In another step toward expansion of Olympic Medical Center’s services on its Sequim campus, OMC’s board of commissioners approved putting out for bid an estimated $7 million construction contract for expansion of its cancer center on Fifth Avenue.
The board on June 6 unanimously agreed on seeking bids for the project that would add more than 10,000 square feet more to its main facility on North Fifth Avenue.
The OMC cancer care expansion would add about 4,000 square feet of room while the primary care expansion would add about 7,500 square feet, OMC officials said.
The expansion would also allow OMC to expand its primary care offerings in the area, Olympic Medical Center CEO Eric Lewis said.
“Our number one priority is primary care access,” Lewis said last week, following the board’s meeting at the Sequim Medical Services Building at 840 N. Fifth Ave.
The board also agreed to an additional $597,000 in funding to Coates Design Architects to complete their work on the expansion project, bringing their contract to about $1.4 million.
OMC chief financial officer Darryl Wolfe said he expects to receive bids in the next couple of weeks and bring to the board a proposal in July.
Cardiac care gets boost
The Olympic Medical Center Foundation presented another $150,000 to OMC at its June 6 board of commissioner’s meeting, to purchase a nuclear imaging camera for cardiac stress testing.
Monies were raised from the Foundation’s annual Red, Set, Go event held each February, and from other private donations.
“Once again, we are able to present a gift for something that will save lives,” Foundation Chair Duane Wolfe said.
According to foundation representatives, the new camera will: reduce the amount of time that a patient has to be in an uncomfortable position from 30 minutes to six to 10 minutes; reduce the amount of radiation exposure, and provide improved imaging with enhanced technology.
The foundation has given $1,419,971 to or on behalf of OMC in the last 19 months, OMC Executive Director Bruce Skinner said.
It also is in the midst of raising money for the expansion of the OMC Cancer Center.
“Counting pledges from donors, we have now raised over $1,000,000 towards the cancer center expansion,” Skinner said.
Those interested in more information or in making a donation can call the OMC Foundation office at 360-417-7144, or by emailing them at bruce@omhf.org.
Contract approved
The board of commissioners also approved a contract worth a little more than $140,000 with InSight Telepsychiatry to provide services for the next three years for mental health services.
Lewis said OMC has two full-time mental health care specialists in Port Angeles and envisions integrating more mental health services into primary care offerings.
“This nation has a mental health crisis, in some ways more than a crisis with opioids,” board commissioner Jim Leskinovitch said. “You can see it in the streets; people are unserved and under-served. It’s a good thing … to provide these services.”
