The Vashon Community Wellness Project, which provides low-income Islanders access to health care services at discounted rates, is undergoing a revitalization by several people who believe the innovative program has been underused and can fill a vital need on the Island.

Through the project, qualifying individuals can volunteer at one of several social service sites in the community and earn a volunteer stamp for every three hours of work. That stamp enables the individual or a family member to see a participating health care provider or obtain a service for 50 percent off the normal fee. Services covered span a wide spectrum and include doctor visits, acupuncture, chiropractic care, physical therapy and yoga as well as health-related products.

The project was developed in 2005 by Diane Hillaire, a counselor, and Kim Curry, a licensed massage therapist, because of the variety of health care services they saw on the Island and their desire to make them available to the most people possible, regardless of their income level. But its use has been limited, Hillaire said, in large part, she believes, because not enough people have known about it.

“This project is something that could be a real benefit during these economic times,” Hillaire said. “I would like to see those services accessible to the entire community.”

Last fall, Vashon’s Health Care Council, a group dedicated to meeting the health care needs of Islanders, invited Hillaire to speak about the project and was impressed.

“The program fits very nicely in the mission of the Health Care Council,” said Rick Skillman, who heads the group. “It really fills a niche for us.”

To that end, the group is helping with the revitalization efforts, Skillman said, working to get the word out and arranging meetings with some providers, including with Rita Cannell, the manager of the Vashon Health Center, which is now participating.

Calling the addition of the clinic exciting news, Hilary Emmer, a member of the Health Care Council, said that Islanders with a Vashon Community Wellness Project stamp can now be seen at the clinic for $75, and the clinic will write off the rest of the cost of the visit. Each of the clinic’s six providers has agreed to see one wellness project participant a month.

Hillaire also said she is pleased to have the Vashon Health Center come aboard, as well as many other providers, including Dr. Chad Magnuson, Dr. Marcie Hamrick, naturopathic physicians Nicole Maxwell and Angela London, certified mediator Tim McTighe and Ayurvedic medicine practitioner Ronly Blau.

“It’s branching out in lots of ways,” Hillaire said. “Now we are at the place of how do we get the word out to people who can benefit.”

The Health Care Council plans to create fliers and posters advertising the project and hopes to install an informational bulletin board dedicated to the project at the Vashon Maury Community Food Bank. Communication is vital, Hillaire noted. Since the project’s beginning, she has seen two to three patients a month; other practitioners, she said, have seen far fewer.

“The reason is I tell them about it,” she said. “I don’t think that everyone is promoting it at that level. … This really is a community project, and its success really depends on everyone involved promoting it.”

More information on the wellness project

Vashon Community Wellness Project volunteer sites include DoVE, the Interfaith Council to Prevent Homelessness, Seeds4Suceess, Vashon Community Care, Vashon HouseHold, Vashon Maury Community Food Bank and Farm, Vashon-Maury Island Land Trust, Vashon Senior Center, Vashon Wilderness Program and Vashon Youth & Family Services. Through a Wellness Bank, volunteers in the community who do not qualify can donate their hours, enabling those who cannot volunteer to have access to the program’s benefits.

For more information, call Diane Hillaire at 463-2945, ext. 4 or see http://vashonwellness.googlepages.com/home.