Project Access Northwest teamed up with Kaiser Permanente to help coordinate follow-up care for vision clinic patients seen at the free Seattle/King County Clinic in October 2017. During four, 12-hour days, the vision clinic treated 1,385 patients. Project Access Northwest then coordinated follow-up care for 118 patients.
When Kaiser Permanente ophthalmologist Michael Brush, MD asked Project Access Northwest to help coordinate follow-up care for vision clinic patients seen at the free Seattle/King County Clinic last October, we jumped at the chance. During four, 12-hour days, the vision clinic treated 1,385 patients, many of whom lined up at midnight the night before to ensure they could get the treatment they needed. Eyeglass prescriptions were the primary need, and each of these patients received free glasses. Project Access Northwest then coordinated follow-up care—including cataract work, glaucoma testing, and treatment for other conditions that couldn’t be addressed on site—for 118 patients. We referred 80 patients to Kaiser Permanente, 36 to the University of Washington Eye Institute and two to other sites specified by the referring physician. Kaiser Permanente offered to complete treatment for patients who were either uninsured or covered by Molina and Kaiser Permanente plans.
“Being able to look at the patients and tell them that Kaiser Permanente was going to take care of them was incredible,” said development director Melissa Johnson, who volunteered three days at the clinic. “It was very rewarding to work alongside the clinic staff, Kaiser Permanente staff and other volunteers. We were all working together toward the one goal of serving patients in need. The commitment I saw in the Seattle/King County Clinic volunteers and the Kaiser Permanente providers was truly inspiring!”
The annual Seattle/King County Clinic will return in October 2018.