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Reflections From Olympia
By Michelle Terry, MD
Secretary, King County Medical Society
Dear Members and Partners,
Children do not vote or lobby. They do not write op-eds. They naturally grow - into the future we will all share. It is our responsibility, as the adults in the room, to nurture the environment that supports our children so that the future is sound. The health of children is not a side issue; it is the ground on which every other civic hope stands. In King County, we are fortunate to have skilled clinicians, committed families, and a community that deeply cares for its youngest members. But caring, by itself, is not enough. Children need systems that work, systems that are consistent, fair, and built with them in mind.
Medicaid: A Lifeline
For many families, Medicaid is the front door to pediatric care. It ensures children can see a doctor when they are sick, and just as importantly, when they are well. It keeps clinics open, supports prevention, and allows pediatricians to do what they do best: help children thrive. Protecting Medicaid means protecting the everyday health of nearly 40% of Washington's children.
Immunizations: A Public Trust
Vaccines remain among the most reliable tools we have to keep children safe. As missed vaccinations continue to affect coverage across the state, strong immunization programs matter more than ever. When we vaccinate children, we protect not only individual lives but the whole community. This is a straightforward, evidence-based truth. We vaccinate to prevent disease for which there are limited treatments.
Mental Health: The Quiet Crisis
Children’s mental health deserves the same attention as broken bones and fevers. Pediatricians across Washington report rising needs and strained systems. Emotional well-being shapes how children learn, connect, and grow into independent adults. Access to behavioral health care must be early, compassionate, and consistent.
Social Determinants of Health: The World Around the Child
A child’s health is shaped not only in exam rooms, but in homes, schools, parks, and neighborhoods. Safe housing, nutritious food, clean air, and stability matter as much as any prescription. Improving these conditions is not abstract policy—it is the practical work of giving every child a fair chance. Children cannot build these systems themselves. They depend on us—clinicians, policymakers, parents, and neighbors—to keep the path ahead clear. KCMS stands with our partners across Washington in urging continued investment in Medicaid, immunization programs, mental health supports, and the conditions that allow children to grow well. If we do this work right, our children will not need to thank us. They will simply grow up healthy, ready, and able to make discoveries and contributions to make our world better. And that will be thanks enough.
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Untraceable Firearms and Public Health Why HB 2320 Matters
By Gregory Engel, MD | KCMS Member
In January 2026, a Seattle man was sentenced to 27 months in federal prison after authorities discovered he had turned his apartment into a makeshift gun workshop. Investigators recovered more than 25 firearms, including 20 privately made, unregistered ghost guns, along with more than 100 devices capable of converting pistols into automatic weapons. The case underscores a growing public safety problem: firearms that can be assembled at home while bypassing serial numbers, background checks, and long-standing safety regulations.
House Bill 2320 addresses this specific and preventable risk. The bill focuses on untraceable firearms, including ghost guns assembled from unfinished parts and certain 3D-printed weapons that cannot be traced if stolen or used in a crime. Importantly, HB 2320 does not affect law-abiding gun owners or firearms that are already legally manufactured and owned. Instead, it closes a technological gap created by increasingly accessible home-based manufacturing tools.
Firearm injury and death remain a major public health concern in Washington State. Roughly 70 percent of firearm deaths in our state are suicides. HB 2320 is not designed as a suicide-prevention measure; suicide prevention depends on timely mental health care, crisis intervention, safe storage practices, and, when necessary, temporary separation from lethal means.
Homicides account for much of the remaining firearm mortality. National studies show that firearms used in violent crime are frequently acquired illegally or diverted from lawful channels. Untraceable firearms complicate investigations, undermine accountability, and provide no public safety benefit.
These concerns are not new to the medical community. In 2018, the King County Medical Society adopted a resolution recognizing ghost guns and other untraceable firearms as an emerging public health risk, citing the absence of serial numbers and the ease with which functional weapons can be assembled outside legal channels. HB 2320 reflects the same evidence-based logic, updated for rapid advances in manufacturing technology.
Youth access further underscores the need for preventive regulation. Maker technologies, including 3D printers and computer-controlled milling equipment, are increasingly available in schools, libraries, and community spaces. Children and adolescents are curious, technically capable, and often unaware of downstream risks. Limiting the creation of untraceable firearms acknowledges this reality without criminalizing curiosity or innovation.
At the same time, legislation alone is insufficient to reduce firearm injury and death. Washington has passed a dozen major gun safety measures over the past decade, yet firearm purchasing and concealed carry have increased sharply, and firearm deaths in our state have doubled. Regulation is necessary, but it must be paired with prevention.
This points to a critical gap: education. Firearms are now the leading cause of death among children and adolescents in the United States, yet Washington does not provide consistent, developmentally appropriate education on firearm injury prevention. Youth, parents, clinicians, and communities are often left without the tools to understand risk, practice safe storage, recognize warning signs, or intervene effectively.
HB 2320 should be understood within this broader framework. It is a targeted safety measure that addresses a clear and preventable source of harm. Reducing firearm injury and death in Washington will require sustained investment in mental health services, community-based prevention, and public education. HB 2320 is not a substitute for those efforts, but it is a reasonable and necessary step forward, grounded in public health principles and aligned with the medical community’s long-standing concerns about untraceable firearms.
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PAID ADVERTISEMENTFamily Care Network
Family Care Network started its journey in the mid-1980s, when a group of local, independent family practice physicians came together to form an independent practice association called Whatcom Health Associates (WHA). In 1998, the members of WHA voted to dissolve and reorganize as a group practice named Family Care Network.
In the ensuing years, Family Care Network has become well respected and, as the largest single-specialty group practice, is a leading force within the local medical community.
The Family Care Approach
We formed Family Care Network to provide the best possible primary healthcare for families here in our corner of Northwest Washington, as well as to give our providers the resources and support they need to succeed. As a locally owned and independently operated healthcare network, we’re free to focus on what matters most — the health and well-being of our patients.
We are passionate about our community’s well-being. We take the time to build strong, long-term relationships with our patients. Our goal is optimal health through all ages and stages of life, from pregnancy through adulthood. By offering comprehensive primary care to the entire family, we’re better able to understand the issues affecting each family member so we can incorporate it into the care of the individual
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Physicians Decide the Future of Medicine
While the 2026 legislative session is still in full swing, we are preparing for the next KCMS Delegate Council.
You advocate for patients every day. The Delegate Council is where that advocacy moves beyond the bedside and into policy.
The KCMS Delegate Council is the physician voice of King County. It is where physicians debate and adopt positions that shape legislation, scope of practice, public health policy, reimbursement, and the professional standards that govern our work.
If you have ever said:
• “This system is not working for my patients.”
• “Prior authorization is delaying care.”
• “Policy makers do not understand clinical reality.”
• “Physicians need to lead this conversation.”
Then you belong in the Delegate Council.
Why Serve?
Protect the Integrity of Medical Practice
Ensure clinical decisions remain grounded in physician judgment.
Influence Statewide Policy
KCMS positions inform action at the state level.
Represent Your Specialty
Bring real-world experience and professional insight to the policy table.
Lead with Your Peers
Engage in serious, solution-focused dialogue with fellow physicians.
Who Should Consider Serving?
Practicing physicians across all specialties and settings.
Non-practicing, retired, physicians whose experience and perspective remain invaluable.
Early-career physicians who want a voice.
Experienced physicians ready to mentor and lead.
No prior policy experience required. Just clinical insight, professional experience, and commitment.
Medicine Needs Physician Leadership.
Step Into the Room.
To express interest in serving on the KCMS Delegate Council, email:
info@kcmsociety.org
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Purchase Some Medical History
For decades, KCMS has stewarded a remarkable collection of historic medical and scientific books, volumes that trace the evolution of medicine from bedside observation to modern science.
This year, KCMS is offering an opportunity to bring some history into your library.
In collaboration with Collins Rare Books of Seattle, more than 150 titles dating from the 1600s through the early 1900s are being offered for sale. Proceeds directly support KCMS’s nonprofit mission.
The collection includes landmark works in anatomy, surgery, epidemiology, forensic medicine, and public health by physicians and scientists whose influence continues to shape clinical practice today, including Robert Boyle, William Harvey, Robert Koch, Henry Gray, Sir Astley Cooper, and Herman Boerhaave.
Additional titles span World War II battlefield medicine and Depression-era home medical guides, offering a compelling record of how physicians and patients confronted uncertainty, disease, and discovery across generations.
Those interested in viewing the full list of available titles or purchasing a book are invited to contact KCMS at info@kcmsociety.org. Availability is limited.
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SAVE THE DATEVolunteer Information
The next clinic will be held April 23 – 26, 2026 at Seattle Center.
Event registration is OPEN.
The region’s largest volunteer-driven clinic provides free dental, vision, & medical care to people in need.
Since 2014, this volunteer-powered event has provided $30 million in free dental, vision, and medical care to over 33,000 patients. The clinic depends on volunteers like you to make this vital community service possible for people who face barriers to care. Create or update your volunteer account today to get notified when event registration opens: seattlecenter.org/volunteers
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