PORT ANGELES — Two urologists will join Olympic Medical Center on Sept. 30, hospital CEO Darryl Wolfe told the Board of Commissioners.
Dr. Timothy Hewitt and Dr. Laurel Mast recently completed their residencies at the University of Connecticut, Farmington, and the University of Utah Hospital, Salt Lake City, respectively.
A special OMC board meeting was held Friday due to a lack of a quorum at its regular Wednesday meeting.
OMC has been without a permanent fully staffed urology department for more than a year. In June, Dr. Carleen Bensen came out of retirement to rejoin the department in a non-surgical capacity to provide care.
“We’re excited to reinvigorate it and appreciate Dr. Bensen helping us out in the interim,” Wolfe said.
OMC also hired a chief physician officer who is scheduled start in January, Wolfe said. An official announcement is expected to be made next week.
OMC has not had a permanent physician officer since Dr. Joshua Jones left in November 2023.
In other items Friday:
• Bad debt for OMC was $740,371 for August. The amount represents charges for care patients who were unable or unwilling to pay, as well as uncompensated care for difficult-to-discharge patients who no longer need to be hospitalized but who face barriers in being released.
• Commissioner John Nutter said he and hospital COO Ryan Combs recently returned from a trip to Washington, D.C., where they met with U.S. Sens. Maria Cantwell, D-Edmonds, Patty Murray, D-Seattle, and Rep. Derek Kilmer, D-Gig Harbor.
“Both Cantwell and Murray had their healthcare aides and staff actively engaged,” Nutter said. “We were able to cover a number of issues that affect hospitals across the state that we care about because we need hospitals to transfer to and partner with, as well as some of the rural healthcare issues.”
Nutter said Kilmer was well-versed in the “evils and ills of site neutrality,” the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ rule that significantly cut Medicare reimbursement rates for rural hospitals like OMC.
Site-neutrality reform is being discussed in Washington as a way to lower medical costs but is opposed by hospitals. Kilmer is not running for re-election; his replacement will need to get up to speed on the issue, Nutter said.
• The Olympic Medical Foundation’s Harvest of Hope Wine & Dinner Gala will be held Sept. 28 at the Guy Cole Event Center in Sequim, 144 N. Blake Ave. The annual event will raise funds to support local cancer patients being treated at OMC. More information and tickets can be found at www.omhf.org/harvest-of-hope.
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Paula Hunt can be reached by email at paula.hunt@peninsuladailynews.com.
