PORT ANGELES — A candidate forum hosted by the Kiwanis Club of Port Angeles at Jazzy Joshua’s provided a platform for two Olympic Medical Center commissioner hopefuls to answer questions and debate issues surrounding the public hospital, which has been dogged by questions about its financial health and repeated failures to meet federal quality of care standards.
Penney Sanders is being challenged by Laurie Force for Position 7 on the seven-member Hospital District 2 board in the Nov. 4 general election.
The race is to fill Phyllis Bernard’s unexpired term that runs through Dec. 31, 2027.
Sanders was appointed by the board on March 5 to fill the vacancy created by Bernard’s resignation. The elder advocate moved to Port Angeles more than 20 years ago. During retirement, she became an advocate for seniors.
Force, a retired nurse practitioner, moved to the area in 2019 and volunteers with the Olympic Peninsula Community Clinic.
Force said Thursday she felt compelled to run because she believes the board has not been providing the proper fiscal oversight, operational monitoring and quality care control that is needed.
Among the results, she said, is an erosion of public trust compounded by a lack of transparency about the process of its decision-making.
Sanders strongly refuted any suggestion that, as an appointee, she was beholden to board groupthink, saying she had been criticized for not voting in lockstep with other commissioners.
She cited her insistence that a recent contract with Radia, a company that provides radiology services to OMC, include performance criteria as an example of her stewardship.
”I am an independent, unbiased decision-maker,” she said. “I am committed to the survival of OMC, and that is my sole goal.”
Sanders acknowledged OMC’s acute financial position. It lost $56 million from 2022 to 2024, and the board learned at its Tuesday meeting it is on track to lose $16 million this year if nothing changes.
The candidates agreed that there are some things OMC can’t control, like the fact most of its patients rely on Medicare and Medicaid — government programs that together reimburse hospitals less than the amount it costs them to deliver care.
They disagreed on which solutions that are within its control might be.
Sanders said interim CEO Mark Gregson is taking immediate steps — cost-cutting, staffing reviews and efficiency measures — to raise cash reserves from the current 23 to 30 days to 60 days. Improving productivity is another tactic being explored to increase revenue, she said.
Pushing providers to spend less time with patients to meet productivity goals is a short-sighted means of driving revenue, Force said.
She argued that, in order to solve its “dire” financial situation, OMC has to restructure, prioritize essential services and “live within our means.”
That would likely mean downsizing and paring back services.
“I think focusing on being the best small hospital we can be and attracting patients back that have been lost, attracting and improving our reputation in the community are key,” she said.
Force pointed to OMC’s repeated failures going back to January to successfully pass Department of Health and Human Services survey examinations in order to maintain compliance with the Centers for Medicare as an illustration of the board’s lack of oversight.
Its failure to be open about the ongoing problems has contributed to eroding public trust in the OMC board and leadership, she said.
“Had this been this talked about in open public meetings, we would not have lost so much public confidence in the hospital,” Force said.
Sanders, who arrived on the board about a month after the first DOH survey, said commissioners had not initially received a full accounting of the extent of the deficiencies that had been identified. That has changed, she said.
“We are absolutely spending a lot of time addressing issues,” she said. “We’ve recently brought in [health care advisory firm] Chartis to work over the next six weeks at a pretty substantial expense to help staff and address workflow. It’s well worth it when we’re down to the wire of potentially losing our Medicare certification and ability to bill for Medicare patients.”
Force said the only way positive change can come is by replacing all three commissioners whose seats are up for election this year.
“The current board has exhibited bad stewardship in its responsibilities to ensure financial stability, supervise the CEO, monitor quality issues, and communicate with our community regarding issues of critical importance to the future of our hospital,” she said.
Sanders said she and the rest of board is committed to implementing changes that are going to bring OMC into greater financial stability.
“That’s the goal, and it is not going to happen overnight,” she said.
The two other hospital board elections are for Position No. 1, with Gerald Stephanz challenging incumbent board president Ann Henninger, and Position 4, with Tara Coffin and Carleen Bensen competing for the seat being vacated by Jean Hordyk, who is stepping down after 30 years.
Commissioners at their Feb. 5 meeting voted to abolish commissioner subdistricts within Clallam County and make all seats at-large positions. Doing so means candidates will not be limited to running for a commissioner seat in the geographical area where they reside.
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Reporter Paula Hunt can be reached by email at paula.hunt@peninsuladailynews.com.
