Lives Well Lived - The Vashon Model: A Community-based Response

Vashon Heritage Museum History Talks

The Vashon Heritage Museum, in partnership with Vashon Community Care, presents "Lives Well Lived - The Vashon Model: A Community-based Response to COVID." In this monthly installment of VHM's Museum Talk series, we will hear from Vashon community leaders who helped spearhead the Vashon Medical Reserve Corp's testing and vaccine response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and how they made Vashon Island a positive example for rural communities across the nation.

*Poster Credit: “The Nose Knows” by Mik Kuhlman and Patricia Toovey. The nose was originally made by UMO Ensemble. Performers in the photo are (left to right) Lynelle Sjoberg, Janet McAlpin, David Godsey, and Mik Kuhlman. Photo by Michelle Bates, 2020.

Moderator Bio:

Susan McCabe abandoned corporate life in Chicago to move to Vashon and wallow in the arts -- theatre, literature, radio and TV. Since landing here she's established Shakespeare in the Park, written and performed a one-woman show and comedy sketches with Island variety show Church of Great Rain. She produced/stage managed Drama Dock's Into The Woods and Kat Eggleston's Cyclone Line. For five years she managed Voice of Vashon's Radio & TV station, and continues to host her own weekly talk show, REALTalk.

PRESENTER BIOS:

Jim Bristow, MD is a semi-retired physician-scientist. He is a graduate of Harvard Medical School and was a practicing pediatric cardiologist at UCSF until his retirement in 2015.  He served as Deputy Director of the Department of Energy's genomics facility in Berkeley, CA and he remains a senior advisor to the Biosciences Area at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.  He now co-directs the Vashon MRC with Dr. Olney.

Ina Oppliger, MD is a board certified rheumatologist. She completed medical school and internal medicine residency at the University of Kansas, followed by a fellowship in Rheumatology at the University of Washington. She was a clinical associate professor at the University of Washington and staff physician at Group Health Permanente, Medical Group where she served on the Board of Directors. She is past co-director of the Vashon MRC and a Pierce County MRC volunteer for the past two years.

Clayton J Olney, DO was a PA and EMT practicing in a Houston suburb for two years prior to medical school. His DO degree was conferred in 1993 and he completed Pediatric residency and a Neonatal fellowship at the University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston. He has more than 20 years of experience in neonatal medicine with concomitant medical staff leadership experience in Houston, Dallas and Tacoma. In 2017 he accepted a civilian neonatal appointment that includes training pediatric residents at Madigan Army Medical Center. He now co-directs the Vashon MRC with Dr. Bristow.

Jinna Risdal, PhD is a retired Therapist, Educator, and Administrator who lives on Vashon Island. She is a graduate of University of Colorado and Union Graduate School. As School Counseling Program Coordinator, she facilitated the design, development, and implementation of a Comprehensive School Counseling Program in a large, highly diverse urban school district. She wrote federal grants to increase funding for mental health resources in the district and served as the lead for the Crisis Team. As Coordinator for the Homeless Students Education Program, she ensured that the McKinney-Vento legislation mandates were implemented and wrote federal grants to increase program support. Jinna developed prevention curricula and taught graduate courses in School Counseling at several universities. Jinna is currently the Lead for the Community Care Team, the Mental Health division of the Medical Reserve Core under VashonBePrepared.