PORT TOWNSEND — Jefferson Healthcare hospital commissioners are looking to the residents of south Jefferson County to give them some input on their specific health care needs through a survey.
The online survey, which can be accessed at the website at https://goo.gl/ZHHbCb, will be used by the hospital commissioners to update Jefferson Healthcare’s strategic plan, according to interim marketing director Tina Herschelman.
The deadline to fill out the survey is this Friday.
Suggestions can also be written down and dropped off in collection boxes located at the Quilcene Village Store, Quilcene Community Center and South County Medical Clinic, which are located along U.S. Highway 101 in Quilcene.
In April, hospital commissioners conducted public meetings in Quilcene, Port Ludlow and Port Townsend.
Members of the public asked questions and told of their concerns about Jefferson Healthcare.
Herschelman said the commissioners try to host a meeting in Port Ludlow and Quilcene every two years or so to hear from the residents of those communities.
She said she was disappointed by the attendance of the meeting in Quilcene, saying it drew only 20 community members.
To get more input from south county communities, commissioners have geared this survey toward residents of Brinnon and Quilcene, she said.
“The survey is an additional form of public input,” Herschelman said.
Herschelman said that, at the Quilcene meeting, she heard of appreciation for the South County Medical Clinic in Quilcene and the addition of specialty care providers such as Merrily Mount, a nurse practitioner specializing in family medicine.
But Herschelman said hospital personnel also have heard requests for more services to be provided to the south county area. Like much of East Jefferson County, south county has an aging population who would like to age in their homes.
The commissioners discussed at their meeting in April that some of the residents expressed a desire for Jefferson Healthcare to support local organizations that could provide exercise classes for the area’s seniors.
They also have been told of a need for easier access to prescription medication, the closest pharmacies to Brinnon and Quilcene residents being the three in Port Hadlock, and urgent care services, Herschelman said.
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Jefferson County Editor/Reporter Cydney McFarland can be reached at 360-385-2335, ext. 55052, or at cmcfarland@peninsuladailynews.com.
