Olympic Medical Center pushes timeline to Aug. 31

Published 3:00 pm Thursday, February 19, 2026

PORT ANGELES — Olympic Medical Center has again revised the timeline to finalize its nonbinding letter of intent with UW Medicine, pushing the deadline from April 30 to Aug. 31.

Interim CEO Mark Gregson told the board Wednesday that, as part of the extension, UW Medicine agreed to pay $200,000 of the $425,000 cost for the third-party financial and operational assessment it requires as part of any agreement, easing some of the cost burden on the hospital.

This is the second time the LOI deadline has been pushed back since OMC and UW Medicine signed the agreement on Sept. 3, 2025.

The revision also adjusts the date for conducting the assessment, which was supposed to occur by the end of November 2025. That date later shifted to December, with completion of the assessment targeted for January.

Gregson said healthcare management consultants Kaufman Hall had been chosen to carry out the evaluation, and commissioners unanimously approved the contract.

Once underway, the assessment is expected to take eight weeks.

Board member Gerald Stephanz voiced frustration at the repeated setbacks of the LOI process.

“We keep moving the timeline,” he said. “It’s delay, delay.”

The UW Medicine discussion came as commissioners also weighed when to begin a search for a permanent chief executive officer.

Commissioner Carleen Bensen said finalizing the UW Medicine agreement should be the priority so the board could clearly define the CEO position.

“We don’t really know what the job description’s going to be until we have this UW thing hammered out,” she said.

Board member Penney Sanders said she would prefer to see at least another quarter of financial data before formally launching a search.

“I think we need a minimum another three months, preferably six,” she said.

Vacant seat

Board president Phil Giuntoli said interviews with the seven candidates seeking appointment to the vacant board seat will take place at 1 p.m. Wednesday in Linkletter Hall. Commissioners will question applicants in public session, recess to deliberate and then return to open session to vote.

Aging workforce

Meanwhile, Interim chief nursing officer Helen Morrison reported that 30 percent of OMC’s nurses are nearing retirement age, reflecting statewide and national trends showing an aging nursing workforce and fewer new nurses entering the field than are retiring.

She said OMC’s workforce skews young, with most nurses having five or fewer years of service. While that reflects recent hiring, it also means many newly graduated nurses require time to gain experience and need seasoned mentors to support their transition into practice.

OMC’s acute care RN vacancy rate is 4 percent — significantly lower than the statewide rate of 22 percent and the national rate of 9.6 percent. However, the acute care RN turnover rate stands at 20 percent, higher than the state range of 9 percent to 14 percent and the national range of 15 percent to 18 percent. Morrison said that means that, while hospital is filling positions, it is experiencing higher year-over-year departures.

Patient volumes

Interim chief financial officer Dennis Stillman said patient volumes have remained relatively steady year over year, with typical seasonal fluctuations.

Clinic visits in 2025 generally tracked higher than 2024 in several months, he said, peaking above 13,500 visits in October before dipping in November and rebounding in December. Emergency department visits ranged between roughly 2,100 and 2,400 per month, with 2025 volumes closely mirroring or slightly exceeding 2024 in several months.

Stillman said visit numbers supported ancillary services such as laboratory testing and imaging, which contributed to overall revenue.

In other action, commissioners unanimously approved two two-year SEIU contracts for registered nurse, licensed practical nurse and case managers and for service, dietary and newly accredited clinic staff.

Fundraiser tickets

Tickets are still available for the OMC Foundation’s Red, Set, Go! luncheon at 11:30 a.m. Feb. 27 at Vern Burton Community Center, 308 E. Fourth St.

The event raises awareness about women’s heart health on the Olympic Peninsula and is the primary fundraiser for the OMC Heart Center.

Tickets can be purchased at www.ticketsignup.io/TicketEvent/RedSetGo2026.

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Reporter Paula Hunt can be reached by email at paula.hunt@peninsuladailynews.com.