PORT ANGELES — The Olympic Medical Center Foundation had the best fundraising year it has ever seen in 2016, Bruce Skinner, its executive director, told the Olympic Medical Center commissioners Wednesday.
The OMC Foundation gave $409,000 to or on behalf of OMC last year and presented another check for $82,564 toward the expansion of the Olympic Medical Cancer Center in Sequim during the Wednesday meeting in Port Angeles.
“We are pleased to announce that we have received $285,000 in donations and pledges toward the cancer center expansion,” Skinner said. “Those gifts have come in large and small amounts from 163 different donors.”
The expansion of the cancer center in Sequim is expected to cost between $6 million and $8 million, said CEO Eric Lewis, adding it would likely be closer to $8 million.
Of that, $5 million is included in the 2017 budget with the rest planned in 2018.
Lewis said the goal is to fund at least $1 million of the project with donations, such as those from the OMC foundation.
“It’s making a difference and creating a lot of momentum,” he said.
The number of patient visits at the cancer center has grown by 157 percent throughout the past 10 years, and even more growth is expected in the future, Lewis said.
“Due to people living longer and an aging baby boomer population, the number of incidents of cancer will rise,” Lewis said.
The expansion will include more clinical exam space, a pharmacy expansion, more infusion and chair space and an education space that will allow doctors and staff to explain the short- and long-term effects to patients and support them during difficult emotional times, he said.
Skinner said the OMC Foundation is preparing for a “significant” donation to OMC that will benefit all departments.
Foundation President Jim Jones and OMC commissioners recognized the efforts of Bob and Sherry Phillips, Dr. Mark and Jan Fischer, Phil and Linda Walker, and George and Barbara Brown for making gifts to the expansion effort for a combined total of $30,000.
“We also plan on making other donations that will benefit patients in several departments of the hospital in the very near future,” Jones said. “Our mission is to improve patient’s lives at Olympic Medical Center.”
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Reporter Jesse Major can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56250, or at jmajor@peninsula dailynews.com.
