Local physicians explore COVID testing for Vashon Island residents
- John Cornelison
- March 24, 2020
Table of Contents
Sorry folks this was published last Saturday and only now is getting posted to this site. Next updates will happen on a timely basis!
Date: March 21, 2020
SUMMARY
Vashon Island’s volunteer Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) has established the COVID Testing Steering Committee exploring options for testing island residents for COVID-19. Humans have no immunity and currently no medications are available. Vashon Island has no cases confirmed by Public Health – Seattle and King County (PHSKC).
Local physicians explore COVID testing for Vashon Island residents
STORY
The Vashon Island’s Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) has established a COVID Testing Steering Committee. The committee is exploring options for testing island residents for the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19. Humans have no immunity and currently no medications are available. Vashon Island currently has no cases confirmed by Public Health – Seattle and King County (PHSKC), in contrast to the rest of King County.
"'Diagnosis is the first step to treatment,'” said Dr. John Osborn, an ER physician at the Seattle Veterans Administration hospital and co-coordinator of the Vashon Medical Reserve Corps (MRC). "To diagnose COVID, you have to test for it. If we can identify who is infected, we can better help those infected while also protecting our island community and our off-island communities from viral spread."
The island’s COVID testing team includes Dr. Jim Bristow, retired pediatric cardiologist and former deputy director of the Joint Genome Institute at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab; Dr. Zach Miller, a retired Infectious Disease specialist; Dr. Ina Oppliger, a retired rheumatologist volunteering with Pierce County’s COVID program; and Dr. Bonny Olney, a family practice physician .
Work on coordinating Vashon response to the Covid virus began in early March. Vashon’s volunteer run Emergency Operations Center has been supporting the COVID testing team efforts. Shawn Boesler, Logistics Section Chief is investigating resources needed to prepare for on-island testing. The COVID testing team, Vashon Emergency Operations Center and VashonBePrepared volunteers have been coordinating island assets, volunteers and services.
"Vashon Island still has time, but the clock is ticking," Dr. Osborn added. "We must move quickly, and we need to get this right if we are going to avoid what is happening in other parts of King County."
The COVID testing team meets daily. Members are actively reaching out to labs, active COVID testing projects and programs, and to their personal contacts in the medical and science community in Puget Sound and nationwide.
Even as the infection and mortality numbers climb, testing options and availability are changing daily. If on-island testing moves forward, scarcity of testing kits, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) such as N95 facemasks and trained personnel are issues. The COVID testing team is exploring options that would require less PPE but those options must adhere to professional medical standards.
“From Wuhan and Italy we know this is a life or death situation,” Osborn said. “In the meantime, we ask that island residents - all of you – strictly adhere to public health recommendations including social distancing and hygiene. Public health measures are our one and only weapon in this war with the virus. Right now, we are losing that war and we must turn the tide. This is something all of us can do to protect our friends and family.”
Health care professionals including clinicians, nurses, social workers, counselors, and psychologists are encouraged to volunteer with the Vashon Medical Reserve Corps during the COVID-19 pandemic. To volunteer, please send your name, contact information and a brief description of your health care expertise and experience to: mrc@vashonbeprepared.org.
RELEVANT LINKS
QUOTES
“Diagnosis is the first step to treatment. To diagnose COVID, you have to test for it. If we can identify who is infected, we can better help those infected while also protecting our island community and our off-island communities from viral spread."
- Dr. John Osborn, ER physician, Seattle VA Veterans Administration hospital and co-coordinator of the Vashon Medical Reserve Corps (MRC)
“Vashon Island still has time, but the clock is ticking. We must move quickly, and we need to get this right if we are going to avoid what is happening in the rest other parts of King County.”
- Dr. John Osborn, ER physician, Seattle VA Veterans Administration hospital and co-coordinator of the Vashon Medical Reserve Corps (MRC)
“From Wuhan and Italy we know this is a life or death situation. In the meantime, we ask that island residents - all of you – strictly adhere to public health recommendations including social distancing and hygiene. Public health measures are our one and only weapon in this war with the virus. Right now, we are losing that war and we must turn the tide. This is something all of us can do to protect our friends and family.”
- Dr. John Osborn, ER physician, Seattle VA Veterans Administration hospital and co-coordinator of the Vashon Medical Reserve Corps (MRC)
About VashonBePrepared
VashonBePrepared is a federally recognized, educational 501(c)(3) non-profit coalition of disaster preparedness organizations on Vashon -Maury Islands in Washington's Puget Sound region. The non-profit works with local fire professionals, agencies and volunteers to provide support, structure and guidance on how islanders can serve others during times of crisis.
Have you been following the big snowstorms back east? I’ve been listening in as distant friends and family rush to prepare, then hunker down to wait out the blizzard. Supermarkets are getting low on fresh foods, as families stock up in advance of the storm. Friends and family relate how they’re getting in extra bottled water and wondering how to maintain home heat and refrigeration if the power goes out. Maybe the gas tanks of their cars aren’t full, but they live in cities where they can walk to many essential services. In a city, the household plan for staying safe and comfortable may rely on municipal services, utility companies, and emergency responders. On rural and isolated Vashon, we don’t enjoy such a robust infrastructure, so we need to prepare as best we can, and be ready to help each other if possible.