With the closure of the Franciscan medical clinic coming this August, members of state and county governments have said they will support the island in whatever ways they can, while agencies in Vashon’s broader health care community are making plans for a medical services landscape that soon could be dramatically changed.

On Monday, King County Executive Dow Constantine spoke to the closing of the long-time island clinic and the county’s initial response.

“As someone who has fought for the health and well-being of the people of Vashon for more than 20 years, I am deeply concerned about the news that Franciscan Health has announced their intent to close the clinic before an alternative service provider is found,” he said. “I’ve directed King County department leaders to work with health and community partners to help identify potential immediate and long-term solutions.”

County officials say the first of the meetings to identify potentially helpful county resources is set for this week.

At the state level, Sen. Sharon Nelson, a longtime Maury Island resident, voiced her appreciation of the work of the Vashon-Maury Health Collaborative (VMHC), which is working to bring another large health care provider to the island.

“They have brought in experts that they need and we need,” she said. “We are not being caught flat-footed because of the efforts of this group.”

Nelson added she and other local legislators will help any way they can, particularly through making contacts and opening any necessary doors to ensure progress.

On Vashon, while members of the VMHC say they are continuing their work and have held additional conversations with both Swedish Medical Center and UW Medicine in recent days, several island agencies have begun making plans to contend with a potential period of increased health care demands.

Shortly after the announcement regarding the clinic’s closure, Vashon Island Fire & Rescue (VIFR) Chief Hank Lipe talked about the stress additional calls could create for his department. At the commissioners’ meeting on May 10, Lipe noted that the Franciscan clinic sees 10 to 15 walk-in patients a day, a number that would tax the district’s resources if those people turned to VIFR instead. He also stressed that the fire department’s role is different than a clinic’s role.

“We we are not in the business to treat and release,” he said. “We don’t treat. We try to stabilize and transport.”

Lipe also noted for assistance he had reached out to the King County Office of Emergency Management, who sent a representative to the commissioners’ meeting that evening, and said that he plans to meet with the King County Fire Chiefs Association to ask for additional support if necessary, such as aid units meeting Vashon teams at the ferry to transport patients.

Beyond VIFR, there are several other health- related agencies services on Vashon, including Vashon Community Care (VCC), which has critical ties to the Franciscan clinic. Charlene Boyd, the managing administrator of VCC, said last week that federal regulations require the center to provide both a medical director — a medical doctor or osteopathic physician — to ensure that the medical needs of each resident are met. The regulations also require physicians to care for all the residents’ ongoing medical needs. In the skilled nursing portion of the facility, Boyd said the 30 residents all rely on Franciscan Medical Clinic providers, who make house calls to the center to tend to their patients. In the assisted living facility, the majority of the approximately 40 residents travel to the Franciscan clinic for doctor visits, and changes to daily care are coordinated between the providers and the nurses at VCC. Last Friday, Boyd said she knew there were many conversations taking place about how to address the situation in the community and at VCC, but so far, she said, the center’s leadership had not come up with answers for the facility.

“I do not have magical solutions for this at all,” she said.

She added that VCC leaders will soon focus on how to move ahead while the island’s health care situation is still in flux.

“We will begin planning relatively shortly for what to do in the interim while a longer term solutions is figured out,” she added.

Boyd noted that part of tending to seniors at VCC means having health services in the community to support that work.

“I hope we can find physician services on the island so we can provide a continuum of care,” she added.

VCC board president Susan Hanson said within days of the Franciscan announcement, VCC leaders had sent a letter to staff, residents and their family members, informing them of the news and indicating VCC’s commitment to establishing a plan for ongoing medical care.

“We are looking at how to be proactive for our clients and ourselves,” she said.

She added that VCC is also committed to working with VMHC members to create sustainable health care for all islanders, not just VCC residents.

Vashon’s seniors who live at home will likely also be affected by a change in care, according to Vashon Senior Center Executive Director Ava Apple, who added that the center will also be affected, particularly its Bluebird Medical Transport program, which provides transportation to island seniors with medical appointments in Seattle. Currently, center drivers make, on average, three trips a week for appointments.

“I definitely expect to see the need rise and that go up,” she said. “I am grateful I have got time to gear up.”

She noted that the unofficial mayor’s race, with Bernie O’Malley and Hilary Emmer running on the senior center ticket, will benefit the center’s transportation programs.

At Vashon Youth & Family Services (VYFS), Executive Director Kathleen Johnson praised the work of the VMHC and said she wanted to give the group some time to announce they have a plan in place or that their efforts did not work out for the island.

“If the news is bad, we would have to start some planning for our clients,” she added.

Most of VYFS’ clients are on Medicaid — a government health insurance program for low-income people and those with disabilities — and receive their medical care at the health center, Johnson said.

If necessary, she said, VYFS could arrange for a psychiatrist to prescribe clients’ mental health medications, and the voucher program that VYFS runs and Granny’s Attic funds could be tapped for support for ferry travel to off-island medical appointments, though she noted staffing for the voucher program is limited — and a more comprehensive solution is needed.

“My concern is that a lot of our clients are already facing significant challenges in daily living. Facing ferry travel for medical needs, whether we support that with a voucher or not, is going to be destabilizing,” she said.

She added she is hopeful that sustainable, lasting medical care will be created on Vashon and that islanders should advocate for those services.

“We cannot be afraid of speaking up for what we need,” she said.