PORT ANGELES — Olympic Medical Center is strengthening oversight of its finances and performance through new data dashboards that will track patient volume, staffing and clinical quality as the hospital marks regaining full compliance with Centers for Medicare and Medicaid standards.
Interim chief financial officer Dennis Stillman presented to commissioners a draft of a financial dashboard designed to monitor key metrics, including days of cash on hand, long-term debt, accounts receivable, salaries and benefits, emergency department visits and inpatient admissions. Reports will be shared with the board and finance committee on a monthly basis.
He said tracking patient volumes — such as admissions, outpatient procedures and emergency visits — is a critical component of managing OMC’s financial health.
“If you don’t have a handle on volume, it’s very difficult to be financially strong,” Stillman said at the commissioners’ meeting Wednesday night.
Interim CEO Mark Gregson said staffing levels will be adjusted daily to match patient volume, with each department guided by specific metrics on what it needed.
He said a separate clinical improvement dashboard also is in development to track infection rates and patient safety indicators, such as catheter-associated urinary tract infections, sepsis, surgical site infections, falls with injuries and 30-day readmissions.
Gregson noted that Medicare penalized hospitals with higher-than-expected readmission rates, making careful monitoring both a quality and a financial priority.
“Tracking this data not only improves patient safety,” he said, “it helps OMC capture lost revenue.”
Commissioner Tom Oblak praised the new dashboards as “a much-needed improvement.”
Gregson updated the board on CMS compliance following a Sept. 22-25 survey conducted by the state Department of Health.
The results moved CMS to rescind its Oct. 10 termination notice. The formal notice of reinstatement will be issued once the federal government shutdown concludes.
“This is excellent news for our hospital and our community,” Gregson said. “CMS has confirmed that we are no longer under their jurisdiction for any sanctions or corrective actions. We’re very pleased with the outcome and grateful for the hard work of our staff.”
He said OMC would conduct a full-scale internal audit to ensure readiness for future surveys.
“This was a huge team effort,” Gregson said. “That chapter is now closed, and we’re moving forward — stronger, compliant and ready for whatever comes next.”
During public comment, a virtual participant asked why commission meetings weren’t recorded and posted online.
“There’s a lot of times when the public cannot attend a meeting,” the commenter said. “Last week, I had a doctor’s appointment, but I wanted to find out what was going on and I couldn’t because you’re not recording them.”
Oblak agreed, saying, “It would do a lot toward transparency. I’d like to know why we can’t record meetings.”
Gregson said he would explore resuming the practice of recording and posting meetings on OMC’s website.
Commissioner Jean Hordyk asked that leadership address complaints about unreturned phone calls — the No. 1 complaint she hears from constituents — which Gregson said he would review.
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Reporter Paula Hunt can be reached by email at paula.hunt@peninsuladailynews.com.
