PORT ANGELES — Talk about a holiday sale:
Hospital District 2 commissioners approved spending nearly $2.6 million for new imaging equipment at Olympic Medical Center and its Sequim satellite clinic Tuesday — an amount they said netted end-of-year and bulk-buy savings.
The hospital and clinic will receive the new hardware and software between March and August, according to Dr. Scott Kennedy, OMC’s chief medical officer.
The purchases include:
■ A major upgrade to the medical resonance imaging unit in Sequim.
■ A software upgrade to the MRI in Port Angeles.
■ Flywheel electric generators in both locations to protect against power surges that can knock the MRIs offline for one to two days and progressively degrade their power sources.
The Sequim MRI suite will require remodeling to accommodate the flywheel.
■ Six regular and two portable ultrasound units, one each for the hospital intensive care unit and its operating room.
■ A portable X-ray machine.
■ Eight years of software service packages.
“This will really set us up for the future in imaging,” said Eric Lewis, OMC CEO.
Some of the funds were allocated in the 2015 budget, some in the 2016 outlay.
OMC assembled the multiple purchases — all from General Electric — to take advantage of end-of-year discounts and a bulk buy.
The deal included trading in OMC’s present equipment.
In other action Tuesday, commissioners approved a $4,500-per-month contract with Peninsula Behavioral Health to provide inpatient psychiatric services that will include daily rounds in the hospital.
Lewis said the arrangement also would help PBH attract a second psychiatrist to its staff.
“We absolutely need this to take good care of our patients,” he said, “and provide a safer environment for our employees.”
At the commission’s next meeting Jan. 6, PBH Executive Director Peter Casey will give a presentation about all the collaborative programs between the mental health agency and OMC, including PBH’s new Respite Center.
Commissioners also learned that a $135,000 irrigation, landscaping and parking improvement at the west end of the hospital would be completed today.
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Reporter James Casey can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5074, or at jcasey@peninsuladailynews.com.
