PORT ANGELES — The Olympic Medical Center board of commissioners nominated seven people to apply to fill the vacancy created by last month’s sudden death of commissioner John Nutter.
The candidates for the Position 3 seat are Tara Coffin, Nancy Field, Scott Fitzgerald, Laurie Force, Ann Henninger, Patrick Murphy and Gary Smith.
Three ran for board seats and lost in the Nov. 4 general election.
Coffin was defeated by Carleen Bensen, Laurie Force was defeated by Penney Sanders, and Henninger was defeated by Gerald Stephanz.
Board president Phil Giuntoli explained the process Wednesday for making appointments, which he acknowledged “seemed backward.”
The board first nominates candidates. Then, the field is opened to anyone who wants to be considered.
“We will either choose to interview all or some of the candidates,” Giuntoli said.
All of the interviews will conducted in person and in public.
“Depending on how many we choose to interview, we’ll either do it at a regularly scheduled meeting or we may choose to have a special meeting just for that purpose, but it would still be a public meeting open to everyone,” he said.
Individuals have until Feb. 5 to email a one-page letter of interest and a resume to boardadmin@olympicmedical.org.
Commissioner job description, bylaws and application can be found at www.olympicmedical.org/about-us/board-of-commissioners.
Safety program
In his report, Chief Medical Officer Scott Kennedy told commissioners the hospital’s safety program was organized around three pillars: accident prevention, safe patient handling and workplace violence prevention.
Kennedy said accident prevention efforts emphasize encouraging staff to report hazards and incidents and build a “culture of safety” across the organization. Safety education begins at hire through orientation and continues through ongoing training, he said.
The hospital’s environment of care committee conducts rounds twice a month, checking conditions throughout the facility, speaking with staff and providing on-the-spot education.
On safe patient handling, Kennedy said the hospital focuses on ensuring appropriate equipment is available where needed to reduce injuries, along with staff training delivered through multiple channels, including department discussions and skills fairs.
“Safety really has to be a responsibility of every person in the organization,” Kennedy said.
“If we’re not hearing about what’s going on, and if we’re not encouraging the frontline staff to tell us what they’re experiencing, we won’t know what’s going on.”
Commissioner Thom Hightower asked if the board could receive regular reporting on staff safety, such as lost work days, workplace violence incidents and other injuries.
Kennedy said he supported broader reporting to the full board and noted that, beginning this year, the hospital’s workplace violence prevention plan must be reviewed annually under state law.
The board also received a patient volume update from interim CFO Dennis Stillman, who said finalized financial statements were not yet available and would be reviewed by the finance committee before being presented to the board at a future meeting.
Stillman said patient activity levels provide the clearest near-term picture of performance. He focused on clinic volumes, which he described as the primary driver for downstream services such as laboratory testing, imaging, outpatient procedures and hospital admissions.
Stillman said clinic activity continues to trend upward compared with the past two years, with average daily visits increasing from September through December even as the number of clinic days declined due to holidays.
UW Medicine partnership
Interim CEO Mark Gregson said discussions with UW Medicine about an affiliation or partnership are ongoing.
He said such a relationship would allow the hospital to coordinate care with UW specialists for services not available locally while keeping as much care as possible on the Peninsula.
Imaging system
Commissioners also viewed a video featuring OMC surgeon Sandra Tatro describing a Clarix 3D specimen imaging system donated by the OMC Foundation. It is the first such machine in the state.
The mobile, CT-based system is used during breast cancer surgery to produce real-time images of removed tissue, allowing surgeons to check specimens during the procedure and potentially reduce the need for repeat surgeries.
The video can be viewed at tinyurl.com/2r68dkmp.
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Reporter Paula Hunt can be reached by email at paula.hunt@peninsuladailynews.com.
