Profile for Grant Award Recipient: Olympic Medical Center Cancer Center
Olympic Medical Center Foundation was awarded a $25,000 Community Development grant
for expansion of the Cancer Care Center in Sequim.
Profile: Olympic Medical Center Cancer Center by Karen McCormick
Few things are more terrifying than receiving a diagnosis of cancer. Beating the disease is one thing, but patients and their families must also face the daunting logistics involved with treatment and recovery. For those living in the rural communities of the North Olympic Peninsula, this often involves grueling trips to Seattle-area hospitals, often on a daily or weekly basis, when resources are already stretched to their limits.
Phil & Linda Walker
Olympic Medical Center opened its Cancer Center in Sequim in 2002, and by 2007 was treating 2,700 patients annually. Nine years later that number had grown to 8,100 patients – an increase of 157%. “We are unbelievably lucky, in a community this size, to have a world-class outpatient cancer center here,” said Phil Walker, board member of the Olympic Medical Center Foundation and avid supporter of the OMC Cancer Center expansion project. Although no patient is turned away, the Center is now at its maximum capacity.
OMC’s planned expansion of the Sequim Cancer Care Center will increase clinical exam space, expand its pharmacy, offer more infusion and chair space, and provide room for communication and educational efforts. This will increase the Center’s capacity by fifty percent, ensuring that the healthcare needs of our growing population will be met. Walker highlights another benefit of the Center’s expansion: “We will now be able to attract and retain the finest medical professionals, including medical and radiation oncologists, RNs and nurse practitioners, and medical assistant staff. Most important, however, is that patients will continue to benefit from the exceptional quality of care they receive, right here at home.”
Kay C. Hobbs and patient
Olympic Medical Center Foundation committed to raising $1 million for the expansion project, and by December 2018 it had exceeded that target. In 2018, First Federal Community Foundation, together with First Federal Bank, gave a combined leadership gift of $150,000 toward the OMC Cancer Center expansion project – an investment that will help bring hope and comfort to recovering cancer patients at a time when they need it the most.
