By Charlie Bermant
Peninsula Daily News
PORT TOWNSEND — The Jefferson Healthcare commissioners have approved an affiliation agreement with Seattle’s Swedish Medical Center in a partnership that hospital officials expect will expand local health care options.
The motion to begin the affiliation was approved unanimously by the five commissioners Wednesday.
“I haven’t heard any objections to this at all,” said Commissioner Chuck Russell. “People seem to like the idea.
“Most of the time when a big corporation comes in, people complain, but I haven’t heard any of that,” he added. “It’s almost spooky.”
The affiliation begins Dec. 1, with a $75,000 fee collected by Swedish for the first year.
After that first year, the fee would be reassessed, according to Jill Buhler, commission president.
Buhler said the fee would be offset by the savings in supplies, as the hospital will be able to take advantage of Swedish’s volume discounts and purchasing avenues.
It will also represent a significant savings for the installation of EPIC, a state-of-the-art patient management software that Buhler said “we could never afford on our own.”
Jefferson Healthcare, which has 25 beds, is the second North Olympic Peninsula hospital to affiliate with Swedish.
On Oct. 19, the 80-bed Olympic Medical Center in Port Angeles became the first Peninsula hospital to approve the affiliation, and it became the first member of the Swedish Health Network on Nov. 1.
OMC will pay $120,000 to Swedish for the affiliation in 2012.
Forks Community Hospital commissioners also are considering the affiliation, but more research is needed before making a decision, said Camille Scott, hospital administrator, on Thursday.
“We need time to analyze the costs and the benefits of belonging to this network,” she said.
“For a larger hospital, the benefits are obvious because of all the programs offered, but it’s not so clear with a smaller hospital,” she added.
The Forks Community Hospital facility, which includes a nursing home, has 45 beds.
The Forks hospital would pay an affiliation fee far less than those for OMC and Jefferson Healthcare, but even a smaller fee could have drastic fiscal consequences, Scott said.
“We are currently negotiating the fee and were taking about $25,000, but that is a huge amount for us,” Scott said.
“After expenses were paid last year, we had $3,000 left.”
Other costs to be determined include software upgrades.
Forks currently uses Meditech patient management software, which isn’t as thorough as EPIC but “may be overkill” for a smaller hospital, Scott said.
Scott said a full Meditech upgrade will cost $1 million, but even if Swedish can offer EPIC for far less, it will still stretch resources.
Scott said the matter of the affiliation “is always on the agenda” of the hospital board and will probably be discussed at the next meeting at 5 p.m. Tuesday at the hospital at 530 Bogachiel Way.
Scott said the matter would probably be decided at the December meeting at the earliest.
“We don’t want to rush into things,” she said.
“I want the board to have all the information before making a decision.”
The 20-year contractual relationship between the Peninsula hospitals and Swedish Medical Center is not a merger.
Under its terms, Peninsula hospitals remain independent and community-owned, becoming the first members of the Swedish Health Network.
The network would provide local patients with care they can’t get on the Peninsula.
Patients are to be referred to Swedish for care unavailable at home, and Swedish will send them back to their primary care doctor for follow-up.
At the same time, Swedish will help the Peninsula hospitals improve and remain financially viable through expanded clinical services, EPIC electronic medical records and a buying group, officials have said.
Expanded service may include neurology, cardiology, sleep medicine and endocrinology.
Separate contracts will be signed as the affiliation takes shape.
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Jefferson County Reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.