PORT ANGELES — The North Olympic Peninsula’s three hospital districts have teamed up to form a call center for patients in need of a specialist during the six-week closure of the Hood Canal Bridge.

Olympic Medical Center, Jefferson Healthcare and Forks Community Hospital CEOs collaborated to form the centralized doctor-locator service. The free, 24-hour call center is already up and running, four weeks before the bridge closes on May 1.

The number is 888-362-6260 or DOC-6260.

“This will direct consumers to professional and skilled medical staff available locally,” Rhonda Curry, Olympic Medical Center assistant administrator, said at Wednesday’s OMC commissioner’s meeting in Port Angeles.

The three hospital districts will be responsible for the cost of the calls that come in from their districts. A tracking center will monitor the calls’ places of origin.

“It’s a centralized point of contact for community members from Forks Hospital District, through ours, to Jefferson searching for a health-care provider,” Curry said.

“It’s been a really nice collaboration between the three public hospital districts.”

Kathy Hill, commissioner for Jefferson Healthcare in Port Townsend, agreed.

“I think it’s an awesome idea,” Hill said.

“I think we need to keep our constituents in our own counties as much as possible. If we can take care of them at home, I think it’s best for everybody.”

Curry said the service could continue after the completion of the replacement of the eastern half of the bridge, a project estimated to cost $ $499.8 million.

“This is the first effort at a call center,” Curry said.

“Many hospitals do this. It is our intention, if it is successful and if we hear from the community and the physicians that it’s a worthwhile effort, we are prepared at Olympic Medical Center to continue the call center past the duration of the closure.”

Jefferson call center

In addition to the Peninsula-wide call center, Jefferson Healthcare is opening its own call center for Jefferson County patients who normally receive health care on the other side of Hood Canal.

Patients can use that service to get in touch with a doctor at Jefferson Healthcare, which is extending its operating hours during the closure, Hill said.

The number will be advertised a couple of weeks before the bridge closes, she added.

OMC commissioners Jim Leskinovitch, Arlene Engle, John Beitzel, Jean Hordyk and Jim Cammack heard an update on the bridge closure during a one-hour meeting in Linkletter Hall.

Commissioner Gary Smith and Olympic Medical Center CEO Eric Lewis did not attend the meeting.

When the bridge is closed, the trip from Port Angeles to a Seattle-area hospital could take as long as 5¬½ hours, Curry said.

“Obviously, this increase in ground travel time will likely increase the necessary use of Airlift Northwest,” Curry said.

Insurance

Airlift Northwest is offering a membership-based insurance policy for families for $79 per year. The fee covers any member of a family that pays for the membership.

“Basically it shields your out-of-pocket cost for Airlift Northwest,” Curry said.

“Airlift Northwest will bill your insurance and accept your insurance payment as your payment in full for its services if you purchase this $79 policy. … I thought that this was good effort and a good gesture and maybe will be helpful for some local people.”

The number to call is 888-835-1599.

Olympic Medical Center is collaborating with Airlift Northwest, Olympic Ambulance, the state Department of Transportation and the Seattle-area hospitals to form a reliable transport service during the bridge closure, Curry said.

A free, 149-passenger water shuttle will cross Hood Canal on temporary docks near the bridge every day from 4 a.m. to 11 p.m. The shuttle runs every 30 minutes.

It will have a designated area for patients being transported to a hospital, but the DOT will not provide assistance for patients with walkers or wheelchairs.

Olympic Ambulance crews, however, will remain with patients until they reach their destination, Curry said.

If Airlift Northwest is fogged in or otherwise grounded during an early morning, life-or-death emergency, DOT crews will stop their nightly maintenance work and ferry a patient across Hood Canal, Curry said.

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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-417-3537 or at rob.ollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.