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By Pepper Fisher

PORT ANGELES – Olympic Medical Center is changing its emergency room services provider because one of the doctors employed by PESI, the current services provider, is the subject of multiple criminal investigations.

That’s according to a statement issued Thursday by hospital CEO Darryl Wolfe. He says the allegations, which began to surface in April, are regarding this provider’s alleged actions while on shift in the Emergency Department at OMC, but he adds that little more can be said about the investigations because they are open and active cases.

When we first broke the story on Wednesday that OMC was changing its ER services provider on short notice, the investigations were not known publicly or by the nurses and other personnel who work in the ER department.

We now know that concerns resulting from the investigations are what forced hospital officials to make the sudden and difficult decision to contract with Sound Physicians, a Tacoma-based provider. Wolfe says investigations of the suspect individual are being conducted by multiple agencies, including the Department of Health and three regulatory commissions.

At the regular commissioner’s meeting Wednesday evening, dozens of members of the public and hospital employees expressed their deep concerns about the sudden move, which apparently convinced Wolfe to clarify their reasons for the decision the following day. In his statement, Wolfe says, “We heard the feedback about the quick, and somewhat unexpected, nature of this change, and while we are confident our new partnership with Sound Physicians will be positive, we will be looking for opportunities to reset and review emergency medicine group partners for the long-term.

There are concerns among staff and the public about the choice of signing with Sound Physicians. The Better Business Bureau lists the company as having a one star rating out of five, based on customer reviews. A cursory review of the 134 complaints filed by patients appears to show that most of them are regarding billing issues. Wolfe issued a follow-up statement to address the issue that says, in part, “Sound Physicians comes highly recommended for their emergency medicine services specifically. We inquired with hospital peers who utilize Sound Physicians, including a favorable reference from Samaritan Healthcare,…and other employees that have worked with Sound Physicians in emergency services, were also highly complementary.”

In a special meeting on Friday, the Board of Commissioners voted unanimously to approve signing a 3 year contract with Sound Physicians, including a no-cause termination notice after the first 12 months, at a cost of just under $1.3 million per year.

Some of those in attendance made statements before and after the vote.

We’ll hear now from Board President John Nutter, CEO Darryl Wolfe and Commissioner Tom Oblak.

“The last few days have probably been some of the most challenging I’ve ever had. Certainly, on this board. I’ve certainly received more constituent feedback in the past three days than I have my prior 13 years of being on this board. There are a lot of strong feelings, one way or another. And probably my biggest frustration continues to be the we cannot completely tell our side of the story yet because of ongoing investigations of multiple levels. I wish I could say more.”

“The other night was very difficult, obviously. And I guess the best analogy I’ve come up with, and I’ve used this a few times in the last few days, its kind of like being tied to a chair with your hands behind your back and people are just sort of punching you in the face, and you can’t defend yourself. This is no longer about just the ER, and just an individual provider. This is about, you know, the clinics, the OR, the lab. And I know I can’t explain all of that, but I just want you to know that this is not how we want to do things. But our hand has been forced and the risk has risen to a level where we have no choice.”

“A serious breakdown of a management system has occurred, thus precipitating this action. Having said that, I want all staff to know you are valued and appreciated, and it is our desire that you remain with OMC and continue what you’re doing, providing excellence in healthcare.”