PORT ANGELES — Olympic Medical Center has been busy getting the word out about its levy proposal on the Aug. 6 primary ballot, CEO Darryl Wolfe told the board of commissioners.
“There is good momentum, and we’re moving forward,” Wolfe said Wednesday. “A mailer was sent and another from the AWPHD (Association of Washington Public Hospital Districts) will go out this week.”
As a public entity, OMC, its employees and board can provide factual information about the ballot measure but cannot persuade voters to vote for or against it, he said.
“We’re educating, not advocating,” Wolfe said. “We continue to keep people informed and aware of what we’re doing and why.”
Proposition 1, as it appears on the ballot, would increase OMC’s current levy rate of $0.37 per $1,000 of assessed property value to $0.75 per $1,000 — the maximum public hospitals are allowed under state law.
Meanwhile, OMC is continuing its search for a new chief physician officer to replace Joshua Jones, who left the position in October 2023. In the interim, Wolfe said, the hospital had hired a physician on a part-time basis to take on that role.
Last November, OMC entered into a consulting agreement with Advanced Operations Partners to assist it in implementing initiatives intended to reduce costs and improve profitability.
Wolfe said the hospital has realized about $2.2 million in savings over the first six months of the year following AOP’s recommendations.
Better overtime management and creating efficiencies in the operating room has saved $240,000 in labor costs, while improving the accuracy and completeness of medical documentation and coding captured $850,000 in revenue. OMC also saw cost savings in purchases ($680,000) and pharmacy expenses ($460,000).
“There is still a lot of work going on,” Wolfe said. “We continue to focus on reducing our locums expenses, and we’re looking at a diagnostic imaging project.”
The $295,000 AOP contract, plus traveling expenses, was approved by the board at its work session on Nov. 1, 2023.
In other in news, Bruce Skinner, executive director of the Olympic Medical Center Foundation, reported that most of the $170,000 for the purchase of a new cardiac ultrasound system and echocardiogram table for the hospital came from its Red, Set, Go event in February.
The Olympic Medical Center Foundation Healthcare Scholarship Fund has $500,000 available for the upcoming school year, Skinner said. OMC employees who are interested in professional development and non-employees who want a career in healthcare are eligible to apply.
Applications are due Aug. 12. Information about the program can be found at www.omhf.org/healthcarescholarship.
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Reporter Paula Hunt can be reached by email at paula.hunt@peninsuladailynews.com.
