PORT ANGELES — The Olympic Medical Center board, which plans to send a non-binding letter of intent to UW Medicine to discuss a possible affiliation, likely will name an interim chief executive officer today.
The board held public virtual interviews with three candidates on Wednesday for interim CEO to replace Darryl Wolfe, who tendered his resignation on July 31.
However, when commissioners returned from an hour-long executive session to deliberate, they announced they would delay their decision until they could interview OMC Chief Physician Officer Dr. Allen Chen.
A campaign supporting Chen, who joined OMC in January, had been growing since Wolfe announced he would step down. The board hired executive search firm WittKieffer last week to help it fill the interim CEO position.
Community members, OMC providers and current and former employees urged the board to consider Chen during a 40-minute public comment period.
Speakers praised Chen’s commitment to the community, patient care and safety, responsiveness to staff and provider concerns and innovative ideas for growth that could provide a road map that would lead OMC out of its current financial and leadership challenges.
Orthopedic surgeon Dustin Larson gave the board a letter signed by physicians, physician assistants and nurse practitioners working in the surgery department supporting Chen as a candidate.
“We want to emphasize our unequivocal support for him and our endorsement of him to you,” Larson said, reading from the letter.
Commissioners will hold a special board meeting at 12:30 p.m. today to interview Chen at OMC’s Linkletter Hall, 939 Caroline St. The board is anticipated to vote on an interim CEO following an executive session.
While praising Chen and the care they had received at OMC, speakers during a public comment period were universally critical of the board and hospital leadership. Among their grievances were the exodus of physicians and nurses, continued financial losses, disregard for input from any employee and a lack of transparency, particularly in the recent disclosure of repeated violations found by the state Department of Health that prompted a termination notice from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services effective Aug. 15.
Earlier Wednesday, the board voted unanimously to compose a letter of intent to UW Medicine to discuss a potential partnership.
Finalizing and approving the letter could take a couple of weeks, the board said. While it is not a legal commitment, it would outline an understanding between OMC and UW Medicine about what a potential partnership might look like.
OMC began exploring the possibility of partnering with another health care system in December. UW Medicine was among 10 candidates to whom it sent nondisclosure agreements for the exchange of financial and other confidential information.
Commissioners said UW Medicine’s resources, expertise and wide and deep network of providers would be an asset to OMC and the community.
“UW Medicine has a strong reputation both in Washington and at the national level,” board president Ann Henninger said. “They respect our identity, and they share our commitment to keep care local and accessible.”
Stabilizing its finances was a primary impetus behind OMC seeking a potential partner. In her report to the board, Chief Financial Officer Lorraine Cannon said the hospital had just 26 days of cash on hand in the second quarter, down from 27 days in the first quarter.
Its $1.5 million loss in the second quarter, Cannon said, was primarily due to a $1.8 million out-of-period adjustment — an accounting error corrected in the current financial period — in contract expenses.
________
Reporter Paula Hunt can be reached by email at paula.hunt@peninsuladailynews.com.
