PORT ANGELES — Two candidates competing for a seat on the Olympic Medical Center board shared contrasting yet overlapping visions on how to stabilize the public hospital, maintain local control and exercise caution in pursuing an outside affiliation.
Tara Coffin and Dr. Carleen Bensen, who are seeking the Position 4 seat in Hospital District 2, discussed their approaches to addressing the hospital’s financial troubles and ensuring continued access to health care for Clallam County residents.
Coffin, who holds a doctorate in public health and a master’s degree in special education from the University of Washington, said her background in health communication and community-based research has shaped her holistic view of rural health care challenges.
“How can we implement innovative approaches to improving health and access to care for historically marginalized communities, including rural places like Clallam County and Port Angeles?” she asked.
Coffin cited an example from research involving an intergenerational care model that combined preschool and elder-care facilities — and even chickens — to promote social connection and wellness.
“They looked at the community, saw a specific public health need and thought of a creative way to address it,” she said.
Bensen, a urologist who began practicing in Port Angeles in 1992, said her decades of medical and leadership experience have positioned her to help guide OMC through a challenging period.
“I’ve been the chief of surgery and the chief of staff,” she said. “That enabled me to work very closely with the administration, so I have a pretty good idea of how that all works.”
Bensen said she initially returned from retirement in 2023 to help the urology clinic manage a backlog of patients. That experience, she said, reminded her of how much she valued patient care — and of how vital OMC is to the community.
“The hospital has some serious problems,” she said. “My first goal was to get it to pass the state inspection so we wouldn’t lose Medicare. We seem to be past that. The next thing we need to do is dig out of the fiscal hole the hospital has gotten itself into.”
Both candidates agreed that OMC’s role as the county’s largest employer make its financial stability essential to the area’s economy.
Bensen recalled the closure of the Rayonier mill in 1997 as an example of how devastating the loss of a major employer can be.
“We can’t let that kind of thing happen again,” she said.
Both candidates expressed qualified support for OMC’s ongoing discussions with UW Medicine about a potential affiliation.
Coffin said she favored the idea, citing UW’s national leadership in medicine and public health research, particularly in rural health.
Bensen said she was “in favor with a caveat” with partnering with UW Medicine, stressing that the details of any agreement had to be transparent and protect local control.
She recounted her prior experience with UW when OMC contracted with the university for emergency urology consultations.
“It was a great service,” she said. “But they couldn’t always take our sickest patients because they didn’t have beds. So, we have to be very careful.”
Coffin and Bensen also noted that Valley Medical Center, a public hospital in Renton, ended its affiliation with UW Medicine this summer — a move they said merits close attention before any final decision is made.
If talks with UW Medicine fall through, Bensen said she is cautious of private equity ownership, citing Harvard research that showed high mortality and infection rates at hospitals acquired by private firms. She also raised concerns about religious-affiliated systems that could limit access to reproductive care.
Coffin agreed, saying any contingency plan must preserve access to essential care and keep clinicians from leaving.
“We can’t just hope it doesn’t happen,” she said. “We need a plan to preserve our health care culture and community values.”
Both candidates emphasized that rebuilding trust and maintaining compliance — after recent state inspections placed OMC at risk of losing Medicare funding — would be crucial to restoring stability.
The District 4 seat is open following the retirement of longtime commissioner Jean Hordyk, who served for 30 years. It is a six-year term. Ballots are due by 8 p.m. Nov. 4.
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Reporter Paula Hunt can be reached by email at paula.hunt@peninsuladailynews.com.
