PORT ANGELES — Three candidates for two Olympic Medical Center hospital commission seats agreed Monday that biggest issue facing the public hospital district is the economy.
“There’s a great danger of us being forced out of business,” said Dr. John Miles, an incumbent commissioner, during the last of four weekly Port Angeles Regional Chamber of Commerce political forums at the Red Lion Hotel.
“If these’s cuts that have been mentioned take place, I don’t know how we can afford to continue stay in business.”
Miles was referring to future cuts to Medicare and the $5 million in state cuts that OMC could face in 2012.
“As commissioners, we’re trying to stir up the community — you — and everybody else in it to speak to your representatives,” said Miles, 81, a retired hospital administrator and physician.
“We literally will not be able to survive unless there’s a new method of payment to health care.”
Jack Slowriver, Miles’ opponent in the Nov. 8 election, agreed.
“Dr. Miles is correct I think to say that these are very difficult times,” said Slowriver, 34, a health care administrator and director of area services for Planned Parenthood of the Great Northwest.
“The hospital is $21 million in debt, and not forecast to meet a 4 percent operating margin, which Mr. [Eric] Lewis, the CEO, has determined to be a healthy place.
“And I think advocacy with our elected officials, both in Olympia and Washington D.C., is critical,” she said.
“I think that I could be absolutely effective as an advocate for our community.”
Also speaking at the noon luncheon was incumbent OMC Commissioner John Nutter.
Nutter’s opponent in the race for District 2, Position 1 — Jeanne LaBrecque, 63 — was unable to attend the forum, chamber President Jim Hallett said.
“I’m sorry my opponent couldn’t be here today,” said Nutter, 40.
“I am not a politician,” said the Port Angeles police officer, “and I can’t say a bad thing about her.
“She’s very bright, she’s very articulate, she has a lot of great knowledge,” he said.
“But where I differentiate myself from my opponent is I know the nuts and bolts [of OMC].”
Nutter became a financial analyst at OMC in 1997 and worked for 10 years in finance and operations before joining the Police Department.
Miles and Slowriver are running for the District 3, Position 2 seat.
All four candidates are from Port Angeles.
Slowriver said anxiety surrounding the debt ceiling debate last summer was “driven in large part by concerns of ballooning health care costs nationwide.”
“And our community is not exempt,” she said.
“I think the recent affiliation with Swedish Hospital was a brilliant move.”
OMC commissioners unanimously approved a 20-year affiliation agreement with Seattle-based Swedish Medical Center on Wednesday.
OMC will become the first member of the Swedish Health Network on Nov. 1. It will work closely with Swedish to expand medical services to the North Olympic Peninsula while cutting costs.
The Port Angeles hospital and its satellite clinics will stay locally owned and independent.
“We’ve made some tremendous gains,” said Nutter, citing the extension of the orthopedic program, neurology department, cancer center and “most excitingly, our recent affiliation with Swedish Medical Center, which is going to open up a whole lot of new doors.”
Miles has served on the boards of the Port Angeles Fine Arts Center, Olympic Peninsula Humane Society and the Friends of the Port Angeles Library since he moved to Port Angeles 13 years ago.
Miles he ran in a contested race to replace OMC board member Gary Smith in 2009.
“I’ve enjoyed it,” Miles said. “It’s been a hectic period, and going to get more hectic, I think, in the future because we’re facing some dire circumstances financially.”
Miles is the only medical doctor on the board. He said his experience is appreciated by his fellow board members and the OMC physicians.
“I hate to say this, but I’m going to say that I’ve saved the hospital about $3 million in the two years I’ve been on the board,” Miles said.
“That’s because I’m a doctor, and because I have some knowledge of the things that I was able to see through and convince the rest of the board to go along with.”
Miles said hospitals everywhere are facing “dramatic changes and challenges,” and his experience as a hospital administrator would benefit OMC.
Drawing on her own experience, Slowriver said she negotiated the merger of Family Planning of Clallam County with Planned Parenthood of the Great Northwest about a year ago. She said that merger reduced costs, expanded services and maintained “vital health care services for our uninsured and under-insured population in this county.”
After moving to Port Angeles in 2007, Slowriver worked as a social worker on behalf of abused and neglected children.
OMC gets 72 percent of its revenue from Medicare or Medicaid, but it isn’t paid the full cost of treating those patients. If it was paid cost, OMC would have had an extra $6 million last year.
Miles said part of the reason for the Swedish affiliation is to gain status of an “accountable care organization,” which Medicare will pay more.
Nutter said OMC is a “stuck in middle” because it is too big to be a critical access hospital — one with 25 beds or less — but too small to reap the benefits of having the high volumes of an urban hospital.
Asked if OMC should consider downsizing from 88 to 25 beds to become a critical access hospital, the candidates agreed that OMC couldn’t contract and still meet the community’s health care needs.
“I wouldn’t want to be the 26th patent,” Miles said.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-417-3537 or at rob.ollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
