PORT ANGELES — Olympic Medical Center can’t stay the same and expect to survive, its top administrator said Thursday.
“Doing it by ourselves is going to be almost impossible in the days of this health care reform and all the changes around electronic medical records and the changes around the way care is delivered,” OMC Chief Executive Officer Eric Lewis said in the first of two forums on a proposed affiliation with Swedish Medical Center.
“I think we know we have to change.”
In late summer or early fall, the respective boards of OMC, Jefferson Healthcare and Forks Community Hospital will consider approving a 20-year contractual relationship with Seattle-based Swedish Medical Center.
Lewis said the affiliation would likely extend past the initial term.
The proposed affiliation is not a merger. The North Olympic Peninsula hospitals would remain independent and community-owned.
Instead, they would become the first members of the Swedish Health Network. The network would provide local patients with care they can’t get on the Peninsula.
“If we look at the big services we need — things like cardiology, neurology, orthopedics — Swedish has great ability to help us,” Lewis said.
“Also on subspecialty services like sleep medicine, endocrinology, rheumatology: Swedish has great capabilities to expand local services and have specialty services in Seattle.”
Swedish would help Peninsula hospitals recruit doctors and make key improvements, such as electronic medical records.
Savings would come in several forms, including bulk purchases of medical supplies.
Swedish uses Epic electronic medical records, which Lewis described as “the most advanced” system on the market.
“Medicare came back with a new requirement of going to electronic medical records, and rather than us trying to do that ourselves, we wanted to work with a partner,” Lewis told a Port Angeles audience of 24, none of whom spoke against the proposal.
Electronic records
“The ultimate goal is to be on the same electronic medical records as our partner, and Jefferson Healthcare, Olympic Medical Center and Forks would all be on the same system,” he said.
“That’s a long-term vision, and I think it would really add a lot to our patients’ and our communities’ ability to get the care they need.”
Marcel Loh, senior vice president and chief administrative officer of Swedish’s Cherry Hill hospital in downtown Seattle, which specializes in cardiology and neurology, described the affiliation with OMC as “equally exciting for Swedish.”
“We want to help communities, and community hospitals keep patients close to home,” Loh said.
“When they need services that aren’t provided in the local community, we want to have a seamless way to help facilitate those kind of services so we have that connectivity.”
The local hospitals would pay a yet-to-be-determined membership fee to join the network.
A second forum was held Thursday evening in Sequim.
A third forum will be held Wednesday at 6 p.m. in Linkletter Hall in the basement of the Port Angeles hospital, 939 E. Caroline St.
At a joint board meeting in Chelan in June 2010, OMC, Jefferson Healthcare and Forks Community Hospital decided to send a request for proposals to seven Puget Sound-area hospitals.
All seven responded.
“We really wanted a collaborative, long-term relationship with somebody who could present the best possibilities for the future,” Lewis said.
“Although we got seven great proposals — and all seven were really good — Swedish really stood out,” he said.
“Probably the single most important thing was mission and culture fit.
“I think we really found a good match.”
Officials from all three local hospitals took site visits to the seven medical centers before selecting Swedish.
“We had quite a process with a lot of involvement, and at the end of the day in March, it was very clear that Swedish Medical Center was the first choice of an affiliate,” Lewis said.
The Peninsula hospitals last spring signed nonbinding letters of intent to partner with Swedish.
OMC, Jefferson Healthcare and Forks Community Hospital are working out the details of the agreement this summer.
“We expect a final agreement maybe in September,” Lewis said.
“It’s complex because we’re doing this for the first time, and I think Swedish and us are taking the time to do it right because we’re establishing a long-term relationship.”
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-417-3537 or at rob.ollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com
