PORT ANGELES – Eric Lewis has announced that he will retire as CEO of Olympic Medical Center on May 1.

In an announcement released Tuesday, the OMC Board of Commissioners say they “urged Lewis to reconsider…however, given Eric’s decision to refocus, take time off and eventually contribute to his community…in yet-to-be-discovered ways, we are committed to supporting him…to develop a thoughtful and deliberate plan for a smooth succession.”

We spoke with Board of Commissioners President Jim Leskinovitch.

“I have not enough superlatives that I can tell you about Eric, from character to knowledge and ability, leadership…he’s got it all in one package. He’s just one Superman committed to our community. People’s talk, “Oh yeah, I’m committed”, or so, but he lives it. And he really means it. It’s going to be very, very hard to replace him.”

Lewis has been the hospital’s Chief Executive Officer for 13 years and was Chief Finance Officer for 8 years before that. During his tenure OMC has received numerous awards as one of the top rural hospitals in the country.

Lewis was a recent Chair of the Board of the Washington State Hospital Association and past President of the Association of Washington Public Hospital Districts.

Late in 2018, Lewis led OMC in joining a small group of hospitals nationally in a lawsuit to end so-called ‘site neutrality”, in which the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services cut Medicare re-imbursements by 30% for three straight years. That suit is ongoing but the group has seen some important victories in court toward defeating the policy.

(OMC Facebook photo)