Western Washington Area Health Education Center
2033 Sixth Avenue, Ste. 310
Seattle, WA 98121
Ph: 206.441.7137
Fax: 206.441.7158
Volunteer/Retired Providers
Malpractice Insurance Program
Health
Professionals/
Student Placement
Volunteer/Retired
Providers Program
Approved Sites
Volunteer
Resource Toolbox
Legislation
Spotlight
Statewide Office
of Rural Health
Community Health
Assessment, Planning
& Development
Primary Care
Provider Recruitment
WWAHEC
2033 Sixth Avenue, Ste. 310
Seattle, WA 98121
Ph: 206.441.7137
Fax: 206.441.7158
Health
Professionals/
Student Placement
Volunteer/Retired
Providers Program
Approved Sites
Volunteer
Resource Toolbox
Legislation
Spotlight
Statewide Office
of Rural Health
Community Health
Assessment, Planning
& Development
Are you a medical, dental or mental health professional, interested in providing volunteer service? Are you a clinic providing care to underserved patients, wishing to utilize volunteers? If so, you are fortunate to live in Washington state. The Volunteer/Retired Providers (VRP) Program is a unique program designed to support you, funded by the Department of Health.
The VRP Program encourages health care volunteers in Washington state by paying the malpractice insurance premiums for those providing non-invasive care to underserved patients. Volunteers who only use their Washington professional license for volunteer work are additionally eligible for free license renewal. All professional license and malpractice insurance costs, other than late fees and testing fees, are covered by the Washington state Department of Health.
Eligible professionals include:
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Dentists
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Doctors
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Dental Hygienists
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Nurse Practitioners
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Physician Assistants
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Pharmacists
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Registered Nurses
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Licensed Mental Health Providers
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Other Healthcare Professionals Deemed in Short Supply by the Department of Health
There is no minimum number of service hours required of volunteers. Providers must be licensed in Washington state. Currently, non-invasive primary and specialty care is covered under the malpractice insurance.
Clinics wishing to utilize VRP-insured volunteers must be approved by our program. A list of all currently approved VRP sites is included below.
The approval process is very simple. The VRP site application form is included below. Please contact Christine Lindquist, Program Coordinator at christine@wwahec.org or (206) 441-7137 for assistance or if you have questions about the application process. Applications may be completed over the phone and faxed to the clinic for final review and signature. The site approval process generally takes 30 minutes.
Individuals or groups wishing to volunteer may contact Christine Lindquist, Program Coordinator, at christine@wwahec.org or (206) 441-7137 for malpractice insurance application packets or assistance. Malpractice insurance takes 3-5 weeks from the date of application to become activated.
WWAHEC has compiled the Volunteers Expanding Access to Health Care: A Resource Toolbox. This handbook was designed to support managers of clinics in identifying, recruiting and maintaining a cadre of volunteers.
At the core of the toolbox are five separate - but closely related - categories that broadly identify the kind of tools you find in those sections: Mobilization, Motivation, Integration, Communication and Recognition. The Introduction was written to help clinics and volunteers stimulate their thinking about their volunteer programs and to begin to identify parts of their programs which might require attention or be a good place to begin when making changes. It also contains a complete table of contents. Managers might find the Additional Resources/Bibliography helpful for gathering information, forms and activities.
Feel free to reproduce the portions of the Toolbox you need. You will need Adobe Acrobat to download these documents.
The Federal Tort Claims Act and the Good Samaritan Law also provide avenues of support for volunteer/free clinic malpractice protection. This chart compares all three programs. You will need Adobe Acrobat to download this document.
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The Washington Volunteer/Retired* Providers Malpractice Insurance Program is funded by the Washington State Department of Health and managed through the Western Washington Area Health Education Center.
*The definition of "retired" has been expanded to include providers with site-specific malpractice insurance coverage.
For more information, to sign up as a participating provider, or to request a clinic application, please contact Christine Lindquist at WWAHEC..
WWAHEC
2033 Sixth Avenue, Ste. 310
Seattle, WA 98121
Ph: 206.441.7137
Fax: 206.441.7158
or
Page updated 07/14/07