PORT ANGELES — Olympic Medical Center has purchased the orthopedic clinic building it leased in Port Angeles.
The seven hospital district commissioners voted unanimously Wednesday to approve the $614,000 purchase of the five-exam-room clinic at 1004 Caroline St.
OMC had been leasing the 2,908-square-foot space from Dr. Dirk Gouge, an Olympic Medical Physicians orthopedic surgeon, for the past several years.
The $614,000 cost was based on a recent fair market value appraisal, CEO Eric Lewis has said.
“This will save $51,000 annually by buying the building, which was an 8 percent return,” said Julie Rukstad, OMC chief financial officer.
‘Improve cash flow’
“This will improve our cash flow and net income by over $4,000 a month,” she said.
“We will use debt funds for the purchase of this building.”
OMC borrowed $20 million from KeyBank last November to pay for new medical equipment and campus expansion projects, including the ongoing expansion of the hospital’s emergency room.
The orthopedic clinic in Port Angeles has five exam rooms and sits in the heart of OMC’s main campus at the southeast corner of Caroline and Washington streets, a stone’s throw from the hospital.
“Not only does this help meet some of the strategic goals of the organization from a land perspective, but it’s a great financial decision as well,” said Commissioner John Nutter, a member of the OMC Budget, Audit and Compliance Committee.
“It will save a lot of money on our operating side.”
Lewis told the board Aug. 20 that the functional clinic could eventually become an administrative building.
A board briefing on a proposed 27,500-square-foot medical office building in Port Angeles was deferred to the next board meeting Sept. 17.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5072, or at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.