Leskinovitch named chair of Olympic Medical Center board

PORT ANGELES — Jim Leskinovitch has been named chair of the Olympic Medical Center board.

Leskinovitch, a longtime OMC commissioner and former chairman, was made chairman for 2020 by unanimous vote Monday.

He exchanged seats with past chairman John Nutter, who was unanimously selected as board secretary.

“You’ll need a hammer,” OMC CEO Eric Lewis said while handing a gavel to Leskinovitch.

No other nominations were cast Monday for chair or secretary.

The seven-member OMC board sets policy and an annual budget for the public hospital district that covers the Port Angeles and Sequim areas.

Leskinovitch was first elected to the OMC board in 1997, hospital spokeswoman Bobby Beeman said. He has served as chair at least four times during his 22-year tenure as an at-large representative.

OMC commissioners’ meetings are conducted twice monthly in Linkletter Hall in the basement of the Port Angeles hospital at 939 E. Caroline St.

Work sessions are on the first Wednesday of the month and business meetings are held on the third Wednesday of the month.

The Monday meeting was postponed from last Wednesday because of snow.

In other action, the board voted Monday to give contract-signing authority to Chief Operating Officer Darryl Wolfe and Chief Nursing Officer Ralph Parker.

Former Chief Nursing Officer Lorraine Wall also had served as chief operating officer.

“Lorraine’s position went from one position to two, and we’re just clarifying that contact signing authority and emergency authorization,” Lewis said.

“We talked about this with the board Audit, Budget and Compliance Committee and they were in agreement.”

Lewis began the meeting by reading a memo he had sent to OMC staff regarding Martin Luther King Jr. Day, which fell on Monday.

Employees were encouraged to think about their dream for the future and to write it down.

“I dream that in my lifetime we will have a nation that has a health care system that treats behavioral health patients equally to physical health patients, where we have effective treatments for people with addictions and mental health issues, where we do not wait until these challenges are a crisis before we try to treat the person’s disease,” Lewis said.

“I also dream about a stable rural health care system in our nation that is focused on wellness, a society that makes healthy living an easy choice and where all citizens have the health care services they need.”

“Thank you to all OMC employees and medical staff members who work diligently to make this dream a reality each day,” Lewis said.

________

Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56450, or at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.