Your Guide to On-Island Medical Care
The number of options for on-island medical care has doubled over the last two years. Although many of us still need to hop on a ferry to access specialist care, and our small-town population can’t support a community hospital, the number of options for you to get on-island medical care is at a historical high level. The following information updates you on those medical care options and also provides a chart that boils down all the options into five easy-to-use columns.
Emergency: If in Doubt, Call 911
If you aren’t quite sure a situation is an emergency, don’t hesitate. Just call 911. It is better to be safe and call than to regret a delay. First responders would rather get there in time to save a life than arrive too late.
The 911 operator will help you figure things out in a hurry. When you call 911, be prepared with the location of the emergency, including the street address. The phone number you are calling from. The nature of the emergency.
In-Home Care
This has been a significant improvement to on-island medical care. We now have two in-home care providers on the island — no ferry ride required. They come right to your home, making house calls like the island’s old-time country doctors, except with vehicles full of high-tech equipment.
The scope of practice and hours differ for each service. For details, you will want to check out their websites and the five-column guide from Vashon Health Care District included in this issue of the newsletter.
Mobile Integrated Health (MIH) from Vashon Island Fire & Rescue (VIFR) provides in-home nurse care three days a week. MIH staff also includes a social worker who makes home visits. MIH plans to add a nurse practitioner or physician assistant in June to expand its scope of practice. Services are taxpayer-funded at no cost to the patient. vifr.org/mih/
Dispatch Health provides mobile urgent care under contract with the Vashon Health Care District (VHCD). It operates seven days a week, including all holidays. Services are covered by most insurance providers, and additional insurers are being added. tinyurl.com/VashonDispatchHealth
Clinical Care
For decades, the island’s two primary care clinics have been the entry point for basic medical care on Vashon. They continue to provide these services.
Sea Mar clinic at Sunrise Ridge offers primary care services weekdays. The Vashon clinic is part of the multi-location Sea Mar Community Health Centers organization. A new clinic is under construction in Vashon town center. tinyurl.com/SeaMarVashon
Vashon Natural Medicine (VNM) offers primary care services on weekdays. They include naturopathic care in their scope of practice. vashonnaturalmed.com/
Vashon Pharmacy has expanded its offerings to include clinical care such as management of chronic conditions and treatment of uncomplicated acute conditions, in addition to its traditional vaccination and medicine-dispensing services. vashonpharmacy.com/
Cheat Sheet for On-Island Medical Care: This helpful summary table provides valuable details for each of the options for no-ferry-required medical care. The number of options, as described above, has roughly doubled in the last couple of years. vashonhealthcare.org/resources/
Click on the following link to view the chart:
Public Health Update
We’ve compiled a list of diseases making national headlines these days and asked the Vashon Medical Reserve Corps to help us provide an update on their status in our region. Other sources included Public Health — Seattle and King County (PHSKC) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Measles: So far in 2025, there have been five cases of this highly contagious disease in King County. The most recent case involved an infant who had been exposed during international travel. See below a section on “Getting Ready for International Travel.” But with sporadic cases now being seen across the US this year, it makes sense to understand your risk, whether you plan to travel or not. Measles vaccines have been extensively studied, are safe, and are 97% effective. So vaccination is the easiest way to minimize one’s risk.
If you were born in the mid-1950s, you may already be protected against measles thanks to having gained natural immunity by contracting the disease. If you were born in that era and aren’t certain whether you had measles (or early versions of the vaccine), talk to your healthcare provider about testing to confirm your measles immunity or getting an MMR vaccine. You can get more info on measles prevention and vaccination recommendations at:
According to PHSKC, all three of the main respiratory virus diseases have been decreasing in King County in recent months. RSV levels have decreased since early January 2025. COVID levels have remained low and stable since November 2024. Influenza levels have been decreasing since early March 2025.
RSV: Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) was once viewed as primarily dangerous for the young, especially infants. For example, the CDC currently recommends RSV vaccine for pregnant women at 32 to 36 weeks to protect their child. But RSV can also be dangerous for older adults. In April, a CDC expert advisory panel lowered the age for at-risk adults to receive RSV vaccine to ages 50 to 59. RSV vaccination was already recommended for at-risk people aged 60 to 74. Everyone aged 75 and older should get the RSV vaccine. You can get more information on how to protect against RSV at: www.cdc.gov/rsv/about
COVID: The pandemic state of emergency officially ended two years ago, on May 11, 2023. However, COVID is still with us. In King County, 36 people have died from COVID so far this year. The CDC currently recommends the 2024-2025 COVID vaccine for everyone aged 6 months or older. A second dose is recommended for those who are 65 and older or at high risk of severe disease. However, there is discussion about limiting the vaccine starting this fall to seniors and those at a higher risk from COVID. The CDC’s vaccine advisory group will make a formal recommendation in June regarding age groups and other considerations. You can get the detailed PHSKC recommendations regarding COVID at: kingcounty.gov/covid
Influenza (Flu): Flu season has ended, but will return in the fall as it does every year. This latest flu season resulted in 63 flu-related deaths in King County, including two children in February and March. Here’s the flu-related recommendations page from PHSKC: kingcounty.gov/flu
Bird Flu: So far, there have been relatively few cases of avian influenza crossing over from animals to humans, and no confirmed human-to-human transmission. However, as avian flu continues to spread in birds and cattle, the risk that a mutation will arise that allows spread among humans remains. PHSKC recommends everyone age 6 months and dolder should get the annual flu vaccine. Here’s the PHSKC information page: kingcounty.gov/birdflu
Getting Ready for International Travel
If you’re considering international travel sometime this year, perhaps in the summer, now is a good time to assess and prepare for disease risks at your destination. Acting now will give you plenty of time before you take off to get vaccinated and for the vaccination to reach maximum effect. It will also give you time to prepare recommended precautions to improve your travel health and safety. As always, consult with your doctor or a travel medicine service to seek location-specific advice. Vashon Pharmacy has recently added travel consultation to its list of clinical services.
Travelers Rapid Health Information Portal
There’s an online tool that provides recommendations to help protect you against infection, including vaccinations to consider. It’s at the Travelers’ Rapid Health Information Portal on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website. Go here to enter a destination country and get travel health advice: gten.travel/trhip/trhip
Travel Healthy App
The CDC website also recommends the Travel Healthy app for your smartphone.
To Try Out the Travel Healthy App: These QR codes will take you to the Apple (left) and Android (right) app stores if you’d like to try out the Travel Healthy app. You set up a trip in the app, which helps you check for symptoms and health notices before and during your travel. Massachusetts General Hospital developed the app, and it asks for your permission to collect health information to support medical research. Travel Health Notices
Another tool from the CDC can tell you about Travel Health Notices (THNs) that are in effect where you are headed: wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/notices
Fortunately, there are no high-risk notices in effect at this time. However, there are several THNs in two lower-risk-level categories, depending on your destination country.
- Level 4 — Avoid All Travel
- Level 3 — Reconsider Nonessential Travel
- Level 2 — Practice Enhanced Precautions
- Level 1 — Practice Usual Precautions
Healthy Preparation and Packing Checklists
Finally, the CDC website has a page of travel health advice with checklists for everything from important documents to medicines and first aid kits:
