Public hospital administrators from Port Angeles, Port Townsend and Forks may join forces to recruit physicians, improve cardiac and cancer care and share healthcare costs.

Staff from Olympic Medical Center, Forks Community Hospital and Jefferson Healthcare are engaged in “a process that is moving forward”‘ with a “regional approach” to health care, Olympic Medical Center CEO Mike Glenn said.

The next step could be a joint meeting of the elected public hospital district commissioners, Glenn told Olympic Medical Center commissioners at their regular meeting Wednesday night.

“Clearly, we will have a lot to talk about,” Glenn said.

He said areas that could be coordinated among the districts include improving the quality of health services, planning and developing new programs and services, and recruiting staff and physicians, an area of heightened activity for Olympic Medical Center in recent years.

Hospitals also might initiate joint efforts that could include “collaborative arrangements with physicians” and coordinating and sharing overhead costs “where possible,” Glenn said.