Samaritan, Confluence affiliation: Don't be shy about sharing healthcare concerns

With affiliation talks between Samaritan Healthcare and Wenatchee-based Confluence Health still underway, we think it’s important for residents to get involved and share their opinions with decision-makers. While specifics on possible changes aren’t entirely known or being shared publicly, it’s still a good time to get involved. We recommend you contact a Samaritan commissioner to share your views about local healthcare offerings. The best way to reach a commissioner is by emailing communications@samaritanhealthcare.com.

Are you and your family getting what you need from local healthcare providers? Great. If not, what can be done differently? Are you having to drive out of town to see a specialist? It is likely you are, considering our rural area. If so, what type of specialist are you seeing, and would you like to see that care offered locally? The answer might not be known, but we understand all questions are being written down to be answered at a later date.

The affiliation is being done because of the changing landscape of healthcare and how it is paid for, Samaritan CEO Theresa Sullivan said in a May 19 article in the Columbia Basin Herald. Samaritan is also working to better position itself with a larger provider like Confluence. In the future, there may be a potentially narrower network of care and a “center of excellence” may be picked for certain procedures, she told the Herald’s Editorial Board this week. A rural organization like Samaritan might have a hard time being that “center of excellence” alone.

Another factor is that Moses Lake and Grant County are growing, and the Samaritan board was looking at the best way to grow services in the community.

The affiliation has been discussed for the past year and a half. Talks could be complete by the end of the year. So there’s time to get involved and let your voice be heard.

We think it’s important that more people get involved. Fewer than 10 people attended a recent community forum about the proposed affiliation.

We hope you’ll weigh in on local healthcare before the affiliation is complete, rather than after. If your thoughts and perceptions about healthcare are known, then solutions can be explored.

— Editorial Board