LETTER: Healthcare access

Published 1:30 am Saturday, February 21, 2026

Olympic Medical Center interim CEO Mark Gregson’s turnaround plan sounds like a victory lap for a race being lost by the patients.

While the plan focuses on tightening staffing, those of us on the other side of the clipboard see the reality: a primary and specialty care system that is dangerously slow.

Local hospitals face massive financial hurdles, but the bottom line remains the same: the patient suffers.

We are trapped in a loop where securing a basic appointment may take months, only to be rushed through a 10-minute slot because the hospital is optimizing hours to save a buck.

For many, medical issues escalate while we sit on a waitlist.

Compounding this is the immense stress of navigating a fragmented system.

Patients and caregivers face a level of exhaustion and anxiety that only worsens existing health issues and staff burnout.

This isn’t just a hospital problem, it’s a community crisis that impacts our quality of life and makes our area less attractive to new residents and businesses.

The solution isn’t in a spreadsheet. It requires a seat at the table for the community and transparency that prioritizes human outcomes over cash flow.

Perhaps an independent system for community feedback, such as a formal community oversight committee, could help.

We must stop treating healthcare as an assembly line and start treating it as the vital community asset it is.

You cannot improve access while cutting the people who provide it.

Daniel Jacobs

Port Angeles