to die by suicide. Indeed, recognizing the
self-limiting nature of suicidal crises, penal and
psychiatric institutions restrict access to lethal
means for persons identified as potentially
suicidal.
Anesthesiology Group Consolidation
in Kitsap County
Two anesthesiology groups served Kitsap County for the past
two decades. Distribution of cases was determined by surgeon
request. Olympic Anesthesia Services, Inc. provided anesthesia
services for the obstetrical unit, as well as the majority of outpatient surgery, including general, orthopedic, pediatric, ENT and
gynecology cases, while Independent Anesthesiologists of Kitsap
County, Inc. handled the majority of inpatient orthopedic, and
all vascular/thoracic surgeries. The groups shared inpatient general surgery cases and provided overlapping coverage for most
surgical specialties. Despite the prevailing cooperation between
the two groups, scheduling inefficiencies were perceived to be
a significant issue. Although the advantages of consolidation
were easily identified, several moves in this direction over the
last decade weren’t carried to completion. Finally the combined
effects of difficulty with recruiting, recommendations from
“efficiency” consultants and the resultant urging from Harrison administration provided the “critical mass” to reach fusion.
The groups consolidated in October 2008, retaining the name
Olympic Anesthesia Services, Inc. We moved our business operations to a larger facility at the beginning of 2009. Concerns
about potential personality conflicts and incompatible “corporate
cultures” have melted away. We now operate with 21 anesthesia
providers and 8 office personnel.
Olympic Anesthesia provides clinical services for surgical, endovascular, endoscopic and obstetrical procedures at the Bremerton
and Silverdale campuses of Harrison Medical Center, The Doctors
Clinic Ambulatory Surgery Center (at the Salmon Medical Center),
Pacific Surgery Center, Surgery Center of Silverdale, Olympic
Plastic Surgery Center and Cole Aesthetic Center. Our Anesthesia
Acute Pain Service institutes and monitors regional analgesia (using
continuous infusions via epidural and peripheral nerve catheters)
to control postoperative and post-traumatic pain. We also provide
O.R. medical direction at the hospital and 2 ASC’s. Our members
are helping evolve surgical services through the Perioperative Executive Committee and Robotic Surgery Committee at HMC, are
represented in the HMC Vision 2015 strategic planning group and
are overseeing the HMC Preoperative Assessment Clinic.
Our goals are to provide safe, compassionate and efficient anesthesia services, to adopt new but proven technologies, and to adapt
to our ever-changing health care environment.
Ronald G. Wayne, M.D.
President
Olympic Anesthesia Services, Inc.
5.
Thank you Auction
Sponsors
1st Security Bank of Washington
Action Chiropractic
Acupuncture & Wellness Center
Amber VanderPoll
Anita McIntyre
Aqua Tech
Bernie & Marietta Brown
Best Buy Tacoma
Cavalon Aesthetics
Chad & Heidi Hutchinson
Chautauqua Lodge
Chris and Karen Olch
Claire Furlong: CAbi
Clarke & Mindy Whitney
Clearwater Casino
Cole Aesthetic Center
David & Meg Mourning
Derek Colbert
Don & Julie Williams
Four Swallows
Glen & Rebecca Carlson
Glen Carlson
Glisson, Witt & Altman LLC
Harrison Medical Center
Holiday Inn Express Poulsbo
Jean Stinson
Jenni Osborne
Jenny Jeffery
Joe & Mechelle Stinson
Julie Berkley
KCMSA
Kitsap Golf Country Club
Lana Heike
Lisa Ballou
Mark & Jodie Delsano
Michelle Reynaga
Miles Whitney
Molly Ward Gardens
Monica’s Waterfront Bakery
Nancy Jeffery
Olive Garden
Olsen Family Chiropractic
Olympic Anesthesia
Pacific Salmon Charters
Patty Selvidge
Red Robin
Sandra Evanoff
Sandy & Kori Duffy
Selah Inn
Shakespear Theater
Shelly Stevens
Siloam Retreat and Wine Shop
Silvercity Resteraunt & Brewery
Sogno Di Vino
Spiro’s
Stephanie & Scott Morris
Swift Plumbing & Heating
Tap Rock
Teri Stanik
Tim’s Home Medical Supplies
Ultra Custom Cleaners
Verizon
Westhills Autoplex
Wholesale Sports Warehouse
Yacht Club Broiler
About the Fire & Ice Cause
Save the Date
Fire & Ice ~ Hot Hollywood Nights
Kitsap County Safe Swimmers Program
We live in a county surrounded by water, and we as a community owe it to our children to make it
a safer place to swim.. With so much shoreline the KCMS is looking into “open water safety training”
classes, emphasizing the importance of keeping our pools open for “swim lessons”, building life-jacket
loaner boards and also bringing back life-guards to our public beaches. With your help we hope to raise
funds for the construction and materials to build a life-jacket loaner board at Wildcat Lake, and if funds
support it also at Island Lake and Kitsap Lake. The Kitsap County Medical Society will then move its
attention to bringing life-guards back to our area beaches. It’s hard to measure the success of a life-jacket
loaner board at an area lake. In our research every time we have visited Buck and Horseshoe Lake (who
currently have life-jacket loaner boards in place) we always see kids in the water with the loaner vests on.
Building more life-jacket loaner boards at other lakes in Kitsap County will simply provide more safety.
The boards also educate/provide “Safety tips”. The life jacket funded by you, worn by a child on any
given day of the summer, may be the child saved that day. The first life-jacket loaner board will be built
this winter and its grand opening will be 4.1.2010 at Wildcat Lake when the park opens to the public.
Thank you for your help in launching this program.
Giving… The estimated cost of one life-jacket loaner board and its ongoing maintenance is $2500.
Tonight during “Raise a Paddle” we will start the giving at $1000. If…there is a business or individual
interested in supporting the full $2500 to sponsor the full construction/costs of one life-jacket loaner
board, the company/individual would receive recognition on the actual board built and would have a say
in its location. Please contact the KCMS office for more information at (360) 689-2928
WSCFF Burn Foundation
Provided by the American College of Emergency Physicians: Researchers say young children may be
more susceptible to burn injuries. An estimated 300 children suffer from burn injuries every day in the
United States. Two-thirds of those incidents are among kids ages six and younger. In 2006, the KCMSA
began providing support to the WSCFF Burn Foundation. We purchase fire-fighter calendars for each
guest that attends Fire & Ice and we also share some of the profits from Raise a Paddle the night of the
event. The calendars are the main source of income for the WSCFF Burn Foundation. Calendar sales help
support burn research in WA State and also send young burn victims to a special annual summer camp.
The stories and struggles of these young campers tear at the hearts of Burn Foundation volunteers and
everyone connected with the cause. Supporting innocent children that have fallen victim to a serious
burn injury and also struggle to regain their health and rebuild their lives is the work of the WSCFF Burn
Foundation. The KCMS is proud that Fire & Ice is the WSCFF Burn Foundation’s largest independent
fundraiser in WA State!
Nursing Scholarships
The Kitsap County Medical Society recognizes the critical need for more trained nurses in the United
States. Our region is not immune to these challenges. To help meet the needs of our medical community
the KCMS has developed an annual program to provide Nursing Scholarships to current and aspiring
nurses seeking training in this field. The scholarships ranging from $500 - $1000 have helped many
nurses in the past to achieve their nursing credentials or obtain advanced nursing degrees. Their achievements directly benefit us as physicians, our patients, our Hospital and the nurses themselves. In 2009 we
were proud to award the following nurses with the Sarla Sharma and Erna Streich – KCMSF Nursing
Scholarship Awards:
Megan Erickson
Julie Gardner
Aubrey Guthrie
Amber Markwick
Imee Nebres
Carrie Olson Theresa Whitbeck Dawn Winslow
Oncology
Patient Care Supervisor
Oncology/Clinic Lab Assistant
Adult Outpatient Rehab Aid
Surgery/Post Anesthesia
Emergency Dept. Emergency Dept. Pre-Op Holding
Continued Medical Education Course
Continued Medical Education Course
Associate Nursing Degree/Olympic College
Associate Nursing Degree/Olympic College
RN Program at Olympic College
RN Program at Olympic College
Bachelors in Nursing/Olympic College
Associate Nursing Degree/RN Program Olympic College
Saturday, October 9, 2010
Kitsap Kodak Theater
(Kitsap Fairgrounds Pavilion- Bremerton)
Interested in performing on stage?
Would you like to join the 2010
Fire & Ice Committee?
Please contact Rebecca Carlson for details
(360) 689-2928 or kcmsmed@gmail.com
Future Fire & Ice Planning Meetings:
Fire & Ice Committee Meeting
Monday, February 8, 2010 6:00 PM ~ 8:00 PM
Rebecca & Glen Carlson’s home ~ Silverdale
Academy Awards Brainstorming Party
Sunday, March 7, 2010 5:30 PM ~ 8:30 PM
Rebecca & Glen Carlson’s home ~ Silverdale
Thank you Legends in
Concert II Performers!
Listed in order of performance at the Fire & Ice event:
Michael Armstrong, MD
Frank Sinatra ~ The Rat Pack
Greg Duff, MD
Sammy Davis Jr. ~ The Rat Pack
Chris King, MD
Peter Lawford ~ The Rat Pack
Paul Kremer, MD
Dean Martin ~ The Rat Pack
Brain Wicks, MD Cher
Dale Holdren, MD Dolly Parton
Rose Holdren, DDS
Kenny Rogers
Bill Bauer, MD
Shania Twain
Chris Becker, MD
Village People ~ Construction Worker
Scott Davarn, MD
Village People ~ Biker
Gil Ondusko, MD
Village People ~ Sailor
Brian Lane, MD
Village People ~ Native American Indian
Marvin Valrey, MD
Village People ~ Police Man
Glen Christen, MD
Shakira
Donna Moore, MD
Hips Don’t Lie ~ Rapper
Chris Kain, MD
Aretha Franklin
Christine Larson, MD Aretha Franklin Back-Up Trio Singing
Anita McIntyre, MD
Aretha Franklin Back-Up Trio Singing
Nancy Grey, MD
Aretha Franklin Back-Up Trio Singing
Johnny Green, MD Donna Summer
Glen Carlson, MD
Madonna
Satya Pulukurthy, MD Michael Jackson
Eva Nicholas, MD
Michael Jackson girlfriend in Thriller video
Event Presenting Sponsor 4 Years Running!
Ice Title Sponsor
Fire Title Sponsor
KCMS Associate Sponsor
Blazing Sponsors $1000
Icicle Sponsors - $500
Brad & Theresa
Anderson
Easing in:
New Residency Program is a
Win for Nurses, Harrison and
Patients
Making the transition to a new job is stressful for everyone. But when you are newly graduated RN, the prospect
can seem overwhelming. Particularly when faced with the
pressures of delivering safe, quality patient care in a complex
acute-care hospital setting.
However, thanks to the new Versant RN Residency Program, all new nurse graduates hired to Harrison are receiving additional training, as well as structured support through
a comprehensive 18-week program designed to ease the
transition from student to staff nurse.
The program was implemented at Harrison in September, with an inaugural cohort of 13 residents. This first
group of residents will graduate January 15, 2010. The new
program is being funded in part by Harrison Medical Center
Foundation’s Great Nurses for a Great Community Campaign, a multi-year fundraising effort for education initiatives
that will boost the recruitment and retention of nurses at
every level.
Most nurse training programs have limited clinical components. The average RN program provides approximately
660 hours – equivalent to little more than 16 weeks – of
clinical experience, providing nursing students with nominal
opportunities to learn the techniques, protocols and best
practices to clinical care. As a result, the gap between what
new graduates learned in school and what they need in the
workplace has gotten wider and wider.
Compounding the problem is the fact that new nurse
graduates have fewer opportunities to work alongside veteran nurses. With the increasing demands of patient care and
the ongoing attrition of the nursing workforce, there are simply fewer experienced nurses willing to serve in an educator
role. The problem will only get worse, as 50 percent of the
RN workforce retires in the next 10-15 years. Today at Harrison, 20 percent of the nurses are of retirement age.
“Our healthcare future depends on these new nurses,”
said Cindy May, Harrison’s Chief Nursing Officer. “To ensure our ability to provide safe, quality care to patients, it’s
imperative that we provide better support and further clinical training to these newly graduated nurses.”
The Versant RN Residency Program essentially doubles the
beginning nurse’s clinical experience, in addition to ensuring that every newly graduated nurse receives a standardized
orientation and training to the medical center.
Consisting of classroom training (taught by Harrison’s
own staff and physicians), Web-based clinical modules and
skills labs, preceptors, mentors and debriefing sessions, the
program is supported by an evidence-based curriculum. It
also features electronic tracking of a defined set of competencies that each new nurse must acquire while in the
program.
8.
Dear KCMS Foundation,
Harrison’s inaugural class of participants in the new Versant RN Residency
Program. The group graduated mid-January following completion of a
new 18-week program for all newly graduated nurses hired to Harrison
Medical Center.
“It’s the multi-pronged approach that makes it so effective,” said
Sharon LaCrosse, Harrison’s Resident and Training Coordinator.
Established in 2004, Versant Advantage has partnered with
more than 50 hospitals nationally, conducting research on the more
than 3,000 graduates who have completed the program. Harrison
was the second hospital (by a week) to implement the program in
Washington State. Currently there are three Versant programs in
the State.
The benefits are clear. Hospitals utilizing the program are benefitting from: decreased new grad turnover; accelerated new grad
development; increased baseline of patient care quality; as well as,
increased new grad recruitment.
While the program is too new at Harrison to have yet received
its documented research results, the response has been overwhelmingly positive from participants, including residents and all those
involved in supporting them.
For more information contact Sharon LaCrosse, Resident &
Training Coordinator, 744-5707.
Thank you for sponsoring my trip to the NationalYouth Leadership Form on Medicine
inWashington DC at Georgetown University. I had an amazing experience. It was
definitely one of the best experiences I’ve had yet. It was both fun and educational, and it
really opened my eyes to the field of medicine. I made lots of friends there from around the
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country, and it was amazing how close everyone became in just 10 days. Although I had
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One of my favorite speakers was Tony Lombardi from the Safe Haven Project for
children with HIV/AIDS. He is one of the foundersCheck
of the Project
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the Children’s National Medical Center. At Georgetown
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about things that had happened during their journey in medicine.We also got to see
cadavers in the anatomy lab! I got to hold a brain, heart, lung, spleen, kidney, and liver! It
was such an amazing experience!
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second year of medical school, and some who were almost finishing residency.There is so
much schooling, but everyone I talked to said it was definitely worth it! Thank you so
much for your sponsorship to the NationalYouth Leadership Forum on Medicine, it was a
wonderful experience!
Ariana Sheridan, Klahowya High school Student
Attention!
Please take note of our NEW
KCMS email address:
kcmsmed@gmail.com
Boat Engine Repair Specialists
(360)
792-BOAT
“The Versant Residency Program provides a great learning
environment with hands-on training, education and lots of
support. It gives you the opportunity from many different
angles to become a confident, well-established nurse.”
~ Aubrey Loudermilk, Resident
“The Versant Residency Program” has allowed me to make a
safe transition from a student nurse to a practicing, clinical
nurse. The program provided a structure of support that encouraged and nurtured me, both professionally and emotionally.” ~ Emily Radtke, Resident
“I was allowed enough time to learn what I needed, so that I
may ultimately provide the safest, highest quality of care possible.” ~ Dev Brierley
(2628)
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Engine SERVICE
New Motor & Parts SALES
Shrinkwrapping & Boat STORAGE
Kitsap's only Authorized Premier Level
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9.
One person can make a difference
Written by Deborah Gates
If you’ve ever thought that you can’t make a difference in the
world or otherwise felt you lacked power to fix a problem, this
is simply not true.Three years ago, Deborah Gates lost her
husband, Stephen Gates, MD to a heart attack that occurred
in a hospital bathroom. Sadly, this bathroom did not have an
emergency pull cord, as one was not required underWashington
State regulations. If there had been a pull cord, Dr. Gates would
have had a chance. He might have been resuscitated and lived.
Deborah channeled her grief into action and her persistence
resulted in changes toWashington’s regulations regarding pull
cords - potentially saving other lives.This is her story.
My name is Deborah Gates. I was
happily married to anesthesiologist Dr.
Stephen Gates for 26 years, and we lived
in Poulsbo, Washington. On Saturday,
July 22, 2006, the world tilted on its
axis for me. It was a beautiful, sunny
morning and I was watering the cherry
tomatoes that my husband, Steve, so
dearly loved. He had been on call the
night before and would be released at 7
a.m. from call duty. We had spoken about 10 p.m. the night
before. Steve was called in to be the anesthesiologist for an
emergency surgery on a toddler. He thought it would be
the last surgery of the night, but you could never be sure.
We talked about the coming weekend and he told me how
much he loved me and I told him how much I loved him
and then we both hung up. Steve was 53 years old and we
had met as students at the University of Virginia.
The phone rang early Saturday morning, I almost
answered, “Hi Sweetheart” but for some reason, I did not.
Instead of Steve, it was a call from the hospital where Steve
worked. There were at least five people on the phone call.
They told me that ‘Dr. Gates was dead’, that he was going
to be autopsied that afternoon, and they began giving me
directives about finding a funeral home to transport his
body, making arrangements to pick up his personal effects,
and a myriad of other topics. I collapsed during the call and
narrowly avoiding hitting my head.
Fast forward to eighteen months after the death of my
beloved husband. I was still in a fog and remained very
angry at the world. I had learned that Steve had a heart
attack in a hospital bathroom without an emergency pull
cord. Steve’s colleagues told me that Steve might have had
enough time to pull a cord if one had been there and he
might have had a chance. Or he might have died anyway,
no one would ever know. The toddler who was Steve’s
10.
last patient had done wonderfully; he was discharged from
the hospital the following Monday. Steve’s heart attack had
occurred several hours after the completion of the child’s
surgery. Steve had apparently been waiting around at the
hospital to make certain that the child was okay and would
not need any further assistance.
I began researching emergency pull cords and learned
that Washington State was one of a handful of states that
had not adopted the hospital construction standards set by
the American Institute of Architects. Washington State law
required hospitals to install emergency pull cords only in
the bathrooms physically attached to inpatient rooms.
It struck me that hospitals should have
emergency pull cords in bathrooms
throughout the hospital for the protection of
patients, visitors, and staff. Hospitals, after
all, are places where sick and injured people
go for help, so the likelihood of people
being ill, either as a patient or a potential
patient, would seem to be high. And it
would not be unusual for anyone feeling
upset or otherwise unwell to use the bathroom. I reasoned
that it just made sense for hospitals to have emergency pull
cords in all bathrooms – not just those attached to in-patient
rooms.
On March 25, 2008, I submitted formal comments
to the State of Washington Department of Health asking
that all hospital bathrooms be required to have emergency
pull cords. I cited Harrison Medical Center in Silverdale
as a model facility and described additional hospitals
in the Puget Sound region that had already voluntarily
installed emergency pull cords in bathrooms throughout
the hospital. Michael Chitwood, Director of Facilities
Engineering, Harrison Medical Center, was of enormous
help as I compiled my formal comments for the Washington
Department of Health.
Following the submittal of my comments, I periodically
called John Hilger at the Washington Department of Health
about the status of my comments. Whenever I talked
about the emergency pull cord issue, it would bring back
memories of my husband’s death and I would invariably
start crying. Mr. Hilger could not have been kinder or more
sympathetic.
And then there was THE telephone call. I had again
called John Hilger to check on the status of my comments.
This time, Mr. Hilger stated that the Washington
Department of Health had agreed with my comments and
adopted the latest hospital construction standards for
emergency pull cords in bathrooms set by the Facility
Guidelines Institute of the American Institute of Architects.
The new regulation required emergency pull cords in
virtually any hospital bathroom that a patient could
encounter. The regulation went into effect on July 16, 2008
and would apply to new construction, modifications, and
reconstruction.
And that new regulation began the process of my real
“healing” - to the extent anyone can recover from the death
of the love of his or her life. I am now beginning to enjoy
life again. I resumed a variety of activities I had previously
been involved with but had dropped following Steve’s
death. I became active in the Kitsap Tribabes and competed
in triathlons. The 2008 Seattle Marathon was held on
November 30, the date that Steve would have celebrated
his 56th birthday. I ran the marathon with a banner on
my back noting I was running in memory of my beloved
husband, Stephen Gates, MD.
I am presently advocating the installation of emergency
pull cords in ALL hospital bathrooms. The 2008 regulation
does not require emergency pull cords in hospital staff
bathrooms and public bathrooms, only in bathrooms
patients can access. On December 1, 2009, I submitted
formal comments to the Washington Department of Health
(WDOH). I also testified at a WDOH public meeting in
Olympia on December 14, 2009. If you believe that all
hospital bathrooms should be equipped with an emergency
pull cord, please send a letter to Mary Selecky, Secretary,
Washington Department of Health, 101 Israel Road SE,
Tumwater, Washington 98504 or via e-mail to
Secretary@DOH.WA.GOV.
At the suggestion of WDOH management, I have also
submitted my comments to the national construction
standards setting board for hospitals, the American
Institute of Architects, Facility Guidelines Institute. Fortytwo states follow these national boards’ standards for
hospital construction.
The late John F. Kennedy stated that “one person
can indeed make a difference and everyone should try.”
I could not agree more. I personally believe that it is
the responsibility of every adult human being to leave a
situation better than it was. It is not only good for society
but it is also good for the individual. I can only hope that
no one will ever have to suffer the loss of a loved one
because they could not access emergency care while in
a hospital bathroom. I hope that my actions will create
positive changes – and in so doing, I know that I have been
positively changed.
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11.
Congratulations David Mourning, MD
~ 2009 Fitness Warrior! ~
David Mourning, a
local orthopedic surgeon
and spine specialist with
the Doctors Clinic, has
always been an avid
athlete, swimming in high
school and rowing crew
in college. He started
running in medical school
after his roommate ran a
marathon and he realized
Dr. Mourning on Mt. St. Helens
“I’m in better shape than he
is; I could probably do that.” He’s since trained for and
completed six marathons, and still runs weekly with
a local running group. When he finished his medical
training five years ago and began searching for a practice,
the greater Seattle region was his immediate choice. To
him, Kitsap County was the perfect fit. “Where else can
you have access
to all of this
amazing outdoor
activity from
your doorstep?
I can run, go
mountain biking,
or hiking without
having to drive
for hours just
to find nature.
Why would you
live anywhere
Mt. Rainier
12.
else?” Living in Silverdale
and seeing Mount
Rainier every day
(weather dependent)
on his drive into work
for two years lured him
to mountain climbing.
He began hiking with
friends and three years
ago completed his first
summit of Rainier. The
next year, he raised
almost $4,000 for
the American Lung
Association’s Climb
for Clean Air, a charity
climb of Rainier whose
Mt. Adams
proceeds went to asthma
research and smoking prevention education. Besides Rainier, he
has also climbed locally on Mt. Adams, peaks in the Olympics,
and Mt. Shasta, another 14,000 foot peak in California. Last fall,
he travelled to Ecuador and summitted Cotopaxi, a 19,400 foot
snowcapped volcano on the equator. As he’s quick to note, “the
parking lot was higher than Mt. Rainier.”
Since the birth of his daughter Isabella nine months ago, his
international climbing career has come to a screeching halt, but
he did manage to summit Mt. St. Helens and Mt. Rainier again
this past summer. He’s already scheduled to attempt his fourth
summit of Rainier again next year via the Kautz Glacier, a more
technical route, and plans on local training climbs in the Cascades
and Olympics.
13.
Monday, January 25
Red Lion Hotel Olympia
2300 Evergreen Park Drive SW ~ Olympia, WA 98502
(360) 943-4000
Meet Simone Ince, MD
REGISTRATION
IF YOU PLAN TO ATTEND PLEASE INQUIRE WITH:
Patti Smith at the WSMA at: pss@wsma.org or 800-552-0612
Virginia Mason Winslow’s
New Dermatologist
* Please let Rebecca Carlson at the KCMS know if you plan to attend, so she may
confirm your registration.
HOTEL
Red Lion Hotel Olympia
2300 Evergreen Park Drive SW ~ Olympia, WA 98502
(360) 943-4000
If you plan an overnight stay, there is a special WSMA room rate for attendees: $98.95 single or double occupancy. Call the hotel to make reservations and let them know you are with the WSMA Legislative Summit.
AGENDA
“The skin is a window to the body.”
Meet one of Bainbridge Island’s newest residents — and our new
dermatologist at Virginia Mason Winslow — Dr. Simone Ince. You can
receive a complete range of general and cosmetic dermatology services
conveniently close to home.
Dr. Ince, who is board certified in internal medicine and dermatology,
cares for patients of all ages and skin types. She was voted a “Top Doc”
in her prior home of Denver for the last two years.
To schedule an appointment — including evening and Saturday hours —
with Dr. Ince, please call (206) 842-5632.
Family Medicine • Pediatrics • Internal Medicine • Geriatrics • Cardiology • Orthopedics • Dermatology
Chronic Disease Management • Same Day Appointments • Evening and Saturday Hours
Most Insurance Plans Accepted
Virginia Mason Winslow Clinic • 380 Winslow Way East • Bainbridge Island
8:00 am
8:30 am
8:45 am
9:00 am
9:30 am
10:00 am
11:30 am
12:30 pm
1:00 pm
1:30 - 5 pm
Registration & continental breakfast
Opening remarks & introductions
Physicians Insurance A Mutual Company Update, Mary Lou Misrahy, President
Governor Christine Gregoire (invited)
State of Business in Washington State, Erin McCallum, President, Enterprise Washington
Issue briefs by three associations and planning for afternoon visitations
Lunch and logistics briefing
Busses to Capitol
Attention!
Individual meetings: Legislators and Executive Branch
Please take note of our NEW
KCMS email address:
Busses to hotel every 15 minutes
kcmsmed@gmail.com
Thank you
for being a partner in our
vision to be the best medical
center in the region.
(206) 842-5632 • VirginiaMason.org
14.
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