Important Update about UW Lopez Primary Care Clinic

To the Lopez Island Community from the Lopez Island Hospital District and Catherine Washburn Medical Association

Today, June 30, 2025, we were informed by our partners at UW Primary Care that the University of Washington will not be renewing its contract with the Lopez Island Hospital District (LIHD) and Catherine Washburn Medical Association (CWMA) to manage the UW Lopez Island Clinic once the contract expires in one year from today on June 30, 2026. Read the letter below from UW Medicine to learn more.

While we have been aware that UW Medicine, like many health systems across the country, is experiencing funding challenges due to state and federal cuts, this decision came as a surprise—not only to LIHD, CWMA, and Clinic staff, but also to the UW administrative team we regularly work with to operate the Clinic.

UW is preparing a press release with more information about its decision, which will be available in a few days.

For questions specific to the UW decision, please contact: Lindsey Pervinich, Administrator of Finance and Strategic Planning, UW Medicine, at lbberger@uw.edu.

The LIHD Board of Commissioners and the CWMA Board have already begun work to develop a plan to secure a new partner to manage the Lopez Clinic. We are committed to ensuring that primary care remains available on Lopez Island and are actively seeking input from leaders in health care.

We ask for your patience and support as we undertake this important work. Transitioning clinic management is a complex process, and while it will take time, we are moving forward with urgency and care. We are also committed to keeping the community informed and involved with their input.

LIHD will have a Special Meeting tomorrow at 4:30 pm by Zoom for the Board to discuss next steps. Information on this meeting, along with updates, will be posted on Lopez Island Hospital District website, the Lopez Island Hospital District Facebook page, and Lopez Rocks.

With appreciation,

Lopez Island Hospital District and Catherine Washburn Medical Association

Letter received today, June 30, 2025, from UW Medicine Administration:

To the Lopez Island Hospital District:

UW Medicine has been proud to provide high-quality primary care to the residents of Lopez Island since 2017. As your partners in health, we have been dedicated to delivering patient-centered care and bringing new services and health technology to the community.

Due to the financial uncertainty that our health system is facing around federal and state funding as well as a significant loss we incur each year in operating the clinic, we are unable to commit to the automatic three-year contract renewal that is scheduled to go into effect next year. As a result, we are providing our Notice of Termination in accordance with the one-year advance notification stipulation in the Clinical Services Agreement. This document is attached.

We will work closely with you to determine more viable options for the clinic and to coordinate information sharing with the Lopez Island community when appropriate. We also want to assure you that we will continue to provide high quality care and operate the clinic for the remainder of the current contract.

We thank you for your partnership and look forward to charting the future of the clinic with you.

Sincerely,

Chesna Briceno, Interim Associate Administrator

UW Medicine Primary Care

Lindsey Pervinich, Administrator of Finance and Strategic Planning

UW Medicine Primary Care