PORT ANGELES — The Olympic Medical Center board plans to interview seven candidates later this month to fill its vacant Position 3 seat, with public interviews tentatively scheduled for either Feb. 25 or Feb. 26, board President Phil Giuntoli said Wednesday.
“We currently have the same seven applicants who applied before we opened the nominations to the public,” Giuntoli said. “We’re anticipating that we’ll interview all seven.”
Giuntoli said interviews are expected to begin at 1 p.m. and could run most of the day. The board would deliberate afterward and attempt to reach a decision, although the appointment could be deferred to the following Wednesday’s board meeting, if needed.
Applicants include Tara Coffin, Nancy Field, Scott Fitzgerald, Laurie Force, Ann Henninger, Patrick Murphy and Gary Smith. Applications will continue to be accepted until 4 p.m. Thursday. For more information, go to tinyurl.com/wsse552k.
Meanwhile, interim CEO Mark Gregson told commissioners that discussions with UW Medicine continue to advance on multiple fronts, including clinical services, continuing medical education and an assessment tied to a potential affiliation.
“We’ve finalized the arrangements, we’ve signed contracts and everything else for CMEs,” Gregson said, referring to continuing medical education programs expected to begin in March and continue monthly.
Gregson said OMC is nearing the start of a third-party assessment that would provide a comprehensive review of its operations, a step required for any affiliation with UW Medicine.
He added that OMC’s nonbinding letter of intent with UW Medicine remains in effect through the end of April. He said discussions about possible affiliation structures remain open.
Commissioner Gerald Stephanz asked if private equity is among the options under consideration.
“There’s been nothing really ruled out,” Gregson said.
Gregson also presented updates on hospital operations, including how fast the emergency department can get people in, cared for and out without backups or long waits, patient experience scores and staffing productivity.
He said the hospital is adjusting staffing levels daily to better match patient volume, a change he said could reduce labor costs by about 10 percent over time, if activity remains steady. He cautioned that the savings will not appear immediately, noting that some employees are using paid time off as hours are reduced.
Stephanz questioned whether ongoing problems with passing state Department of Health and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services surveys had been incorrectly blamed on DNV Healthcare, the hospital accreditation organization OMC hired to prepare it for such events.
“Part of the problem with our difficulties in passing CMS certification and our state licensure, we kind of laid at the feet of DNV — is that accurate?” Stephanz asked.
Gregson said the hospital is seeking clearer explanations from DNV after the assessments.
Interim CFO Dennis Stillman reported that payments to 32 vendors and payees accounted for about $12 million of the hospital’s roughly $15 million in monthly spending, with the largest costs tied to pharmaceuticals, employee health benefits and professional fees.
The board unanimously approved two agreements: a five-year extension of a contract with Varian Medical Systems for cancer center treatment planning software, at about $71,832 per year, and authorized an information services agreement totaling $412,379 to transition hospital computers to IGEL.
Stillman said the IGEL move is necessary because the hospital’s current system will no longer be supported later this year.
“If we don’t do that, none of this works,” he said.
Both motions passed unanimously.
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Reporter Paula Hunt can be reached by email at paula.hunt@peninsuladailynews.com.
