PORT ANGELES — After 2½ hours of public interviews Wednesday, the Olympic Medical Center board of commissioners unanimously appointed Nancy Field to fill a vacant seat on the seven-member governing body.
The appointment fills the unexpired Position 3 term of Commissioner John Nutter, who died Dec. 22.
Commissioners deliberated in executive session for just over an hour after interviewing the six applicants and then returned to open session to vote.
Field is a retired health care system executive and consulant who lives in Sequim.
The other candidates were Tara Coffin, Scott Fitzgerald, Laurie Force, Patrick Murphy and Gary Smith. Former board President Ann Marie Henninger, who had applied, withdrew from consideration.
Each candidate responded to the same set of 14 questions and was given time for opening and closing statements. Among the questions were why they applied for the position, skills relevant to the role, what the current board did well and areas for improvement, if they had any conflicts of interest and what they saw as the hospital’s greatest internal and external challenges.
Candidates consistently identified financial instability tied to a Medicare-heavy payer mix, workforce retention challenges — particularly among nurses — and rebuilding community trust as the most urgent issues facing OMC and described how they could contribute to addressing them if appointed.
Board members emphasized that the role required a substantial time commitment — including regular meetings, committee work and other responsibilities — and pressed candidates to demonstrate they could realistically meet those expectations.
Nutter’s term ran through December 2029, however, his seat will be on the general election ballot in 2027 to fill the remainder of his unexpired term.
Hospital commissioners are responsible for governance of the public hospital district and for adopting broad policies to ensure the delivery of quality, safe patient care. They may receive $161 per day for attending meetings and performing official duties, not to exceed $15,456 per year.
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Reporter Paula Hunt can be reached by email at paula.hunt@peninsuladailynews.
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