PORT ANGELES — As patient volumes continue to lag, Olympic Medical Center has implemented a once-per-pay-period furlough day for about 190 non-union and management employees at the hospital in Port Angeles.
The non-direct patient-care employees will work 72 hours every two weeks rather than the standard 80 hours.
Nurses and other health care workers already adjust their schedules to meet patient volumes.
“This approach is modeled after staffing plans for direct-patient-care departments that routinely flex down during periods of low census,” OMC spokeswoman Bobby Beeman wrote in an email.
“By implementing this 72-hour pay period for non-direct patient care employees and managers, we are simply expanding this plan to encompass more than direct patient care departments.”
The pilot project, which took effect for the pay period beginning June 11, is expected to run through September, Beeman said.
The decision was made by hospital administration, not the elected board.
Chief Executive Officer Eric Lewis, who received a 10 percent raise by a unanimous commissioners’ vote Wednesday, was on a long-planned vacation and was not available for comment.
Lewis’ new salary is $176,000. The $16,000 raise was his first pay increase since he was promoted from chief financial officer to interim chief executive officer in December 2006.
By comparison, Jefferson Healthcare Chief Executive Officer Mike Glenn earns $225,000 per year.
No impact
Dr. John Miles, board chairman, said the employee furlough days had no impact on his support for Lewis’ raise.
Miles said Lewis hadn’t asked for a raise in six years and still earns $50,000 less than CEOs of similar-sized hospitals.
“He’s taking furlough days himself, and others in administration are taking furlough days,” Miles said.
“It’s a real shame, but we’ve been losing money every month.”
In a May 16 briefing, Lewis said OMC experienced a 7 percent decrease in patient volumes for the first four months of the year, which cost the public hospital district $297,000.
He attributed the lower volumes to higher deductibles in insurance plans and the poor economy. Lewis added that hospitals throughout the Puget Sound region were experiencing lower volumes.
Beeman said the pilot project is “one of our main strategies to help OMC maintain programs and a steady workforce.”
OMC has managed to avoid layoffs during the recession, unlike other public agencies on the North Olympic Peninsula.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5072, or at rob.ollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
