Submitted by PeaceHealth
The holiday season is a beautiful time to reflect on the many blessings in our lives. For us at PeaceHealth, those blessings include the many individuals who have helped PeaceHealth Peace Island Medical Center to grow and flourish. These dedicated volunteers, donors, employees, local artists and care providers have helped create a remarkable healing environment for those who visit or make their home in the San Juan Islands.
As we celebrate the medical center’s four-year anniversary, we wish to express our gratitude to the local community and to the leadership exhibited by the San Juan Island County Public Hospital District No. 1 Board. One of our core values at PeaceHealth is collaboration. We value the involvement, cooperation and creativity of all who work together to promote the health of the community. Nowhere has that been more evident than at PeaceHealth Peace Island.
Your support has enabled us to add services that meet a wide variety of health needs at the medical center and clinic. Since November 2012, there have been more than 12,000 visits to our Emergency Department, which is open 24/7 and staffed with board-certified emergency physicians. There have been nearly 600 admissions to the hospital, for acute care and short-term observation. Surgical services, imaging and specialty care are now available to our patients there.
At our family medicine clinic, PeaceHealth Medical Group has had more than 40,000 visits, handled 970 surgical cases and provided nearly 24,000 imaging procedures. Our infusion center has provided more than 3,600 treatments for cancer patients, people with blood disorders and those with other needs. Visiting specialists and an on-site medical laboratory also make differences in patients’ lives. It has been our privilege to care for ailing and injured community members.
PeaceHealth Peace Island strives to strengthen the body and nurture the spirit of everyone who comes to us, regardless of individual differences or the ability to pay. This would not be possible without the support of volunteers who work tirelessly on behalf of the medical center; donors who give generously with a great vision for improvements; local artists whose sculptures and paintings beautify the buildings; medical staff who are compassionate and well-trained in the use of sophisticated equipment; and support personnel who help make the medical center a warm, inviting place to find healing. It is estimated that this collaboration and these well-appointed facilities have eliminated the need for 25,000 off-island medical visits, including costly and perilous emergency evacuations. Islanders can get what they need right here, which is a great benefit to our community.
In these four years, the accomplishments have exceeded our expectations. In April, a global accrediting organization scrutinized every department of PeaceHealth Peace Island and gave the medical center a glowing review. The auditors determined that the hospital exceeds the established benchmarks in all categories reviewed, which include facility conditions, patient experience, nursing education, employee health and safety practices. This confirmation fills us with pride and unending gratitude to all who made it possible.
Thank you for an amazing four years. We can’t wait to see what the future holds.
