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House Health Care Committee
seeks
community perspectives on road tour
House Health Care
Committee members will soon be taking to the road for a tour across many
rural communities in Washington seeking input from health providers and
the public regarding access and affordability of health care.
The three-day tour, which begins May 25, will take the committee through
Morton, Yakima, Toppenish, White Swan, Goldendale, White Salmon,
Stevenson, Longview and Centralia.
Rep. Barbara Bailey,
ranking Republican on the committee, and Rep. Bruce Chandler, Deputy
Republican Leader in the House, say the group is working to be
pro-active when it comes to addressing health care issues.
"We’re taking this tour to
look at a number of important health care issues affecting communities
in our state and determine our abilities to address and solve those
problems, said Bailey, R-Oak Harbor.
"The most critical issue we face as a state is access," said Bailey.
"Access means several things, including having health insurance coverage
that will allow you to go to your doctor when you are sick. It also
means that your doctor will be there when you are sick, and facilities,
such as hospitals and emergency rooms will be available when you need
them."
The lawmakers noted that
skyrocketing medical malpractice insurance premiums are forcing some
doctors to retire early or leave the state, making access to health care
even more difficult, especially in rural areas.
"Residents of rural
communities are finding themselves without health care providers and are
being forced to travel longer distances to receive services," said
Chandler, R-Granger. "The rising cost of medical malpractice insurance
not only limits the number of providers in rural areas, it is increasing
the cost of insurance and making it harder for families to get coverage.
We are looking at way to make insurance more affordable, particularly
for working families who are unable to get health insurance through
their jobs because their employers cannot find affordable health care
insurance."
In addition, the tour will
seek out ideas of how to take care of the health care needs of children,
the medically indigent, and the state’s most vulnerable citizens
"without straining our system beyond our capacity to provide that care,"
said Bailey. For children, she added, that includes making sure parents
have jobs and employers have access to affordable health insurance to
provide to working families.
The tour begins at 9:30,
Monday, May 25, in Morton, moving to the Yakima Regional Medical and
Cardiac Center in Yakima and the Yakima Valley Farmworkers Clinic later
in the day. Tuesday’s schedule will take the committee to Yakama Nation
facilities in White Swan, Klickitat Valley Health Services in Goldendale
and Skyline Hospital in White Salmon. The final day of the tour will
begin at the Mid-Columbia Family Medicine Clinic in Stevenson.
EDITOR’S NOTE:
The full itinerary of the House Health Care Committee’s tour is included
below:
ITINERARY FOR RURAL HEALTH
TOUR
DAY 1 (Monday, May 24)
-
9:30 – 11:00 am - Meet
with local health care community representatives in Morton at Morton
General Hospital.
-
1:00 – 2:30 pm - Meet
in Yakima at Yakima Regional Medical and Cardiac Center to discuss
mental health concerns and local family planning pilot project.
-
3:00 – 4:30 pm - Meet
with representatives of Yakima Valley Farmworkers Clinic in
Toppenish.
DAY 2 (Tuesday, May 25)
-
9:15 – 10:30 am -
After a brief visit to Yakama Nation facilities in White Swan,
return to Toppenish to meet with representatives of the Yakama Tribe
at the Yakama Nation Tribal Health Facility to discuss Native
American health issues, health disparities and other health care
issues.
-
12:30 – 2:30 pm - Meet
in Goldendale at Klickitat Valley Health Services to discuss access
to care, long-term care, and other local health care issues.
-
3:30 – 5:00 pm - Meet
with local health care community representatives in White Salmon at
Skyline Hospital.
DAY 3 (Wednesday, May 26)
-
8:00 – 9:00 am - Tour
Mid-Columbia Family Medicine Clinic in Stevenson.
-
10:30 – 11:30 am -
Meet with representatives of the Cowlitz Tribe at the Cowlitz Tribal
Health Clinic to discuss Native American health issues, health
disparities and other health care issues.
-
11:30 – 1:00 pm - Meet
with local health care community representatives from St. John
Medical Center in Longview to discuss local health care issues.
-
2:00 – 3:30 pm - Meet
in Centralia at Cascade Mental Health Care to discuss access to
mental health services and other local health issues.
# # #
For more information, contact:
John
Handy, Assistant Director: (360) 786-5758
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