PORT ANGELES — Some 4,000 Clallam County residents will gain access to health care services thanks to the designation of a federally qualified community health center in Port Angeles, U.S. Rep. Derek Kilmer said.
The 6th Congressional District representative was among the dignitaries who gathered at the former Family Medicine of Port Angeles clinic to celebrate its transition to the North Olympic Healthcare Network on Monday.
“I think this represents progress because an estimated 4,000 new clients will walk through those doors, many of whom will be on Medicare and Medicaid and have access to critical health services,” said Kilmer, D-Gig Harbor.
“This is progress because access to proper primary care and regular physician visits actually improves wellness within our community,” he said.
“As someone who grew up here, ensuring that people have access to those things is really important to me, too.”
Kilmer, whose district includes the North Olympic Peninsula, is a Port Angeles native.
Clallam was the last county in the state to have a federally qualified health center.
Along with U.S. Sens. Patty Murray, D-Seattle, and Maria Cantwell, D-Mountlake Terrace, Kilmer helped secure a $700,000 federal grant that allowed the clinic at 240 W. Front St. to hire five new doctors and about a dozen advanced care professionals and case managers.
“Although the name is new, the mission is not,” said Dr. Michael Maxwell, who joined Family Medicine of Port Angeles in 1991.
“We carry forward Family Medicine’s values, commitment and importantly, its staff,” he said.
“We will leverage the resources of the community health center to bring those benefits to more people who have not had access before. We have the same great staff providing the same high-quality care.”
The North Olympic Healthcare Network will work with Peninsula Behavioral Health to provide mental health care and referrals on site.
“We’re really integrating mental health care, dental care and primary care,” said Olympic Medical Center CEO Eric Lewis, who supported Family Medicine’s designation as a federally qualified health center.
“Olympic Medical Center is proud to partner with the North Olympic Healthcare Network.
“We really look forward to working together and having a close relationship as we meet the community’s needs.”
The expanded clinic will offer residencies in rural family medicine and treat an estimated 4,626 new patients at the end of its first year, officials have said.
The North Olympic Healthcare Network will be governed by a board chaired by retired Dr. Stan Garlick, who founded Family Medicine of Port Angeles in 1979.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5072, or at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
