SEQUIM — Olympic Medical Center officials plan to expand the hospital’s Sequim facilities in 2017.
Planning will begin in 2016, OMC Chief Executive Officer Eric Lewis told about 60 people at a Sequim-Dungeness Valley Chamber of Commerce luncheon Tuesday.
The hospital is looking at expanding its current facilities because “every campus in Sequim is pretty much full,” Lewis said as he discussed the hospital’s 2016-18 strategic plan.
“There is no extra space. In fact, many of our services in Sequim don’t have enough space.”
The biggest expansion will be to the Olympic Medical Cancer Center at 844 N. Fifth Ave., Lewis said.
“There is not enough room in medical oncology and fusion, and we are excited to add space,” he said.
Also expected
Also expected to be expanded are the Olympic Medical Physicians Primary Care Clinic at 800 N. Fifth Ave., Suite 101; and Olympic Medical Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation, 800 N. Fifth Ave,, Suite 102, Lewis said.
“All of our clinics are small, so we are going to add space, which will be really good for Sequim,” he said.
Construction is expected to be in multiple phases, Lewis added, but “I don’t think we are going to be able to afford it all at once.”
The cost is not yet known.
Lewis reported success in recruiting physicians.
Relocating to Sequim are Dr. Tom Hershmiller, an orthopedic surgeon; Dr. Eric Hempel, a family practitioner; and Dr. Sheena Plamoottil and Dr. Oksana Shklyanka, both obstetricians/gynecologists.
“Physician recruitment is a big focus of mine,” Lewis said.
That is because the shortage of doctors in the area “is so huge,” he said.
“We are really trying to fix it. I think we have had some success.”
Jennifer Hunter, a nurse practitioner specializing in pulmonology, also has been recruited.
The hospital is working to recruit about nine physicians in total that will be based in Sequim, he said.
“The biggest focus for us is primary care,” Lewis said.
“We recently lost two primary care physicians from our Sequim clinic, so we recruited Dr. Hempel, but we want to recruit at least two more primary care providers.”
Once the physicians are recruited, the hospital will focus on retention, Lewis said.
“We definitely want to recruit doctors here, but we want them to stay for the long term, and that is a big challenge,” he said.
Issues that affect retention in the Sequim area include inadequate school facilities, the ability to employ a doctor’s spouse and providing adequate financial compensation, Lewis said.
“I would say the biggest challenge right now is our schools,” he said.
“I think we have good schools, but our facilities are falling apart. I think we really need to have a community discussion on what kind of facilities we want for the long term.”
Physicians and other health care providers “really care about their schools,” he said.
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Sequim-Dungeness Valley Editor Chris McDaniel can be reached at 360-681-2390, ext. 5052, or cmcdaniel@peninsuladailynews.com.
