PORT ANGELES — Olympic Medical Center reported slight improvement in its cash situation and continued progress on quality and regulatory compliance.
It also made steps forward in a potential affiliation with UW Medicine and elected new officers during Wednesday’s board meeting, the first to be recorded under a recently adopted policy.
“Recording meetings was scheduled to begin in January, but thanks to the work of our IT team, we were able to start today,” board president Ann Henninger said.
Interim Chief Financial Officer Dennis Stillman told commissioners OMC ended the most recent reporting period with about $20 million in cash on hand — equal to about 30 days of liquidity — even after paying down accounts payable and making limited capital expenditures.
Accounts payable has declined from about $27 million earlier in the year to roughly $24 million, and the hospital has largely paused capital spending since August to preserve cash.
Chief Medical Officer Dr. Scott Kennedy updated the board on special certification surveys focusing on hip and knee replacement care and acute stroke readiness conducted by DNV Healthcare, a national accrediting organization that inspects hospitals to ensure they meet Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services requirements and patient safety standards.
Kennedy said previous DNV findings were resolved and only a few new issues were found. Those focused on better blood sugar control for surgical patients, documenting patient-reported outcomes and improving treatment timing and data consistency for stroke care.
OMC has faced repeated violations of CMS and state Department of Health standards since February.
Commissioner Penney Sanders asked why findings varied across DNV, the Department of Health and CMS surveys.
“Survey instruments should not have that much divergence,” she said.
Kennedy said that while accrediting agencies like DNV follow CMS standards, survey results can differ based on how those standards are interpreted and applied. He said state surveyors typically rely on the full CMS State Operations Manual, while DNV uses summarized guidance for its surveyors.
Kennedy added that OMC is getting ready for its next full DNV accreditation review early next year.
“Our goal is to always be ready,” he said.
Interim Chief Executive Officer Mark Gregson said discussions with UW Medicine are continuing and an assessment of OMC that is part the letter of intent likely will occur in January.
UW Medicine already has started supporting OMC through physician education programs, virtual specialty services and recruitment assistance, he said.
“The bottom line is that we’re still moving toward,” Gregson said, adding that a decision on any alliance is expected by late spring.
Gregson is scheduled to appear on KONP’s Todd Ortloff Show on Jan. 19 and speak at Port Angeles Nor’Wester Rotary on Feb. 27 as part of OMC’s community outreach efforts. At least two more public engagements with Gregson and other staff members are in the works.
“If there are other organizations or groups that would like us to make some presentations in front of, we’re open to that,” he said.
Also Wednesday, commissioners approved a comprehensive set of board bylaw revisions, including the requirement that meetings be recorded and made available online for six months, clarification of officer terms and annual evaluations of both the board and chief executive.
During public comment, two speakers criticized the proposed bylaw changes, saying they should be decided by the incoming board. They objected to moving officer elections from January to December and adding a minimum service requirement for board officers, saying voters should determine leadership.
“The bylaws do dictate that we review them annually, and this is part of that process,” Henninger said. “We are trying to complete that task before the end of 2025.”
The board elected Phil Giuntoli as president and Tom Oblak as secretary for 2026. Both will assume their roles in January.
Giuntoli praised Henninger for her leadership during a turbulent year marked by continued financial losses, uncertainty surrounding a potential health system partnership, repeated CMS findings that threatened the hospital’s Medicare status and the departure of CEO Darryl Wolfe and other executives.
“Anne has been a committed, congenial and inclusive leader,” Giuntoli said. “She brought the board together during a very difficult period. Her leadership helped position this board to begin moving forward again.”
Henninger, whose term concludes at the end of the year, thanked staff, fellow commissioners and the community for their support.
“It has been one of the great honors of my life to serve this community and hospital system as an elected commissioner,” Henninger said. “This year required significant collaboration, honest discussion and difficult decision making, but we remained committed to the people we serve and the mission at hand. While my role will change, my advocacy for Olympic Medical Center and this community will continue.”
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Reporter Paula Hunt can be reached by email at paula.hunt@peninsuladailynews.com.
