Jefferson Healthcare settles lawsuit that claimed violation of open meetings

Published 1:30 am Saturday, March 7, 2026

PORT TOWNSEND — Jefferson Healthcare has reached a settlement for a lawsuit alleging a violation of the state Open Public Meetings Act.

The Jefferson Healthcare Hospital Commission passed a motion to execute the settlement on Feb. 25.

“In October of 2025, Jefferson Healthcare and several commissioners were named in a lawsuit filed in Jefferson County Superior Court by Arthur West, alleging many violations of the Open Public Meetings Act (OPMA),” wrote Jefferson Healthcare CEO Mike Glenn, who was also named in the suit. “Jefferson Healthcare disputed most of those allegations which we believe were unfounded.”

The board did exceed the narrow and permissible scope permitted by the OPMA. The board acknowledged the mistake, informed the public and disclosed that fact to the state Auditor’s Office, according to a Jefferson Healthcare statement.

The public hospital district settled with West for $7,500 in an effort to avoid further legal expenses and staff time, Glenn wrote.

West’s complaint asserted that hospital commissioners discussed a proposed Peninsula Health Alliance (PHA) merger in executive session without a valid OPMA exemption, conducted unlawful serial meetings through one-on-one discussions outside public view and used a non-disclosure agreement related to the proposal that had not been approved by the full board, among other complaints.

“Mr. West was satisfied with the settlement agreement that acknowledges the allegations are disputed and contains no admission of liability of wrongdoing,” Glenn wrote.

The settlement will be made public when uploaded by the Jefferson Superior Court clerk’s office, the Jefferson Healthcare statement said.

The suit was filed in October and named Jefferson Healthcare, Glenn, then-commissioner Jill Buhler Rienstra and current commissioners Kees Kolff, Bruce McComas and Marie Dressler.

It responded to an incident that occurred in a hospital commission meeting on Feb. 5, 2025. West alleged the defendants discussed a PHA proposal in executive session.

The PHA was a regional merger that was being considered between Olympic Medical Center and Jefferson Healthcare.

The OPMA binds governing bodies to a limited number of reasons that they can meet without the option for the public to be present. When meeting in executive sessions, officials must discuss specific topics such as real estate acquisition or sale, pending or potential litigation, certain contract negotiations or personnel matters such as evaluating the performance of a public employee or hearing complaints against an employee.

Commissioner Matt Ready wrote a blog post addressing what happened in the closed meeting.

“Once in this ‘real estate’ meeting, instead of real estate, we were shown a proposal to create a new nonprofit — the Peninsula Health Alliance — that would oversee both Jefferson Healthcare and Olympic Medical Center in significant and extensive ways,” he wrote. “The plan called for a ‘super-board’ of 12 commissioners: seven from OMC and five from Jefferson, giving Clallam County a permanent majority. When I asked the CEO if he was seeking board approval, he said, ‘Yes.’ Then, one by one, the other commissioners voiced support for proceeding with this proposal. Even if the proposal had been a good idea — which it was not — the way it was introduced broke the law.”

Following the lawsuit, Jefferson Healthcare’s board of commissioners and leadership staff have strengthened their meeting procedures to ensure full compliance with the OPMA in the future, Glenn wrote.

“Jefferson Healthcare will continue our commitment to transparency and accountability as we work to meet the evolving healthcare needs of our community,” he added.

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Reporter Elijah Sussman can be reached by email at elijah.sussman@peninsuladailynews.com.