PORT ANGELES — Virginia Mason Medical Center in Seattle could reap a harvest of ill will if it fails to fund the transformation of the local clinic it plans to abandon April 30.
That was Olympic Medical Center CEO Mike Glenn’s message to a meeting of medical center commissioners Tuesday night.
Virginia Mason-Seattle could lose $25 million of inpatient costs from Clallam County patients who would choose other hospitals, he said.
It also could face lawsuits and lengthy severance disputes, he said.
And the Seattle corporation might find no willing buyers for its almost $4 million of real and personal property in Port Angeles, Glenn told commissioners in a closed meeting that preceded their public session.
SRO crowd attended
The public meeting was packed by a standing-room-only crowd of about 90 people alarmed that the local clinic’s doctors might close their practices or leave town.
Glenn and medical center commissioners joined the Virginia Mason-Port Angeles doctors in blaming the Seattle hospital for the impasse. The physicians expressed their criticisms Tuesday to Peninsula Daily News.
“Endless hours and countless discussions produced no positive end,” he said.
“Virginia Mason-Seattle is not adequately paying for the transition” Glenn added, estimating the cost at $1 million to $2 million.
The funds would support current clinic physicians until they begin collecting Medicare reimbursements as an affiliate of Olympic Medical Center. The delay could be anywhere from 12 to 18 months.
Other options are difficult or illegal, medical center officials said.