PORT ANGELES — Olympic Medical Center has earned $2.1 million so far this year, giving it a 2.2 percent margin.
Chief Financial Officer Julie Rukstad reported the figures to the hospital’s board Wednesday.
The margin is about half of the total margin OMC needs to pay down its debt and fund capital projects.
“We spend about 10 percent of our funds on capital,” Chief Executive Officer Eric Lewis told the seven commissioners.
“You really have to continue to spend at least 10 percent of your funds on capital,” he said.
“Otherwise, the hospital will not be able to survive. You will not be able to continue to operate.”
OMC has a steadfast goal of a 4 percent total margin, a feat that it matched last year after four years of coming up short.
Rukstad’s early projections show a 0.6 percent margin in next year’s budget.
Construction projects
Meanwhile, Lewis gave the board an overview of the ongoing construction projects at OMC, including the $850,000 replacement of four elevators at the Port Angeles hospital.
A new service elevator near the surgery department was completed recently.
“I was very impressed by it,” Lewis said.
The west elevator is closed for construction now and is expected to be finished by mid-November.
The two main elevators on the east side of the hospital will close in mid-November and reopen in January, Lewis said.
“It was a very wise project because we needed elevators in order to operate,” Lewis said.
Helicopter pad
Early next month, OMC will have a finished helicopter pad near its Sequim campus.
The $100,000 helipad will be used to airlift trauma patients from the east side of Clallam County to larger hospitals such as Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.
The thick concrete of the 54-foot-diameter helipad can also accommodate military aircraft in the event of a natural disaster.
“They’ve made huge progress on it, and it looks very good,” Lewis said.
“It will be nice to have that helipad, or helistop, completed shortly. These projects will all add to what we provide to the community.”
Lewis also spoke about a rural hospital lobbying trip to Washington, D.C.
Commissioner Jim Leskinovitch and Lewis met with federal lawmakers and their health care staff. They also met with officials from Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
“It was very worthwhile,” Lewis said.
“We have to engage with D.C. because if we do everything else right, but Washington, D.C., does not fund Medicare adequately, we’re not going to be successful,” he added.
“So we have to make sure that we are constantly getting the message out on adequate Medicare reimbursement.”
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-417-3537 or at rob.ollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
