News Release
November 30, 2022
Media Contacts:
Daniel Pulse, Discovery Health MD | [email protected] | (509) 969-9334
Discovery Health MD Business Services Reduction
Seattle, Wash. – Discovery Health MD (DHMD) has been in operation serving the Maritime industry since 2016. In October DHMD made the difficult decision to reduce business services and scale down operations. This change is resulting in ceasing operations of the SeaDoc, Fitness for Duty, and Mobile Medical programs. The Fitness for Duty and Mobile Medical programs end will be effective Friday, December 30, 2022. The SeaDoc program’s services are planned to be complete by April 2023 which allows DHMD to fulfill contractual obligations and ensure that existing clients are successfully transitioned to new service providers.
Additionally, Discovery Health will cease operations of the COVID-19 vaccination operations at the South Hill Mall location in Puyallup. The last day for this service will be Wednesday, December 28, 2022.
DHMD plans to continue to offer its assistance to the Maritime industry in providing medical oversight through its controlled substances program, and its sister company, MD Solutions International (MDSI), which provides lifesaving solutions to businesses through AED program oversight. Additionally, the Controlled Substances program that began in 2011 will continue to support its clients and vessels.
According to Dr. Ann Jarris, “It has been a privilege to work in this industry and we are grateful to the clients we have worked with over the years. Our mission has always been to provide the highest quality medical support at sea and the relationships we have built with the on-board medical providers and shore-based staff are very meaningful to us. We will work to ensure a smooth transition for our clients and will remain involved in the maritime industry in a smaller role.”
Quick History of DHMD:
Discovery Health MD (DHMD) started in 2016 as a two-person team and was founded by Drs. Ray and Ann Jarris on the principle of immediate access to expert medical advice and equitable access to services – specific for the Maritime industry. Working closely with vessel owners, medical officers, and insurers to fully understand the work environment and needs of the crew, they repeatedly saw the benefit of early access to expert medical advice.
In Fall of 2018 DHMD launched what is now known as the SeaDoc program. Since that time DHMD professional staff and physicians have helped with nearly 600 incidents each year.
DHMD launched their Fitness for Duty (FFD) program in 2017 in order to provide comprehensive preventative services. DHMD committed to studying the root causes of injury and illness, plus implementing strategies to keep mariners healthy at sea and on land, resulting in saving companies money with fewer operational disruptions and improved overall health for seafarers.
Responding to the needs of COVID-19
DHMD was one of the first companies at the forefront of the pandemic response, putting together their first testing program in April of 2020 to support continued operations for the Northern Fish Fleets and maritime communities of Washington and Alaska. DHMD then expanded operations to provide a broad array of testing and vaccination services, growing rapidly in 2020 and 2021 to assist with the COVID-19 pandemic response to meet the needs in Washington state.
In October of 2020 DHMD opened the first of 8 COVID-19 testing sites for consumer travelers, including the first testing location at SeaTac airport.
Dr. Jarris notes, “Because Seattle was the epicenter of the COVID outbreak in the US, both the Washington Department of Health and University of Washington were at the forefront of testing and treatment. We were able to build great relationships with local public health stakeholders and use those resources to assist the Pacific Northwest and Alaska fishing fleets with building protocols to continue to operate throughout the pandemic.”
At the height of the pandemic DHMD employed over 300 employees and was operating in partnership with both the Washington Department of Health and local health districts, providing COVID-19 Public/Community testing sites statewide.
DHMD has operated several COVID-19 Vaccination sites in Pierce County, which have continued to serve the needs for the greater south-end community. To date DHMD’s drive-through sites, static sites, and mobile teams have administered approximately 200,000 COVID-19 Vaccinations.
During the time of March 2020 to October 2022 DHMD supported the greater community by providing essential services in the battle against the pandemic. As the needs for these services has significantly reduced, the company ended its Community COVID-19 Testing locations on September 30, 2022, and its consumer testing locations in mid-October.
Continuing to give back to the community:
As the company is scaling down our commitment to giving back to the community has not lessened. To date (November 2022) DHMD has donated 17,000 items valued at $152,000 to various local not-for-profit agencies including: ARTWERKS, Community Kitchen, Kiwanis, Seattle Public Schools, Thurston County Food Bank, and The Reading Foundation, just to name a few.
More inventory is planned for donation and other items are being sold to businesses in need. If you are interested in a potential donation and/or purchase for your organization, please contact: [email protected].