It’s common for Grays Harbor residents to have to leave the area and drive an hour or two to seek medical services, especially for specific types of care, like someone to examine a potential problem with your veins or heart. Those problems lead to a higher rate of disease-related death in Grays Harbor County than many other places in the state.
While people in need of vascular surgery will still need to travel to Olympia, new vein and artery specialists at a revamped clinic in Aberdeen hope to catch issues before they reach the life-threatening stage.
“What we have observed for a long time is the Aberdeen and Grays Harbor and Pacific counties patients really deserve access to high quality, modern, full service, 24/7 vascular care,” said Dr. Thomas Curry, the lead vascular surgeon at the new Providence Swedish Vascular Surgery Aberdeen clinic, which will split time between cardiology and vascular assessments. “We think that our being out here is going to be a lot better for our patients, especially for those who have trouble driving or don’t want to make that trip. We can deliver the care they need in the community where they live.”
According to Curry, physicians at the clinic, which opened in December, can diagnose a range of diseases related to problems with the vascular network, including carotid arteries, peripheral vascular disease, aneurysms and varicose veins. Using a vascular ultrasound machine, a technician trained in echocardiography can examine images of blood flow and vein function.
A building located at 1921 Sumner Ave. will serve as a vascular clinic for two days per week — Wednesdays and Fridays — while a cardiology clinic, for heart-related problems, will function on the other three weekdays.
Curry said Providence has already been providing cardiology services at the Aberdeen clinic for about 10 years. When Parker Wood, who runs the Olympic Family Dental practice in Aberdeen, bought the building in the last few years to move in his practice, he partnered with Providence to help accommodate vascular services there. Providence will move into a new section of the building within the next few weeks.
The Providence Vascular Surgery group, established in 2016 in Olympia, includes four fellowship trained surgeons, a physician’s associate and an advanced practice nurse. Surgeries are performed at St. Peter hospital in Olympia. According to a press release, the group is the only vascular surgery team that provides the full range of services and at all times of day and night in the South Puget Sound, and now Aberdeen.
Sara Witecki, a nurse practitioner and vascular surgery specialist with the group, said people with vascular needs in Grays Harbor were previously referred to the Interstate 5 corridor. Providence’s vascular team serves about 1,000 people from the Grays Harbor area in Olympia, according to a press release.
“This (clinic in Aberdeen) is a great way for people to access care initially locally here in Grays Harbor and then if they do need advanced inpatient treatment, they can hopefully start getting that more in Thurston County,” Witecki said.
While lower than the state’s top numbers, Grays Harbor County’s death rate from stroke is above state average, at 72 per 100,000 people, according to the Center for Disease Control. Carotid arteries are present in up to one-fifth of all stroke victims, according to a paper published in the National Institutes of Health.
Grays Harbor County also has the fifth-highest rate of heart disease-related deaths in Washington.
Strokes are responsible for 3% of all deaths in Grays Harbor County, according to Grays Harbor County Public Health’s most recent community health needs assessment. Heart disease is the culprit for 12% of deaths. For comparison, cancer is responsible for 21% of deaths.
“Both nationally and at the state level, the vascular surgery community looks very hard at where the disease is, where are patients that have that, and what is preventing them from getting care,” Curry said.
Curry said it’s possible the vascular clinic could expand beyond its initial two-day-per-week model if the need continues to grow.
“As it grows, we will grow,” he said.
For vascular clinic scheduling call Providence Olympia Vascular Surgery at 360-493-7444.
Contact reporter Clayton Franke at 406-552-3917 or clayton.franke@thedailyworld.com.
Clayton Franke / The Daily World A new wing on a medical services building on Sumner Avenue in Aberdeen will house Providence Medical Center’s new vascular clinic, as well as continue to provide cardiology services. Providence will move into the new area within the next few weeks.
