PORT ANGELES — The Olympic Medical Center board will extend a non-binding letter of intent to the University of Washington Medicine to explore a potential partnership.
Commissioners said UW offers many benefits as a partner, including the ability to tap into its resources, network of providers and expertise. They unanimously approved the move on Wednesday.
“They present the best opportunity for our future down the road,” Commissioner Tom Oblak said.
The board emphasized, however, that this is the beginning of many conversations with UW that will involve nailing down the specifics of any alliance, a process that could take months.
Commissioner Jean Hordyk said she liked the idea of partnering with another public hospital.
“That was important,” she said.
Among UW hospitals are Harborview Medical Center, UW Medical Center-Montlake and Valley Medical Center. It has affiliations with VA Puget Sound Health Care System and Seattle Children’s Hospital and Medical Center.
OMC announced on Dec. 4, 2024, that it had hired Chicago-based Juniper Advisory to guide it through the process of exploring a partnership with another health care system. The hospital signed a contract with Juniper Advisory three months earlier, on Sept. 6, agreeing to pay it $20,000 a month for its services and $5,000 a month to a third-party secure data provider.
Juniper Advisory reached out to 26 health care systems to gauge their interest in a potential partnership. Through a public records request, the Peninsula Daily News obtained nondisclosure agreements OMC had sent to 10 of them. It is unknown how many of the health care systems responded.
Among OMC’s stated goals in pursing a partnership were preserving and expanding local access to health care, supporting its workforce, funding capital investments and ensuring its financial viability.
Remaining an independent public hospital was frequently mentioned as an option; the possibility of downsizing to become a critical access hospital — shrinking from 67 to 25 beds — also was floated.
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Reporter Paula Hunt can be reached by email at paula.hunt@peninsuladailynews.com.
