PORT ANGELES — For the second year in a row, The Chartis Center for Rural Health recognized Olympic Medical Center as one of the Top 100 Rural & Community Hospitals in the United States.
Olympic Medical Center (OMC) was the only hospital in Washington state to receive the recognition.
OMC scored in the top 100 of rural and community hospitals on a hospital strength index assessed by iVantage Health Analytics.
OMC officials said the index is the hospital industry’s most comprehensive and objective assessment of rural provider performance, and its results are the basis for many of rural health care’s most prominent awards, advocacy efforts and legislative initiatives.
According to The Chartis Center for Rural Health, the iVantage Health Analytics index measures these facilities across eight pillars considered as hospital strength: inpatient share ranking, outpatient share ranking, cost, charge, quality, outcomes, patient perspective and financial stability.
The full list of Top 100 Rural & Community Hospitals can be found at www.ivantage index.com/top- performing-hospitals.
“Olympic Medical Center operates in an uncertain environment with many external strains such as low government reimbursement and a complex regulatory environment, and struggling to manage local issues like behavioral health and the results of the community’s opioid crisis,” said Eric Lewis, OMC CEO.
“Amidst this uncertainty, however, we work hard to continually improve, achieve higher quality, secure better outcomes, focus on safety and increase patient satisfaction, all while operating at a lower cost than our peers.
“We are very proud of our employees and medical staff; and their skills, dedication and hard work are making a huge positive difference for our patients and community.”
Olympic Medical Center (Clallam County Public Hospital District No. 2) provides care for more than 70,000 residents of Clallam County. It has served the community since its establishment Nov. 1, 1951, and is governed by a seven-member, publicly elected board.
OMC is a sole community hospital and rural referral center, and a charter member of both the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance (2003) and the Swedish Health Network (2011). It provides inpatient services at its 67-bed acute-care facility in Port Angeles, including a Level 3 trauma designated emergency department, surgical services, and labor and delivery.
OMC’s outpatient services include cardiac, imaging, physical therapy and rehabilitation, laboratory, sleep medicine, surgical services, home health, physician clinics and comprehensive regional cancer care at locations in Sequim and Port Angeles.
“The Hospital Strength index provides a true benchmark for helping rural providers to better understand performance levels and identify areas of improvement. When we look across the spectrum of rural-relevant index indicators, the Top 100 Rural & Community Hospitals are establishing a new standard for how to deliver higher quality care to their communities despite an unpredictable health care environment,” said Michael Topchik, national leader of The Chartis Center for Rural Health.
