Ocean Beach Hospital in Ilwaco is presenting a bond proposal to voters a second time.

ILWACO — As consideration and planning of a potential $10 million bond continues among Ocean Beach Hospital officials, one possible project that the bond would fund if it receives the blessing from voters has, unsurprisingly, generated more interest than others: the renovation and expansion of OBH’s Ilwaco clinic to house an urgent care clinic.

If the hospital district’s board of commissioners move forward with a bond proposal, and if the proposal includes the project to establish an urgent care clinic, and if local voters give the bond a supermajority-level of support, it would be one of the most significant health care developments on the Long Beach Peninsula in the 21st century.

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The insurance co-pay for many emergency room visits tops $1,000, while the average urgent care visit is about $150.

The prospective construction of a dedicated space for an urgent care clinic was not explicitly mentioned when OBH first announced this summer that it was considering running a bond in 2023. But it has since become one of the bond’s focal points, as the hospital says its most recent assessment of community health needs shows an urgent care clinic is essential to increase local access to health care.

Urgent care vs. ERScot Attridge, who took over as CEO of OBH this summer following Larry Cohen’s retirement, says urgent care is a less expensive and less time-consuming option for medical treatments that aren’t life-threatening, but also probably shouldn’t be put off until an appointment with a primary care provider can be scheduled potentially weeks down the road.

“It’s less expensive for the patient — and the hospital, for that matter — to be able to take care of bumps and bruises or sniffles in that setting, as opposed to the emergency department,” Attridge said. “All of it circles around just access to quality health care in the rural setting, and we feel that rural residents deserve that same kind of access and care that our urban counterparts get in larger cities, and urgent care is definitely one of those. In rural communities, it’s not as common.”

OBH says the insurance co-pay for many emergency room visits tops $1,000, while the average urgent care visit is about $150 — with the actual cost depending on an individual’s insurance plan. Common reasons for an urgent care visit include a sore throat, fever and cold, moderate flu-like symptoms, earaches, strains or sprains, small cuts, mild burns and rashes.

Aside from the potentially significant cost savings, expanded hours of operation and the ability to accommodate walk-ins and last-minute appointments are also a calling card for urgent care clinics over standard medical clinics. Urgent care locations typically stay open past regular business hours during the week, and are often open on weekends when the offices of primary care providers are closed.

Currently, peninsula and south county residents have to travel across the river into Oregon to access an urgent care facility, which can be upwards of a two-hour round trip for north peninsula residents.

Aiming for AprilAs it stands, OBH staff is expected to present a resolution to the hospital’s board of commissioners for them to consider at their December meeting and ultimately decide whether to move ahead with running a bond in 2023. If they do, Attridge said the bond would likely be eyed for the April special election ballot.

Along with establishing an urgent care clinic, which carries an estimated cost of $2 million when paired with the renovation of the Ilwaco clinic, other potential bond projects under consideration include: the renovation and/or expansion of OBH’s nursing station, pharmacy, patient rooms and bathrooms at $1.95 million; upgrade imaging equipment such as CT scans, MRIs and C-Arm for $1.5 million; overhaul the hospital’s HVAC system and add energy efficiency measures for $1.5 million; expand the Wellness and Rehabilitation Center to include cardio and pulmonary services for $765,000; and $650,000 to purchase and develop additional clinic space.

Attridge added that OBH is also looking at adding a procedure room and the needed equipment at its Ocean Park clinic, which he said would increase access to women’s health as well as other procedures. “It’d be nice to have that on the north end of the peninsula.”

At an expected initial rate of $0.17 per $1,000 of assessed property value, the rate amount for a $10 million bond would be about half of the previous rate for the last bond that local voters approved in 2000, which was $0.35 and came off the books in 2021. The current total assessed value of private real estate in the hospital district is $2.64 billion, up from less than $1 billion in 2000.

At the proposed rate, the tax bill for a family whose home has an assessed value of $400,000 would be $68 annually, or about $5.70 per month.

If the board opts to run a bond, Attridge said he expects there to be robust public outreach with community groups and individuals to share the facts about the district’s proposal and receive feedback in the lead-up to the election.

“What we need to do is be transparent and be able to provide the facts and just the details of what we’re doing, so the public can make an informed decision,” Attridge said. “We want them to understand the issues and what we’re asking long before they get [their ballot] in the mail.”