QUILCENE — Twenty years of health care at a small clinic that provides southern Jefferson County with its only medical option will be celebrated Saturday.
“I don’t know what we would do if it wasn’t here,” Brinnon resident Joy Baisch said of the South County Medical Clinic.
“It’s the only access that kids have to medical attention without having to miss a day of school.”
An open house is set to take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Quilcene Community Center, 294952 U.S. Highway 101. Tours of the clinic, situated across the road, will start from the community center.
Snacks will be served, Baisch said.
The clinic, located at 294843 U.S. Highway 101, which is part of the Jefferson Healthcare system, began operation in 1996 under the supervision of nurse practitioner Merrily Mount, 64, who is still at the helm.
Mount said technology has led to a significant change in how the clinic provides services.
When it opened, it communicated with the hospital in Port Townsend by fax.
When lab work was required, Mount had to drive to Chimacum and meet a courier who would take them the rest of the way.
Today, the clinic has its own computer, a small lab and access to computer programs that connect to hospital records and provide immediate information about the latest medical breakthroughs.
“Technology gives me the ability to more effectively diagnose a patient and keeps me up-to-date with all the latest treatments,” Mount said.
“If something changes somewhere, I have the most up-to-date medical information right here in Quilcene.”
Technology has not only saved time, she said; it has also saved lives.
One thing that has not changed in 20 years is an emphasis on disease prevention, she said.
Two people staff the clinic, Mount and nurse Candace Frye-Taylor, usually serving about 12 patients each day from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays.
As a nurse practitioner, Mount can perform most of the needed medical tasks including diagnosis, physical examinations and prescribing drugs, although patients need to drive to Port Hadlock, Port Townsend or Sequim to fill them.
She is not licensed to perform surgical procedures and doesn’t feel comfortable dealing with pain management, citing better options in other locations.
“I don’t deliver babies, but I could do it if I had to,” she said.
Mount said the health problems in the Quilcene area are the same as anywhere else in the country: diabetes, high blood pressure, cancer, immunization and heart disease.
To stay healthy, people should exercise, stay healthy, drink less soda and be mindful of milk.
“We are the only animal in the world that drinks milk that is not from our mothers,” she said.
“If you do drink milk, you need to be sure that it doesn’t contain a growth hormone or come from some other country.”
“The new middle age is 70, and we should view ourselves that way and live our lives that way,” she said.
As many in Mount’s generation are old enough to have resolved to not trust anyone older than 30, that bar has moved.
“That means keeping your interests going, keeping your dreams going, staying hydrated, walking every day and sleeping in absolute darkness,” she said.
Mount said light in the room while sleeping prevents the pineal gland from producing melatonin, which results in the adrenal glands producing an overabundance of the hormone cortisol, which can be harmful to your health.
To get healthy, people should turn off or block all lights, including alarm clocks, phones and smoke detectors, and seal windows with an opaque cloth while sleeping.
Baisch said the clinic raises the quality of life in south county.
“Kids who have grown up here will base their decisions about staying or coming back based on available health care,” she said.
“When people come here looking at property, the first things they look at are schools and doctors.”
Mount said she doesn’t know how long she will keep working, adding that the clinic “is not about me.”
“This clinic is a piece of art. It’s been brushed beautifully,” she said.
“It’s stable, needed and strong, and will carry on without me.”
For more information about the clinic go to http://tinyurl.com/PDN-clinic or call 360-765-3111.
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Jefferson County Editor Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or cbermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
