Special Sections - Living on the Peninsula Fall 2017

FALL 2017

Hospitals keeping us healthy REMEMBERING PORT TOWNSEND HOSPITAL Commissioner looks back on lifelong relationship

HEALTH CARE — WEST END STYLE Forks hospital district first in state

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Contents

In Focus

Departments 13 | RECREATION Hiking the new and improved Spruce Railroad Trail

28 | FOOD & SPIRITS Winning-bid salad

24 | ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT In love with lathe work: Strait Turners make magic with wood

36 | THE DAYTRIPPER Make it a day at Rialto Beach

33 | CALENDAR OF EVENTS

38 | LIVING END The joy of discovery

36

16 | Assessment drills deep into data Five areas of concern identified in Clallam County 06 | COMMITTED TO COMMUNITY CARE OMC providing best of rural health care 11 | HEART TO HEART Heart Clinic important resource for patients 19 | A LIFELONG RELATIONSHIP Commissioner reminisces on hospital 22 | JUST FOR WOMEN Clinic champions women in every life stage 30 | WEST END PIONEERING HEALTH CARE Forks hospital district first in state 32 | QUALITY CARE CLOSE TO HOME Orthopedic surgeon content in Forks

On the cover: Dr. Matthew Levy, a general surgeon, performs surgery in an operating room at Olympic Medical Center.

Photo courtesy of Olympic Medical Center

Thank you, Patricia Morrison Coate, for your years of leading the Living on the Peninsula editorial team!

(Spring 2005 to Fall 2017) You will be greatly missed.

Best of luck to you!

Vol. 13, Number 4 • Living on the Peninsula is a quarterly publication.

147 W. Washington St., Sequim, WA 98382 © 2017 Sequim Gazette Terry R. Ward, Regional Publisher Steve Perry, General Manager Editorial: Patricia Morrison Coate, Editor pcoate@sequimgazette.com Production: Brenda Hanrahan, Page Designer Laura Lofgren, Page Designer Advertising Sales (360) 683-3311 • (360) 452-2345 226 Adams St. Port Townsend, WA 98368 360-385-2900 Lloyd Mullen, publisher Allison Arthur aarthur@ptleader.com ©2017 Port Townsend Leader

Fall 2017 LOP 5

COMMITTED TO ITS COMMUNITY CARE Olympic Medical Center is growing and providing the best of rural health care Story by Mary Powell Within the confines of the North Olympic Peninsula there can be found a multitude of health clinics and medical facilities, including an awardwinning hospital, all for the convenience and care of its citizens.

While that doesn’t seem particularly unusual, it is important to remember Clallam County and the North Olympic Peninsula, which includes Port Angeles and Sequim and a few small towns in-between, is rural in character, emphasizing the importance of public hospital districts in meeting the challenges facing rural health care.

Clallam County Public Hospital District 2, better known as Olympic Medical Center, includes all its services and a 67-bed hospital. It is the health care provider for more than 70,000 residents in Clallam County.

“The administration and board are totally committed to give the community top-notch medical care,” said Jim Leskinovitch, president of the board of trustees. “As a hospital that has gone from in-house-only care with one or two employed doctors, to what we have now, it’s impressive.”

Indeed. Today OMC is the biggest employer in the county with 1,370 employees, more than 100 of those physicians.

“We’ve added more than 120 employees over the last year trying to keep up with the growth here,” said Eric Lewis, administrator and CEO of OMC. Talking with both Lewis and Leskinovitch, it’s obvious there is an abundance of hometown pride when it comes to OMC. Leskinovitch has served as a board of trustee member since 1997, saying he enjoys contributing to the health of the community and maintains a commitment to “shoring up the health care here.”

Like Lewis, Leskinovitch speaks often about the growth of OMC’s infrastructure. “It’s been upgraded so many times,” he added. He spoke about one incident in particular that emphasizes the importance of patient care.

Several years ago, Leskinovitch recounts, for those in the hospital needing an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) procedure, the patient would need to be moved two blocks from the hospital, usually by ambulance. “It was expensive and difficult,” Leskinovitch said. Eventually OMC bought out the doctors who owned the imaging clinic and made room in the hospital for the machine.

It’s those kinds of stories that weave in and out of conversations with nearly all OMC staff, from administrators to physicians and technicians to cafeteria and custodial employees.

IT ALL STARTED...

There are, of course, many people who know the history of the Olympic Medical Center and in particular, the hospital. But there is only one person

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Eric Lewis is the administrator/CEO of Olympic Medical Center which includes clinics and speciality care services throughout Port Angeles and Sequim, and of course, the hospital in Port Angeles.

Photo courtesy of Olympic Medical Center with an all-in-the-family account of that history.

Meet Bill Kintner, a family practice physician and head of the Primary Care division at OMC, as well as chairman of the Physicians Council. Turns out, his father was a primary care doc, too, and started the primary care group in Port Angeles in the 1940s. His father also was complicit in bringing a hospital to the city of Port Angeles and forming a hospital district.

Hospital districts were first authorized by the Washington Legislature in 1945. These districts are authorized not only to operate hospitals, but also to deliver any service to help people stay healthy, physically, socially and mentally. There are 56 hospital districts in Washington, which play a vital role in allowing many rural communities to keep health care in their own communities. In fact, the majority of public hospital districts are located in areas considered to be rural. Each public hospital district is governed by a board of elected commissioners.

In 1948, the community and voters, with the urging of Kintner’s father, began to set up a hospital district, leading to the construction of Olympic Memorial Hospital, which opened on Nov. 1, 1951.

Olympic Memorial Hospital? Yes. While Olympic Medical Center encompasses all clinics and services and the hospital, the two are separate, but by name only.

Kintner tells a funny story leading to the name of the hospital.

It seems that in the mid-1990s, there was some controversy in the community regarding the Olympic Medical Center and the hospital. At first the hospital was simply called Memorial Hospital. But, Kintner related, “the guys in Olympia said we needed a bigger name, to memorialize someone.

They acted like we were country bumpkins up here.”

Emily April, ARNP, left, examines a patient at Olympic Medical Physicians, primary care, in Port Angeles. Photo courtesy of Olympic Medical Center So, he continued, someone said how about Olympic Memorial Hospital, and that, as they say, was that.

Kintner was born in that hospital and his father practiced medicine at the clinic and hospital he was key in establishing until his retirement.

Like the administrators and board members, Kintner marvels at how quickly medicine has changed and how OMC has changed with it. For example, over the past 15 years, inpatient and outpatient numbers have flip-flopped. Back when, 70-75 percent of what the medical center did was inpatient, with hospital stays as long as a week or more. Today, 75 percent of procedures, such as surgery, are on an outpatient basis.

“Fewer patients are admitted and many are able to go home the same day,” Kintner said, also referring to the state-of-the art short-stay surgery suite.

In Sequim, a cancer center has been built, whereby those needing chemotherapy or radiation therapy don’t have to travel to far-away places for treatment. It is much easier on cancer patients, Kintner pointed out.

“There is a large presence in Sequim,” Kintner said of the number of doctors and clinics in Sequim. “A lot of people don’t want to drive to Port Angeles, with the multiple locations, it’s very convenient for patients.”

Kintner’s dream for the future is to attract more primary care physicians to the area. “We are rural and it is difficult to attract and keep people. It can be very challenging.”

THE RURAL CONUNDRUM

The U.S. Census Bureau defines rural as what is not urban — that is, after

defining individual urban areas, rural is what is left. According to the 2010 census data, 20-25 percent of the U.S. population lives in rural areas. Typical demographic trends of rural areas include lower median incomes, a high number of senior citizens and lower life expectancies. Again, based on the 2010 census, per capita income is on average $7,400 lower in rural areas than in urban areas and those living in rural areas have a higher likelihood of living below the poverty level.

According to the Rural Health Foundation, nearly 24 percent of children in rural areas live in poverty. And as younger residents leave rural areas for college or to seek employment, the population in the rural communities becomes older.

So what does that mean for our neck of the woods? The estimated population of Clallam County in 2014 was 72,715, with 26.9 percent of those aged 65 and older. Sequim’s population is 6,964, Port Angeles, 19,833 and Forks, 3,783. Yes, we are a rural community, which does affect health care.

“The cost side is high in rural areas,” said Leskinovitch. “We are at 83 percent Medicare and Medicaid in Clallam County. If you are sick and need care and can’t afford it, you just can’t afford it and go without.”

The National Rural Health Association considers access to health care and affordability as the two biggest challenges for those living in rural areas, especially when driving to a larger city with more health care options is difficult. Besides the geographical barriers, there are fewer providers available; only about 10 percent of physicians practice in rural communities.

Lewis agrees.

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Eric Hempel, D.O., enjoys a moment with a patient at the OMC primary care clinic in Sequim. Photo courtesy of Olympic Medical Center “One of the challenges at OMC is (the local) workforce,” Lewis said.

“There are not enough trained physicians or registered nurses and recruiting from urban communities can be difficult.” He added OMC is never at full employment.

To counteract the physician shortage, a family practice residency is underway at OMC. After medical school, residents will fulfill their first year at Swedish Hospital in Seattle and the last two years with OMC. “Once they graduate, we would like them to stay local,” Lewis said.

This program will help ensure the employees the community needs in the future, he added.

From Leskinovitch’s point of view, he said OMC staff will “work with anybody and anything. We go to Washington, D.C., and work with our politicians to keep rural medicine funded and are needs taken care of.”

Because of the high number of those using Medicare and Medicaid in rural communities — a majority of children in Clallam County are on Medicaid — Lewis sees another problem as low reimbursement from those programs. Hospitals in rural areas are disproportionately impacted by the continual cuts to Medicare reimbursements. That also impacts physicians having private practices.

“Over the past 16 years, it has become increasingly difficult to be viable as a private practice physician,” Kintner put forth. “Most ultimately end up at a center, such as OMC, or with a group practice.”

SERVING THE COMMUNITY

Despite its challenges, Olympic Medical Center takes very good care of the community. From its cutting-edge hospital, to the myriad of speciality clinics, a heart center, a sophisticated cancer center, walk-in clinics and most impressive, its recently-opened Medical Office Building in Port Angeles, there are not too many patients shipped across the water for care.

“We invest more than $3 million annually in equipment,” Lewis maintained. “We want to give people options for excellent local care. With a $165 million annual budget, “We have become a big organization for sure.”

The hospital itself is a remarkable building sitting on some of the most

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stunning property in Port Angeles.

How did that happen?

As Lewis tells it, the federal government owned the property which during the Civil War, was used as a backup in case situations could not be handled in Washington, D.C. So Washington state played its part during that long-ago war.

When the community voted to set up a hospital district in 1948, the federal government gave the land to OMC. Awesome, right? This hospital sits at the edge of a cliff that overlooks the Strait of Juan de Fuca, which gives those who work and are patients there a sumptuous view. From the front side of the building, the Olympic Mountains stand tall and glorious.

“I think a view of the mountains and the water give hope,” Lewis said from his office, which just happens to look out on that gorgeous water view.

Lewis has lived in the Sequim area for 19 years, having been raised in Selah, and earned his B.A. at the University of Washington. For the first eight years at OMC he was the chief financial officer and for the past 10 years, the administrator and CEO. During that time, the hospital has gone through several expansions and a lot of changes.

In 1995, Olympic Medical Center chose to participate in the Washington Trauma Designated Hospital System. This system defines standards of care requirements for participating hospitals. Trauma levels range from 1 to 5, with Harborview — in Seattle — as the only Level 1 in Washington. Olympic Medical Center is one of two Level 3s in the Olympic Peninsula region.

Also in the mid-1990s, the short-stay surgery suite was added, in 1997 the surgery department was remodeled and there was a huge expansion in 2007, which included the new, quite modern and good eats-with-a-view cafeteria.

“We always need space,” Lewis said.

For the six-month-old Medical Office Building a stone’s throw from the hospital, nine older buildings were torn down.

Many of the services spread throughout the city of Port Angeles were consolidated into the building, such as orthopedics, cardiology, gastroenterology, to name a few, and the crown jewel, a much-needed walk-in clinic open seven days a week.

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OMC is indeed, a shining example of what a rural hospital can accomplish.

To prove it, in April of this year, the National Rural Health Association announced Olympic Medical Center one of the Top 20 Rural Community Hospitals in the country. If that’s not enough, in February, OMC was named to the 2017 Top 100 Rural and Community Hospitals in the U.S. by the NRHA’s Rural Health Policy Institute.

“This is a huge honor and shows the outstanding work of the employees and medical staff we have here at Olympic Medical Center,” Lewis stated a press release shortly after the announcement. “Our rural community deserves to have a high-caliber, quality medical community and we work hard to reliably deliver needed services now and in the future.”

Most rural hospitals have 25 beds, such as our neighbor, Forks Community Hospital. With 67 beds at Olympic Memorial Hospital, it is one of the largest rural hospitals in the nation. On any given Monday through Friday, Lewis said about 1,000 people are treated. Between the primary care clinics in Port Angeles and Sequim, it’s about 60 patients daily.

Collaboration is key for the success of rural health centers. OMC has partnerships with the Jamestown Family Health Clinic in Sequim and Swedish Medical Center in Seattle.

Those who work with Lewis give him top marks when it comes to administration.

“Mr. Lewis has very good leadership skills and is supportive of his administration team,” said Kintner. “He has a collaborative relationship with providers, doctors and professional staff. We view ourselves as being on the same team with him.”

Leskinovitch calls Lewis a great CEO. “We expect excellence and that is what we get from Eric,” he said. “The infrastructure as been upgraded so many times since Eric came, it has given us the best service in the community.”

As for the future, Lewis outlines a few goals, the first and most important is to keep improving the patient experience by working on quality and safety issues, and coming in a close second, improve the primary care access, namely by enticing more primary care physicians to this beautiful peninsula. And, of course, to grow the hospital and services for the people who live here.

But, he adds, “the best thing about OMC is the people, the physicians and other employees who work here really care. The employees make OMC what it is.”

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The OMC Medical Center, located directly across from the hospital in Port Angeles, opened in March 2017. The 42,000-square-foot state-of-the-art building houses several speciality clinics and offers a walk-in clinic, open seven days a week.

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Heart to heart Olympic Medical Center Heart Clinic is an important resource for heart patients Story and photos by Mary Powell Eat healthy foods, exercise daily, drink plenty of water, get at least eight hours of sleep. We’ve all heard these words of advice, and many of us try to heed them, others do not. At the Olympic Medical Center Heart Clinic, these are not merely words of advice, but it’s the law. In a good way. To be sure, no one at the heart clinic is going to throw anyone in jail for slipping up now and again.

It’s just that the 31 staff members and four cardiologists who work at the heart clinic are so considerate and helpful. Their hearts care for your heart.

“The things we do here, we do well,”said Leonard Anderson, heart center manager.

Anderson gives one of his genuine smiles while talking about the center and stops for a moment to talk to a woman recovering from a recent heart attack.

Everyone smiles at the heart center, at least the one I visited in Sequim.

There is a clinic in Port Angeles as well and the 31 staff members alternate between both sites.

Heart disease is the No. 1 killer of both men and women in the United States and includes a range of conditions that affect the heart. The most common cause of heart disease is narrowing or blockage of the coronary arteries, the bold vessels that supply blood to the heart. This is called coronary artery disease and is the major reason people have heart attacks.

Let’s say you have symptoms of heart disease, which takes you to your primary care doctor. He or she sends you to a cardiologist, who orders tests to determine what exactly is wrong.

This where the heart center comes in. The heart center’s program is twofold: testing and rehabilitation. The most common tests at the OMC Heart Center are an electrocardiogram (ECG), whereby the electrical activity of the heart is recorded; a stress test, commonly known as a treadmill or exercise ECG; or an echocardiogram, or echo, that uses sound waves to evaluate the heart’s chambers and valves. At the Sequim site, there also is

Leonard Anderson, Olympic Medical Heart Center manager, stands in the gym portion of the center. Patients who need cardiology support work out on a variety of machines under the watch of technicians and exercise physiologists. an opportunity for a nuclear stress test that can show areas of low blood flow through the heart and damaged heart muscle. It’s called nuclear because the test involves injecting radioactive dye into the bloodstream.

Between the two clinic sites, 2,400 procedures are performed each month, Anderson said.

One test that is not available at the heart center is cardiac catheterization, a procedure that examines how the heart is working. A thin, hollow tube called a catheter is inserted into a large blood vessel that leads to the heart. The procedure is done in a hospital cardiac catheterization, or cath, lab. Patients who need this usually are sent to Swedish Medical Center in Seattle.

Anderson said there is no cath lab within OMC. “We have to ask ourselves, is it a good use of resources and what can we accomplish by having one here,” he added. With the size of this community, his thought is there is no need for a cath lab at this time.

Heart procedures and surgeries also are limited at OMC, as there are no heart surgeons on staff. “We do put in pacemakers and other minor procedures, otherwise patients are sent to Seattle,” Anderson said.

REHABBING FOR A HEALTHIER FUTURE

It’s after a surgical procedure or a heart attack that the rehabilitation process takes over. Cardiac rehabilitation is a program designed to help patients recover from a heart event and build the foundation for a healthier future. Rehab typically involves an individualized exercise and lifestyle modification program, and provides a support system to help patients take control of risk factors, monitor progress, communicate with doctors and adopt lifelong healthy behaviors.

The strength of the clinic is promoting and teaching those healthy behaviors, something Anderson and his staff gently bring home to their patients.

“The bottom line is to encourage our patients to live well, to teach them and show them how important that is,” Anderson maintains.

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“It’s nice,” she said of the gym and the program. “I like the education talk and I’ve met some friends here.”

Anderson, who is lean and tall and wears a smile all the time, enjoys exercise, often riding his bike after work, running or walking. His enthusiasm for fitness and wellness is obvious when he walks into the gym and talks to patients walking on a treadmill or using other pieces of equipment.

It’s why he is so excited about a collaboration between the Sequim YMCA and the heart center. The YMCA building in Sequim is near the heart clinic, so it made sense to join forces when it comes to good health. Not long ago, Anderson and other OMC administrators were able to secure a 1,500-square-foot space in the newly remodeled YMCA that basically will be a wellness center.

“We have been working with the Y to be able to have this transitional (gym) program,” Anderson said.

Raymond Martinez, another physiologist, will move his office from the heart center to the YMCA and maintain the program.

“Like other departments and services at OMC, the heart clinic is growing and growing quickly. When OMC built the medical office building in Sequim a few years ago, people were wondering why it needed to be so big. When I started working here 10 years ago, it was only half filled,” Anderson said.

“Now it’s bursting at the seams.”

In fact, Anderson recently put in a proposal for more space and more staff.

But the primary focus at the heart clinic won’t change.

“We want to teach people how to access the medical system on the peninsula and how to maintain a healthy lifestyle,” Anderson said. “It’s the only way to go.”

Rob Martinez, a physiologist at the Olympic Medical Heart Clinic, is leading the efforts of a collaborative project between the heart center and the YMCA, whereby clients (and others) can take advantage of exercise programs and educational strategies to maintain good heath.

Unfortunately, cardiac rehabilitation is underutilized by patients recovering from heart events, according to a paper published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. Way back when, cardiac patients spent days on end on bedrest with restricted physical activity. Today, those recovering from a heart event are able to quickly take advantage of rehab comprehensive programs that help patients not only recover from a heart event, but partner with professionals to improve heart health — and reduce the risk of a future heart event. Thus, those who do take advantage of cardiac rehabilitation at the heart center have a built-in support group — the staff and other patients in the program.

Anderson and his family moved from Charleston, S.C., 10 years ago. “We were looking for a change and my wife (a physical therapy technician) found a job at OMC.” He has a master’s of education degree from the University of Oregon, but also is certified as an exercise physiologist. Anderson was the first exercise physiologist when he started working at the heart center. Today there are five of these specialists on staff.

An exercise physiologist conducts studies of the human body and studies the physiology of the body as it responds to exercise. By learning how a patient’s body responds to stress during exercise and physical activity, the physiologist is able to help those who suffer from debilitating disease or disability.

At the heart of the center (no pun intended) is the gym. Here there are a variety of exercise machines and equipment that cardiac patients may use.

It’s where exercise physiologists such as Chelsea Hahn work with heart patients, providing individual exercise programs and encouragement for each rehab patient. Hahn is the newest hire at the clinic and is super excited at the prospect of working both at the clinic and in the Sequim area.

When a patient comes to the heart clinic, before beginning any type of program, each attends a class where they learn the hows, whens and whys of rehab. That education piece impressed Lee, a patient who did not want to give her last name. Lee told me she had been coming to the gym frequently and thought is was helping her after “several” heart events.

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The gym at the Olympic Medical Center Heart Clinic in Sequim, has a variety of exercise machines designed to help those with heart conditions recover quickly and safely under the watchful eyes of professional staff.

Lee, who preferred to use only her first name, said the exercise can be difficult, but she knows it is part of the plan to maintain long-term good health.

HIKING THE NEW, IMPROVED SPRUCE RAILROAD TRAIL

OUTDOOR RECREATION

Story and photos by Michael Dashiell For a trail with so much back-story and history, the Spruce Railroad Trail along the north side of Lake Crescent sure feels like a brand new adventure.

That’s thanks to a recently completed project that rehabbed a half-mile trail segment leading to and through the century-old McPhee Tunnel, which was blasted during World War I. The Spruce Railroad Trail was built in 1918 to move Sitka spruce for the construction of World War I biplanes. The war ended before trees could be used in airplane construction, however. The Spruce Railroad remained open as a common carrier line and logging railroad until it was abandoned in 1951, according to Olympic National Park.

Since then it’s become a favorite of locals seeking a scenic, low-elevation forest hike or a place to take dip at the bedeviling Devil’s Punch Bowl about a mile from the east trailhead.

At a little less than four miles, the bulk of the Spruce Railroad Trail gives hikers, bicyclists, equestrians and people in wheelchairs a safe alternative to the U.S. Highway 101 route on Lake Crescent’s southern shore.

The trail has been closed from the Lyre River trailhead to just beyond the tunnel since September. Crews from Port Angeles’ Bruch and Bruch Construction of Port Angeles worked to restore the 450-foot long tunnel and to widen the trail segment to about 12 feet.

In mid-July, locals and construction crews celebrated the reopening of this section.

I got my first chance to see the new tunnel in early August, and while this has been a day trip favorite of mine for years, the new construction made it feel brand new again.

IN THE DARK … BRIEFLY

From the East Beach trailhead, I ambled along a wide path of large broken rock through maples and firs through the first mile before coming upon the McPhee Tunnel.

ABOVE: Restoration of the McPhee Tunnel on the Spruce Railroad Trail is complete.

BELOW LEFT: The Devil’s Punch Bowl always is a highlight on the Spruce Railroad Trail.

A posted sign reads “Low level lighting in tunnel,” “Stay to the right,” “Use reflective devices” and “Walk bicycles through tunnel.”

In clearing rock piles from around the impassable tunnel, crews replaced entrances with arched portals and stabilized the surrounding rock and earth with various tools from shotcrete (sprayed-on concrete), rock bolts and dowels, earthwall and more.

I fought off the urge to hold my breath in the tunnel — my old habit of doing likewise driving up Hurricane Ridge Road dies hard — and, despite not having a reflective device (or bike for that matter) I simply went for it.

It was dark. But at 0.07 mile long, it’s not harrowing by any stretch.

The tunnel essentially re-routes the trail past the Devil’s Punch Bowl and bridge. The small inlet is a popular spot for locals to take a plunge in Lake Crescent, with its bracing, aqua-colored water and steep sides encouraging dippers from both the bridge span and the abutting cliffs.

Access this spot by taking a small, beaten path to the south side of the McPhee Tunnel. I decided to push on past and save the bridge for the return trip.

LAKESIDE VIEWS

Not long after the new tunnel, the forest seems to reclaim the Spruce Railroad Trail, with an undulating, tree-rooted path never meandering far from Lake Crescent’s shore. With bigleaf maples and red alders towering above and a bed of sword ferns, salal and thimbleberry at my feet broken up by the occasional streamlet, the trail also offers views of Barnes Point and Mount Storm King at about the two-mile mark.

(As I write this, however, wind-blown smoke from fires in British Columbia obscure the view. A saving grace of this hike takes trail users away from most of the haze and smoke.)

At times the trail dips down to the lake shore and others rise well above water level.

Hikers come upon a second railroad tunnel — the shorter, Daley-Rankin Tunnel — at about mile 3, but for those who aren’t familiar with the trail, it’s easy to miss heading westbound. The entrance is up a short but steep incline and is frankly easier to spot on the east end.

In contrast to the McPhee Tunnel, the Daley-Rankin is a boulder-filled incline some may not feel comfortable clambering up, so be warned.

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Spruce Railroad Trail How long: About 4 miles (one way) How hard: Easy to moderate Directions: East trailhead — From Port Angeles, take U.S. Highway 101 west for 17 miles. Turn right onto East Beach Road and follow road for a little more than 3 miles, then turn left onto Boundary Creek Road (signed for the Spruce Railroad Trail).

Trailhead is about 1 mile. Toilets available.

West trailhead — From Port Angeles, take U.S. Highway 101 west for 26.1 miles, then turn right onto Camp David Junior Road and continue to the end of the road, about 3 miles.

Entry fee/passes: None required Reflective gear is encouraged when passing through the McPhee Tunnel on the Spruce Railroad Trail.

At about 3.8 miles the trail splits; the right a paved path that follows the contour of the mountain on to Camp David Junior Road, the left to the Camp David Junior Road trailhead and parking lot and eventually to Fairholme on the far east end of the lake.

MORE CHANGES COMING

Though marked by history, the Spruce Railroad Trail has plenty of changes in store in the near future. As part of work on the 134-mile-long Olympic Discovery Trail connecting Port Townsend and La Push, trail renovation won’t be fully completed until 2019. This is a multi-year, federally-funded project between Clallam County and the National Park Service (which owns the land around Lake Crescent), which will realign and widen the entire trail for non-motorized use.

Last year, crews realigned and constructed about a half-mile of the trail, from the Lyre River trailhead to the old railroad grade on the lakeshore.

Later this year, a county contractor will build another segment on the west end.

And next year, crews will restore the trail west of the McPhee Tunnel and rehabilitate the Daley-Rankin. Crews are scheduled to return in the spring of 2019 to pave the trail’s entire length.

While it feels to me a bit of a loss — I like the small, beaten path look and

Note: Bicycles, horses, dogs (leashed) allowed on trail, motorized vehicles not allowed. Day use area only.

On the web: www.wta.org/go-hiking/hikes/spruce-railroad feel of the Spruce Railroad Trail — it will be much better for bicyclists and those using wheelchairs.

On the return trip, I stopped at the Devil’s Punch Bowl, taking the short spur off the main trail just before the McPhee Tunnel. Since my hike start time of 9 a.m. I’d seen just nine trail users so far — one runner, one mountain biker, two hikers at the east end trailhead and a group of five with dogs (canines are allowed on this hike) who looked like they were settled to see the tunnel and head back — and I expected a small crowd on this, an increasingly warm summer day. Instead, the Punch Bowl was empty. Odd, I thought. Perhaps the haze was keeping people away?

Alas, once back on the trail toward the East Beach trailhead I passed a group of six bicyclists, followed by a dozen day hikers with towels and picnic baskets. Despite the long closure and restoration, the trail it seems remains a popular draw.

Michael Dashiell is editor of the Sequim Gazette. Reach him at editor@ sequimgazette.com.

Rob Ollikainen, a reporter with the Olympic Peninsula News Group, contributed to this report.

After a mile of broken rock the Spruce Railroad Trail returns to mostly rolling, dirt paths bordered by lush undergrowth.

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Fall 2017 LOP 15

Health assessment

drills deep into data Five areas of concern identified Story and photo by Patricia Morrison Coate How’s your health? That of your elderly neighbor or the latch-key kids down the block? Are you healthier in Sequim than in Forks? Depending on what part of Clallam County you live in — east, central or west — your biggest health-related concerns may be different.

About 1,350 Clallam County residents took the time and interest for an online survey in January and February to share their perceptions about the quality of life and health in their communities.

In 2016, the county had a population of 73,410. The 190-page Community Health Assessment, which was widely distributed, was issued in June and revealed significant challenges, said Dr. Christopher Frank, the county’s public health officer.

“The last one was in 2012 and it’s really important because it looks at 100-plus indicators; it’s important to see where we’re making progress, where we’re falling behind and where we need to focus additional resources,” Frank said.

The survey and Community Health Assessment identified five pivotal areas that affect the overall health of Clallam County residents: poverty levels, housing affordability, access to health care, alcohol/tobacco and other drug use, and access to healthy food.

“We have a higher rate of poverty than the state average with more people living in poverty than five years ago,” Frank said. “In 2017, the federal poverty level is an income of $24,600 for a family of four and $12,060 for a single-person household. Fifteen percent of Clallam County residents are below the federal poverty line with a wide disparity — it’s even higher for people without college educations and for non-white residents. In our area, that’s mostly tribal members and Hispanics.”

The County Health Rankings & Roadmaps has a model that describes the amount of influence the above factors have on health (www.countyhealthrankings.org/our-approach): Social & Economic (40%) includes social support, community safety, income, education and employment; Physical Environment (10%) includes built environment and environmental quality; Personal Behavior (30%) includes diet and exercise, substance use and sexual activity; Clinical Care (20%) includes access to care and quality of care. All this equals Health. These factors, which influence health, result in measurable health outcomes, including morbidity (quality of life) and mortality (length of life).

16 LOP Fall 2017

Dr. Christopher Frank, Clallam County’s Public Health Officer, spends much of his time on the computer inputting and assessing data.

The median household income in 2015 was about $45,000, which held steady from 2012; however these indices rose: students receiving free/ reduced lunch, families with children receiving public assistance and food stamp recipients.

“A key finding was housing affordability and availability because 1 in 3 residents spend more than 30 percent of their income on housing and about 50 percent of renters pay more than one-third of their income,” Frank said.

According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (www.hud.gov/), “Families who pay more than 30 percent of their income for housing are considered cost burdened and may have difficulty affording necessities such as food, clothing, transportation and medical care.”

Median home prices and rents continue to rise as the housing market on the Olympic Peninsula becomes tighter. For the second quarter of 2017, the median house price in Sequim was $300,000 and a rental, if you can find one, often is upwards of $800 per month.

“Another finding identified was access to health care — medical, mental health and dental — that’s something that will resonate in Sequim because people know there are long waits to get a physician. Also, there’s an affordability gap so people delay needed medical care due to high deductible costs,” Frank explained.

The assessment summary shows that 12 percent of adults were unable to see a physician because of costs and 31 percent had unmet health care needs.

Other factors affecting health outcomes are smoking and substance abuse in the county. The study shows an adult smoking rate of 16 percent, down from last year, but, Frank said, “We have high rates of opioidassociated hospitalizations and deaths. Clallam County is one of the top two (out of 39) counties in the state with the highest opioid death rate — there were 14.6 deaths per 100,000 in 2015.”

The death rate from non-opioid drugs was 22 per 100,000, also higher than the state average.

Frank also noted, “Youth smoking rates are twice the state average as are smoking rates during pregnancy, although smoking rates are down nationwide. About 18 percent of 10th-graders have used marijuana in the past month, about the same as the state average.”

Last but not least, Frank said, “Having access to healthy food is a geographical issue because some residents live a ways to a grocery store, so they have limited access to fresh fruits and vegetables.”

“

We have high rates of opioid-associated hospitalizations and deaths. Clallam County is one of the top two (out of 39) counties in the state with the highest opioid death rate — there were 14.6 deaths per 100,000 in 2015.

— Dr. Christopher Frank

”

GOOD NEWS

“We have a much lower rate of uninsured because of the Medicaid expansion — our uninsured rate has been cut in half from 15 percent to 7 percent in five years,” Frank said.

“And we’ve seen a really dramatic improvement in lower teen pregnancy rates. There’s also been an important reduction of bullying in the schools when youths were surveyed.”

Frank pointed out that health care is responsible for only about 20 percent of health outcomes and much of good or poor health is determined by lifestyles — exercise, diet and habits.

“It wasn’t really surprising to me but it was a good reminder of how important education is — one of the best things we can do to improve health is to make sure that our children get a rigorous education and have the opportunity to continue beyond high school.

“Life is going to continue to get more difficult for people who don’t pursue advanced education,” Frank said.

“Poverty is a driver of poor health outcomes,” Frank stressed. “I think one of the important overall findings is we still have significant inequality across the county with groups with excellent health and people with poor outcomes. The most surprising part of the assessment was the fact that our poverty rates have continued to increase in spite of improving unemployment rates.

“I think it’s a good reminder that we can spend as much money as we can on health care but many of the things that determine health outcomes are outside of the medical system. It’s also interesting that we have an older population — Clallam County is one of the sixth oldest counties in the state and we’re getting older.”

In a secondary assessment surveying the east, central and west portions of the county, the biggest concern for Port Angeles area and West End residents is alcohol/substance abuse, while the Sequim area rated access to health care as its top priority. Countywide, the biggest concern for children and youth is drug and alcohol use, including tobacco and marijuana.

NEXT STEPS

Now what to do with all this detailed information?

“We will try to narrow this list of key findings down to two or three manageable goals that the community wants to tackle together,” Frank said.

“Now that we have a list of findings, we will be surveying a lot of nonprofits and community leaders to really see which of these areas the community wants to focus on that will lead to a Community Health Improvement Plan, which should be ready for comment this fall.

“Overall,” Frank stressed, “the No. 1 preventable cause of death still is tobacco use and right behind tobacco are sedentary lifestyles and poor diets, but those behaviors or habits are hard to change so we need to improve our environment so making the healthy choice is the easy choice.”

ABOUT DR. FRANK

Raised in a small town near Ann Arbor, Mich., Frank, 41, earned his undergraduate degree at the University of Michigan and graduated from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, Md., in 2007 with an M.D. and a Ph.D. in molecular biology. He completed his family medicine residency at the University of Wisconsin in a specialized program designed

The biggest concern for Port Angeles area and West End residents is alcohol/ substance abuse, while the Sequim area rated access to health care as its top priority. Countywide, the biggest concern for children and youth is drug and alcohol use, including tobacco and marijuana.

Graphics courtesy of the Clallam County Public Health Department to prepare family physicians to work in smaller communities. He and his family moved to Port Angeles in 2010.

In addition to his primary care practice at the North Olympic Health care Network in Port Angeles, Frank is an active teacher of medical students and resident physicians as a clinical assistant professor in the University of Washington Department of Family Medicine. In 2015, Frank became the Public Health Officer for Clallam County and he now divides his time between NOHN and Clallam County Health and Human Services.

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Jefferson health care commissioner Tony DeLeo stands inside a hallway at the new Jefferson health care Hospital’s ESSB wing, which opened in 2016. Signs behind him note affiliations with other health care organizations, including Olympic Medical Physicians. Behind him is a list of awards the health care center has won over the years. The health care’s cancer program recently was accredited by the Commission on Cancer.

A LIFELONG RELATIONSHIP Tony DeLeo was born at the hospital where he now serves as commissioner Story and photos by Allison Arthur

T

ony DeLeo has had a relationship with Jefferson health care all his life — from the moment he entered the world on Feb. 8, 1949, to today as he completes 44 years on the board of commissioners that oversees what is now the largest public health care system in Jefferson County.

Back when DeLeo was born 68 years ago, there was one private hospital in Jefferson County — St. John’s Hospital — and it was run by the Sisters of Providence, an order of Catholic nuns. That’s where DeLeo was born. That hospital was condemned and demolished in the 1960s.

By the 1970s, DeLeo was working on the hospital commission and negotiating with the nuns to buy the health care system they had built, which included a nursing home. That same decade, the nuns took $1.1 million and left the hospital with

no sisters and no money in the treasury.

Today, Jefferson health care’s system includes a new $21 million emergency and specialty building, and clinics in Port Townsend, Port Ludlow and Quilcene. With more than 400 employees, it is the largest public employer in Jefferson County. For 2017, it has an operating budget of $100 million.

Sitting in the cafeteria of the Jefferson health care recently, DeLeo reflected on the hospital’s past, on its present and what he hopes will be its future after he leaves.

It’s a story not just about the brick-and-mortar facility constantly changing, but about how the delivery of health care has moved as well — from an inpatient to an outpatient focus.

COWS FOR CARE

The first hospital in Jefferson County was a

four-story wooden structure constructed in the 1890s on a hill overlooking Port Townsend Bay by the Sisters of Providence. In the 1920s, the nuns built a four-story brick building and the original building was kept.

During the decades the nuns ran the hospital there was a garden on the hill above the hospital where QFC grocery store and medical buildings and apartment buildings are today.

There was a massive kitchen in the hospital where DeLeo remembered the nuns would use produce from the garden, as well as chickens and cows they raised, to make casseroles that everyone — nuns, staff and patients — would eat.

“In the fall, the kitchen crew would can for the winter. The people in the kitchen hated it. It was all-night sessions,” he said. “And in those days, the sisters would take a cow as payment.”

Fall 2017 LOP 19

A new 52,000-square-foot wing of Jefferson Healthcare Hospital, called the Emergency Services and Specialty Building (ESSB), opened in October 2016 in Port Townsend. The main floor houses the emergency department as well as outpatient services, including oncology, orthopedics, cardiology, lab draws and select diagnostic imaging.

Photo by Patrick Sullivan, flight

by Tailspin Tommy’s By the 1960s, the original hospital — the one DeLeo was born in — was condemned and the sisters pleaded poverty, telling the community they didn’t have the means to build another one.

“So someone started an initiative to create a hospital district. My mom ran for it. She didn’t win, but she ran anyway,” DeLeo recalled.

The public hospital district idea was a Plan B of sorts in the event the nuns failed at finding the funds to build a new facility. As it turned out, the community donated what DeLeo calls “a ton of money” that was matched by federal Hill-Burton funds and a new hospital was built.

“So the sisters basically got the building for free,” DeLeo says with a smile, knowing now what he didn’t know at the time.

As a teen in the 1960s, DeLeo even went to work on that new building.

“At the time, the railroad was still running and we would bring truckloads … I couldn’t drive yet, but I’d take a hand truck and wheel materials into the building on planks.” His family’s lumber company, DeLeo Brothers, delivered lumber to construct what was called the “65 Building.”

Much of that building was demolished, but parts of it still stand — right outside the cafeteria where DeLeo sits, reflecting on it all.

AMBULANCE AT MIDNIGHT

Once DeLeo could drive, he signed up for ambulance duty for Cascade Ambulance Service.

Being a driver was hard on the families who answer the calls for help 24/7. The ambulance service kept folding because those drivers, “had a bad habit of whoever was on at midnight not coming to calls.”

So the young DeLeo, who did answer the calls, got creative. He once borrowed a vehicle that was a backup car for the funeral home to fill in for

20 LOP Fall 2017

the ambulance service.

“And I borrowed an ambulance from the Forks Hospital District, an old beater they used to bring loggers out in,” he said.

“One of the other times they folded, this was before they had the Open Public Meetings Act and the city council met in the back of the fire hall, the mayor wrote an IOU on a napkin for the police chief and I to go buy an ambulance from Shepherd Ambulance in Seattle,” DeLeo said, not remembering the price, only that he and Chief John Doubek drove over and picked up the ambulance.

After the ambulance service finally folded one last time, the one-and-only commissioner on the public hospital board called and told DeLeo that maybe the hospital district could operate an ambulance. At the time, the hospital district board wasn’t doing much of anything because the nuns were still running the hospital.

And that’s how DeLeo got on the hospital board. County commissioners appointed DeLeo and then DeLeo and Dee Oeinck appointed another commissioner to what was at that time a

three-person board.

As it turned out, the hospital district could only offer such ambulance service if it also operated a hospital.

But then not long after that, the nuns gave the community an ultimatum: “They said ‘either you as a community buy the hospital or we’re gong to close it,’” DeLeo recalls.

“There was no negotiating,” DeLeo said of working things out with the Sisters of Providence.

“They knew their price.”

So DeLeo and many others went to work on a campaign to buy the hospital from the nuns in 1975 for $1.1 million — that same hospital the nuns had managed to get for free a decade earlier.

FIRST DAY, NO MONEY

“The next thing we know, we’re sitting at a table looking at each other wondering, ‘Now what do we do?’”

“The worst part was the day we took over the hospital and they hadn’t kept up anything. You’d walk through it and think ‘This is a medical service museum,’” DeLeo remembers.

“When the sisters left, they took the administrator, all the sisters, which was half the nursing staff, and all the accounts receivable.

Port Townsend Mayor Marilou Green stands with Sisters of Providence members at the ground-breaking ceremony for a new wing being added to St. John Hospital in May 1962.

The new facility was dedicated in 1965. The facility was transferred to a public hospital district in 1975 and became Jefferson General and later Jefferson Healthcare.

The Leader Collection photo

“So we opened the hospital on Day 1 with no cash, a full hospital, full nursing home.

“We kind of went hat in hand up to the county (commissioners) and they agreed to issue non-interestbearing warrants so we could make payroll for the first few months. I did not sleep well. I wasn’t sure we were going to make payroll.”

Soon thereafter, DeLeo says commissioners reached out to Virginia Mason in Seattle and asked for help finding an administrator to run the hospital. And that nonprofit, which also is affiliated with an order of Catholic nuns, told commissioners they would find someone to help.

There were two administrators — Ernie Halls and Mark Seccord — before a permanent one was hired.

“Well, that was Vic Dirksen, a kid we found up in Alaska,” says DeLeo. “The first time he and his wife came here (to Port Townsend) he couldn’t find a hotel so he pushed the bell on the hospital’s emergency room and said, ‘Hi, I’m your new administrator,’ and they put him up.”

Dirksen went on to serve as CEO for 33 years. He was succeeded in 2010 by Mike Glenn.

ACCESS TO CARE

Access to care always has been an issue for DeLeo and it was for Dirksen as well, DeLeo says.

One of the most difficult times DeLeo says the system went through was when doctors in Port Townsend threatened to build their own medical center downtown and not use Jefferson health care Hospital.

“I think everyone is dead so it’s OK to talk about it. When we came in (as a hospital district), the doctors ran everything and we got into a little turf war with the doctors,” he says.

Eventually, things worked out and the doctors wound up working for the hospital district. Only a few doctors to this day are in private practice in Port Townsend.

In the meantime, commissioners and Dirksen agreed that their “first and foremost commitment was access.”

“And when we get to a point where we can’t take everyone, it’s time to step aside and let someone else do it,” says DeLeo. As a result, over the years, Jefferson health care has had one of the highest percentages of charity care per capita in the state — for a time, it was second only to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, he says.

ABOVE: Tony DeLeo’s name is now engraved on a plaque at the entrance to the new facility, along with the names of other current hospital commissioners, Jill Buhler, Marie Dressler, Matt Ready and Kees Kolff.

BELOW: Jefferson Healthcare commissioners Tony DeLeo, Matt Ready, Marie Dressler and Jill Buhler dug in with gold-painted shovels in May 2015 to celebrate the groundbreaking of a new Emergency and Specialty Services Building.

ALMOST FAILED

In the 1980s, rules and regulations were changing and state regulators came to the hospital and declared the hospital lab and emergency room were out of date, and the 1985 building was constructed.

It took the board three times to pass a bond to build what is now called the 1995 building, DeLeo said.

In fact, most buildings on the campus are named after the years they were built, not people.

It’s at this point that DeLeo starts to grimace.

“That was the time I should not have taken time off,” he said. “Up until the last building (1995), I was the commissioner assigned to work with the contract. But I took off some time when they were installing the windows.”

After the 1995 building was built, problems surfaced. All of the windows facing Port Townsend Bay needed to be replaced because, as it turned out, they were installed backwards.

DeLeo blames himself for not catching that, because he was gone.

“One of the biggest challenges

I’ve ever had in my entire life in this district is fighting with architects,” he said. “Architects and I don’t get along. I tend to be a little too common sense.”

NEW BUILDING

That said, DeLeo is pleased with the construction of the Emergency Services and Specialty Building, the newest building on the Jefferson

health care campus that opened in the fall of 2016.

The 52,000-square-foot building houses outpatient services, including emergency services, oncology, orthopedics, cardiology, lab draws and select diagnostic imaging.

DeLeo notes that the new building, unlike other buildings on the campus, was built without bond or property tax revenues.

Fall 2017 LOP 21

It was constructed with low-interest loans from the federal government as well as cash on hand.

To make way for the project, portions of the 1965 building that DeLeo worked on as well as a 1988 building were remodeled and the three-story building the nuns built in 1929 was demolished.

DeLeo’s name is now engraved on a plaque at the entrance to the new facility, along with the names of other current hospital commissioners, Jill Buhler, Marie Dressler, Matt Ready, Kees Kolff and former commissioner Chuck Russell.

THREE DREAMS

Although DeLeo’s days as a hospital commissioner are numbered — he’ll leave at the end of 2017 — he says one dream he had so long ago for health care already has come true. A second he expects to come true. And a third dream is one he’s simply still hoping will happen after he leaves.

“My first dream was to get a chef,” he said. “I always used to say we were the highest price motel in town with the worst food. And then we got Arran (Stark),” he said. “He makes ‘urgh’ healthy food taste good.”

DeLeo’s second dream is to add dental care to the list of services the health system offers.

People with bad teeth suffer other health ailments and DeLeo would like to see a dental clinic open as part of the medical services under the umbrella of health care.

A third and final dream is that people who need medications get them.

“When I drove ambulance years ago, I would see it all the time. People would look at the prescription and say it was between medicine or food.

People would split pills to get by,” he said. And that’s still happening today.

“So my third dream is that nobody who needs medication goes without

medication,” he said.

That raises concern about what’s happening in Washington, D.C., with talk of rolling back the Medicaid expansion, which was part of the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.

“That’s 3,000 lives in Jefferson County,” he said of the concern about cuts in Medicaid that could cut that many people off a free medical insurance lifeline.

As in the past, DeLeo believes Jefferson health care still will step up to take care of those in need, just as the nuns did a century ago when they accepted cows for payment for health care services.

But he’s also aware, having lived through the tough lack-of-money past, that the hospital needs to behave like a business, and be financially savvy, to keep the doors open.

DeLeo gives credit to current CEO Glenn, who DeLeo says has been instrumental in stabilizing the system financially. He also credits Glenn with forging new paths, going where other small, rural hospital districts have not dared to tread in terms of expanding access to care. He points to efforts to reinterpret rules to provide for dental care in clinics and Glenn’s work to bring mental health care under the umbrella of the health care system overall.

In August, the rural critical access hospital was accredited as a cancer care center by the Commission on Cancer and even give a three-year accreditation with a “commendation.”

DeLeo is proud of the system where he was born and where he will retire as a commissioner, as one of the longest-serving elected public officials in the state of Washington.

“On occasion, when I drive down Sheridan Avenue, out of the corner of my eye I still see that little 1965 flat-roofed building but, particularly, as I age, I am truly grateful that it was replaced by the high quality, comprehensive medical center that Jefferson health care has become.”

JUST FOR WOMEN Clinic offers gynecological services, champions women at every stage of life Story and photo by Katie Kowalski A new women’s clinic at Jefferson Health care offers a full range of gynecological services that until April 3 hadn’t been provided locally.

It’s also a place specifically for women.

“Women come in and are happy to have a place for themselves,” said Jane Albee, a nurse practitioner who has been a mainstay for women’s health in the community for years.

Albee has worked at the Jefferson Health care Primary Care Clinic, which offered limited services to women, since 2012, and has been a longtime advocate for a clinic specifically devoted to women in Jefferson County.

“It’s a little more personal and quiet,” she said. “It honors who they are (as women).”

Health care needs addressed now include gynecological services like surgeries. Women can now stay closer to home for surgical procedures such as laparoscopies, hysteroscopies and minimally invasive hysterectomies, instead of traveling out of town.

The clinic is dedicated to caring for women in all stages of life — from the start of menstruation through menopause.

FIRST OB/GYN

“I’m really happy to be here and serve the community,” said Dr. Ann Hoffman, who is Jefferson Health care’s first obstetrician/gynecologist. She is board certified by the American College of Osteopathic Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

In addition to surgical procedures, the women’s clinic offers care in five other areas: women’s wellness, helping women maintain overall health with annual exams, preventative care and breast and pelvic cancer screen-

22 LOP Fall 2017

ings; family planning including contraceptive management, preconception counseling, limited infertility treatment, pregnancy care and delivery testing; menopause care such as natural hormone replacement therapy; office procedures including colposcopies and Loop Electrosurgical Excision Procedures; and pelvic health, non-invasive management of pelvic relaxation and urinary incontinence.

“We’re open to anybody that needs the kind of care we provide,” said Hoffman. “We’re trying to get the word out that we’re here.”

Jefferson Health care Hospital also offers expanded reproductive services, including elective medical abortions up to nine weeks and elective surgical abortions to 10 weeks. Women interested in learning about these services can call 360-344-1000.

In terms of general health, Hoffman stresses the importance of an annual checkup. “The annual visit is … highly important,” she said.

INFORMED DECISIONS

Hoffman and Albee, who have been called a “dynamic duo” by the hospital’s chief ancillary officer Lisa Holt, see about 70-80 patients a week between them. That does not include surgery patients.

“We still have room to grow,” Hoffman said.

Albee said that while most of the women are from Jefferson County, she does have patients from Clallam County that she’s been seeing since 1991.“It’s an interesting way to know people,” she said, “to see someone once a year for 26 years.”

Staff at the women’s clinic includes Lou Long, R.N., medical assistant Carrie Schaff, receptionist Vicki Peters and manager Elizabeth Clapp.

Hoffman said the feedback she’s received has been positive.

“We’re getting referrals from the community.”

Women in Jefferson County have a full range of options available to them, in every stage of their life.

A new women’s clinic recently opened at Jefferson Healthcare, while support for pregnant and breastfeeding women continues to be offered through Jefferson County Public Health.

Pictured is Sarah Jane Kirkegaard, a Jefferson County Public Health nurse, and her daughter, Beatrice, at the 24th annual Breastfeeding Picnic at Chetzemoka Park.

She also said women have especially welcomed the style with which they treat patients — on an individual, personal basis that focuses on education and information.

Hoffman said the majority of time she spends with patients is educating them so that they can make good decisions.

“People can’t make good decisions if they don’t have the information available,” she said. “We’re really in a society where we get to make choices. How do you make those (choices) if the options haven’t been thoroughly explained to you?”

Albee echoes Hoffman’s method.

“My approach is to educate people on what their situation is, and what the options are, and let them make informed decisions.”

To make an appointment at Jefferson Health care Women’s Clinic, call 360-344-0403. The clinic is at 834 Sheridan St. on the main floor.

Hours are 8 a.m.-5 p.m., MondayFriday.

More for women: Support for pregnant and breastfeeding women is offered through Jefferson County Public Health A weekly Breastfeeding Tea Party for pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers is offered from 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Wednesdays at the Health Department, 615 Sheridan St. Women can drop in for tea, talk with other mothers and talk to a certified lactation consultant.

Nursing infants and children welcome.

Also offered through Jefferson County Public Health is WIC (Women Infants & Children), a supplemental food program for income eligible pregnant, breastfeeding and postpartum women, and children under age 5 that offers nutrition education, health checkup screenings and food vouchers.

For more information, call 360-385-9400.

To make an appointment at Jefferson Healthcare Women’s Clinic, call 360-344-0403.

The clinic is located at 834 Sheridan St. on the main floor.

Hours are 8 a.m.-5 p.m., Monday-Friday.

Fall 2017 LOP 23

In love with lathe work Strait Turners members make magic with wood Story and photos by Patricia Morrison Coate

“He who works with his hands is a laborer. He who works with his hands and his head is a craftsman. He who works with his hands and his head and his heart is an artist.”

— St. Francis of Assisi On a hot August afternoon at Dick Bumgarner’s Sequim workshop strewn with spirals of blond wood and sawdust, five men came bearing the fruits of their labor, original creations every one: wood-turned bowls, boxes, platters and vessels.

Their love of working with their hands, head and hearts turned into forming the Strait Turners club in August 2016 with 14 area members of the American Association of Woodturners and 12 others.

“We had enough interest that we thought meeting would be worthwhile,” said Bumgarner, a 73-year-old who retired to Sequim after a career in finance.

Ernie Kozun, a career educator, moved to the Olympic Peninsula five years ago to be closer to his daughter’s family and brought with him woodturning skills he honed in Maine.

“Dan Ackerman of Brinnon helped establish the Bremerton club and he was a great help in encouraging a local club,” Kozun said. “We have about 65 members — a mix of beginners and experienced — and average about 30 members at our monthly meetings.”

MEMBERSHIP

The club meets the last Tuesday of each month from 9:30 a.m.-noon at the Gardiner Community Center, 980 Old Gardiner Road, east of Sequim. Membership is open to anyone interested in the art and craft of woodturning and yearly dues are $20 for current members and $30 for a new membership.

Members are encouraged to share “show and tell” pieces and describe the process of creating them.

Every month features one member or expert “showing and doing” a piece in real time with the club’s equipment that’s stored at the center.

Lee Sharpe said he’s been doing lathe work since the late 1980s, with his forte being platters, and club “newbie” Jim Foro said he began turning just a couple of years ago.

24 LOP Fall 2017

Dick Bumgarner concentrates putting the right pressure on his gouge as the beginning of a bowl turns on his lathe.

It’s safety first because gouges are sharp and the lathe shoots wood shavings everywhere.

Dick Bumgarner took advantage of a madrone burl, an abnormal grain pattern or growth in or on a tree that’s highly prized in wood-turning circles, to craft this naturally organic bowl.

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“I moved to Sequim and wanted to meet people and this club has been a great place to be — lots of great people,” said Foro, who displayed some of his tiny, round boxes in an assortment of styles.

“We have all sorts of different skill levels and the diversity of skill levels is important in the fraternity that we have. People are teaching you tips and tricks and a new turner is going to listen,” Foro said.

TURNING TALES

Bumgarner, who spent his career as an economist with the World Bank in Geneva, Switzerland, said he got into wood-turning because “I was going crazy with work and it started as a way of keeping my sanity. Woodturning is really nice because it absorbs your troubles. It’s the only thing that can go from a chunk of wood to a beautiful object.

You start with this,” he said, hefting a solid wood cylinder, “and within an hour you have a bowl. It’s very rewarding compared to (woodworking) flatwork — I’ve been turning since the 1990s.”

Bumgarner said he likes to make bowls, vessels and tiny round boxes with cutouts. He chuckled that his

Spalting is the unique effect of fungi growing in the wood of dead trees. Strait Turners members say it’s always a wonderful surprise to find. This large spalted bowl was crafted by Lynn Taylor. daughter liked his lidded round box more than the expensive earrings inside. And they are jewel-like with finishes that cast an iridescent glow, waxed for a deep sheen. The men said they spend considerable effort

concocting the perfect finish, too.

Bumgarner, Kozun, Sharpe, Foro and Lynn Taylor are all club board members who swung by the workshop to share their very different styles. Other board members are

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“I take alder wood when it’s green and make round bowls, then let it dry and shrink so they become oblong. People wonder how I did that,” Taylor said.

To a man, everyone liked encountering and working with spalted wood, with its pell-mell patterns.

Kozun explained, “Spalting describes the decorative pattern created in some woods by fungi as they decay. This can occur naturally or you can encourage spalting in fresh timber. One method is to store fresh logs in damp and preferably warm conditions for a few months, then investigate to see how they are getting on.”

“Spalting makes pretty lines in different colors and by leaving the wood thicker, it made a unique bowl,” Bumgarner said. “Spalting is really fun — but it is mold so you don’t want to breathe it.”

Taylor is drawn to making large bowls and said it’s an ah-ha moment when the lathe reveals lots of bug holes. Bug borings in the wood and burls also make for more eye-catching pieces.

A burl is an abnormal grain pattern or growth in or on a tree and it is highly prized in wood-turning circles. The men said they mostly obtain their wood from fallen trees, such as alder, madrone, bigleaf maple and cherry, plus some exotic woods members sell to each other in the club’s monthly auction.

CHALLENGES OF THE CRAFT

Sharpe has been turning for three decades and specializes in crafting platters.

“I’ve been doing lathe work since the 1980s and have been in love with it ever since,” he said. “How I approach a log and creating are what I like the most. Even though I do it all alone, it’s very special because I network with friends. It’s very inspiring to see others’ work and see if I can do it, too.”

“The challenges are where to begin and how to start because you never know what you’re going to find,” Bumgarner said. “A lot of the time a piece of wood will sit on my bench for a while — then it just kind of evolves.”

For Kozun, who prefers alder wood, “it’s a very exciting idea that you can put something on a lathe and it just happens — it’s just magical what I envision.”

Sharpe explained, “In looking at it, is it speaking to you with some sort of vision? The real challenge is when you get into it and find the grain is different than you thought. It also occurs when you make a mistake with the gouge and really foul up.”

With a hint of humor, Sharpe added, “We call these ‘design opportunities’ because you have to change your design to accommodate for a screw-up.”

Bumgarner quipped that failures also burn fine in the fireplace.

From left are Ernie Kozun with a maple bowl and an alder bowl; Lynn Taylor with a spalted alder pot and a spalted alder bowl; Dick Bumgarner with a madrone burl bowl; Lee Sharpe with a cherry platter and natural edge spalted birch bowl; and Jeff Foro with a segmented lidded box. about whether woodturning is a craft or art: • “Pretty much all turnings are oriented towards or identified with a useful function — I would say turners are artisans. There are exceptions, but as a rule … Pretty much all art is not oriented towards any useful function, if not all art. As far as aesthetics: There are probably many more turnings that would be considered beautiful than ‘art’ — especially contemporary or modern art. Prior to that, beauty was the main objective.”

• “I would assume that some of your members would like to refer to themselves as craftsmen (craftspeople) while others might see themselves as craftspeople as well as artists. Traditionally, wood-

HEAD AND HEART, CRAFT AND ART?

Here are some responses when club members were canvassed

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• If it won’t hold soup, it’s art! Of course it’s art. I’m anguished when I’ve spent a long time creating a turning from spectacularly grained wood and someone asks, ‘What would you put in it?’ Not a damned thing. Put it on the mantle and admire its beauty.”

• “I have never considered my work as particularly artistic, but rather as attractive and well-crafted.”

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With today’s wide variety of turnings, as well as embellishments and carvings, many woodturners have become artists and are no longer ‘just’ makers of beautiful and functional items.”

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But what I do have that everyone wants is the Chicken Salad with Walnuts & Grapes recipe that I won 20 years ago at an auction on Vashon Island for some charity that I’ve long forgotten.

I remember the recipe well because my $75 bid not only came with the recipe but a gigantic bowl of the salad, which I served to the entire office where I was working.

Whenever I’m at a loss about what to serve guests or bring to a potluck, I find the recipe and am

Winning-bid salad Story and photos by Allison Arthur relieved that it’s still in the clear plastic sleeve that it came in. If it weren’t, I’d have ruined the recipe long ago. There are smudge marks all over it that I recognize as balsamic vinegar.

The recipe actually came from a chef on Vashon who worked at a small restaurant a block from where I worked. It’s the only thing I’d order when I ate there. It was that good.

And he ran out of it frequently.

The recipe comes with a warning: It’s best to cut the amounts in this recipe in half and then half again — yes, as in one quarter — if there’s only a few of you eating it. Either that, or share it. Or auction it off!

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Fall 2017 LOP 29

PIONEERING HEALTH CARE WEST END STYLE Forks hospital district first in state

The original hospital as it appeared around 1960. Many additions and changes have occurred since this photograph was taken.

Photo courtesy of First Congregational Church of Forks archives Story and photos

by Christi Baron From its humble beginnings, Forks Community Hospital (FCH) has truly been a community project.

It all started with a community member introducing a bill in the State house of Representatives authorizing the establishment of a hospital district.

In the earliest days of the hospital’s opening, community members stocked the hospital pantry with home canned items, raised money for equipment and even handmade gowns and bedding.

The first hospital in Forks was built in 1929 by Dr. Ulrich S. Ford.

The hospital eventually grew to occupy an entire block, on what is now Spartan Avenue, and Ford and his family lived upstairs.

The hospital offered surgical services through the help of a nurse anesthetist and two visiting physicians from Port Angeles.

30 LOP Fall 2017

The Forks Community Hospital sits at 530 Bogachiel Way with the Bogachiel Clinic just across the street.

In 1932, Ford successfully campaigned for the state Legislature on a platform centered around rural health care needs. On Jan. 18, 1945, Ford, then a state representative, introduced a bill to establish the hospital district. It was believed by Ford that a public district set up on the west end of the county would be beneficial and far more practical than a county-wide district. A petition was circulated to call for a vote on the proposition. If established, it would be governed by commissioners to serve in the district.

His vision and energy eventually won the passage of House Bill 47 of the Washington Hospital District law in 1947. Clallam County Public Hospital District 1 was the first district formed in the state. Thus, Forks Community Hospital deserves to be called a “Pioneer in Rural Health Care.”

The first members elected to the Clallam County Public Hospital District 1 Commission were Thomas Mansfield, George Warnock and Paul Johnson. In 1948, the Chamber of Commerce offered to the district a 3-acre site donated by Thomas Mansfield and his brother. Plans for the new building (estimated to cost $170,000) were accepted and the hospital was completed and opened for full operation on Nov. 5, 1952.

Many of the hospital supplies (drawsheets, surgical and patient gowns, and towels) were made and donated by the Hospital Service Guild made up of community members, later called the Hospital Auxiliary.

The hospital originally was named “Olympic Clinic” and charged an inpatient fee of $10.50 per day. Initially, Dr. Edwin F. Leibold from Minnesota provided nearly all the medical care (Ford retired from medical practice in 1947). Leibold practiced in Forks from 1947 to his retirement in 1986.

He was known as a real “country doc” and was the only physician in Forks for many years. He ushered more than 800 babies into the world, tended to their health needs from “cradle to grave” and climbed over logs and fought his way through brush to treat injured loggers. He and his wife also donated property to the hospital site.

FCH GROWS OVER THE DECADES

In the 1950s, the need for competent emergency medical services was recognized and Ray Ellis created the Forks Ambulance Service

The Forks Community Hospital Long Term Care Facility provides award-winning care to those who need it. Groundskeepers allowed wild fireweed to grow naturally around the sign that greets visitors. and trained community members to administer emergency treatment.

Some of the first ambulances were purchased by community members and donated to the hospital. One of those community members was Nansen Anderson. The service is now named in Ellis’ honor and has certified employed and volunteer Emergency Medical Technicians.

By 1956, the hospital had served over 63,500 patients. The commissioners of Clallam County Public Hospital District 1 officially changed the name to Forks Community Hospital in 1959. Voters approved a bond issue in 1969 to reconstruct the existing hospital and add 20 beds. Recognizing a community need, a long-term care facility was added in 1986. Further expansion of the hospital and a long-term care facility was completed in 1994 and again in 1998.

BOARD EXPANDS, TOO

As the hospital has grown and changes in health care are ever changing, too, it was decided in 2016 that the original number of three commissioners needed to be changed.

The reason for the increase points out the changes at the hospital as well as the changes in health care being the main reason for the increase in board members.

The hospital stated, “Given the complex nature of health care, constant attention must be paid to district facilities, the provision of appropriate service, the development of strategic partnerships and sound financial footing for the district.

Expansion of the board will support these responsibilities.”

Since 1952, the board consisted of three members. Since then the hospital added on, added Long Term Care, a clinic, West End Outreach and many more services. It was in light of these changes that the board felt it was time for a change.

FCH CEO Tim Cournyer said that the benefits that would be seen from increasing the board would far outweigh any small financial impact to the district and would offer greater representation of the community.

Put to the voters, the proposition did pass. Current board members are Daisy Anderson, Donald Lawley, Patricia Birch, Sandy Schier and Jerry George.

Forks Community Hospital participates in the Washington Rural Health Collaborative, which is interaction involving teamwork, forming alliances and relationship-building through cooperation. This organization provides the opportunity for FCH and other rural public hospitals to network together in information

and resources.

The Forks Community Hospital Foundation is a private, nonprofit, charitable organization which strives to enhance the quality of hospital care available to the citizens of the West End. The foundation’s sole purpose is to raise funds to benefit the hospital by purchasing necessary equipment. Assets are raised in a variety of ways, including donations, memorials and funds raised by the foundation through special benefit events.

All funds are channeled directly into Forks’ own local health care delivery system. Therefore, a gift to the foundation is an investment in the community’s future.

What does the future hold for Forks Community Hospital?

CEO Cournyer admits nobody knows. The FCH does own additional acreage behind the Bogachiel Clinic and some aspects of the hospital are getting old. But there are no plans at this time for building a new facility and Cournyer said that there would once again be much community involvement in any endeavor.

The FCH currently has 272 employees with four specialists available in ENT, orthopedics, podiatry, cardiology and four mid-levels.

Forks Community Hospital is a community treasure.

Fall 2017 LOP 31

Dr. Tristan McGovern and his assistant Linda Campbell.

Quality care close to Home Story and photo by Christi Baron Orthopedic surgeons need to possess a certain set of traits that set them apart from other surgeons. They need to have good physical strength as well as mental strength. While Dr. Tristan McGovern claims that he is a “boring guy,” he is the perfect guy to be an orthopedic surgeon.

“Why did I become an orthopedic surgeon rather than a lawyer or something like that?” McGovern asked.

It was not the influence of a family member or acquaintance that inspired McGovern to become a doctor — it was an injury while he was in the Marine Corps. He was so impressed after an accident and the needed procedure to repair it, McGovern said, “That is what I want to do.”

McGovern attended Washington University in St. Louis, Mo., and did his residency at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., with a Fellowship at Lake Tahoe Sports. He chose the peninsula for his practice because of his interest in delivering medical care to rural areas.

McGovern first came to work in Forks in 2001. He then worked at Jefferson Healthcare’s Orthopedic Clinic in Port Townsend, providing care to patients across the Olympic Peninsula, and in 2011 McGovern returned to the West End. He said he was drawn back to Forks Community Hospital because the administration there was committed to providing excellent care to citizens in Forks and Clallam Bay. “I am proud that we formed a caring team providing quality care,” McGovern said.

32 LOP Fall 2017

He added the FCH and Bogachiel Clinic now provide a full menu of orthopedic care that includes and is not limited to total joint replacement for knees, shoulders and hips; joint repair and reconstruction of the knee, foot and ankle, arthroscopic ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) reconstruction, hip fracture repair and repair of ligaments and tendons.

“We have an integrated clinic and surgery team — the orthopedic team gives us efficiency. The patient doesn’t have to go outside the area and it is easy to get in to see us,” McGovern said.

He added that no referral is needed and the office staff is well-trained in Labor and Industry cases and will help patients get through the paperwork, which sometimes can be overwhelming.

McGovern pointed out that the FCH offers expanded MRI services as well as a state-of-the-art CT scanner and ultrasound. “We have the imaging, the surgical suite and the staff to handle it.”

He also acknowledged the hospital is committed to always updating the systems. The surgical suite is modern and McGovern said there are many safety measures used in the operating room to assure the safety of the patient, as well as efficiency.

“After each surgery, the staff and I review the procedure and look to see if there was any wasted time, etc., and then use a checklist to see where we might improve the system,” McGovern said.

“The administration and I are both interested in always doing better plus being current and relevant in the service we provide.”

McGovern said the team they have developed provides quality care that is convenient for West End residents, care that might be lacking in a larger facility.

“A patient almost has instant access to us, we go out of our way to coordinate care and our team also lives in the community.”

McGovern’s assistant Linda Campbell describes him as very dedicated to patient care. “He listens and diagnoses carefully, he cares about his patients,” Campbell said. She worked with McGovern in 2001 at FCH and has worked with him for the past six years since his return to the clinic and hospital.

McGovern says he has the qualities required to be an orthopedic surgeon — the No. 1 being experience.

“Out here in a small area, you need to have extreme attention to detail,” he said, adding, “From the first encounter to the last stitch, you need to provide the correct procedure, follow-up and physical therapy if needed.”

He said dedication to his work is in his DNA. “You have to be a perfectionist, no loose ends, and the follow-through, it all has to be perfect.”

With all this perfection and dedication how does McGovern de-stress? He does pull-ups! There is a pull-up bar out behind the clinic. It helps him stay in shape and clears his mind. He also stays in shape by running with his dog Bane. His religion also keeps him grounded, he said.

McGovern keeps a busy schedule. In addition to seeing patients and the scheduled surgeries that include elective procedures as well as total joint replacements, he never knows when an emergency may come into the hospital. Which means sometimes staying late or coming in early to handle the patient.

Despite the stress and the long hours, McGovern describes his profession as very satisfying. “I have the opportunity to do something positive, helping each individual is very satisfying.”

Since beginning his career, McGovern said that technology continues to be elusive, metal and plastic is still the technology used but the way they are put in the patient’s body has changed. He said there has been a huge change in the flow of information that a doctor must keep up on and “the insurance requirements take up so much time,” McGovern added.

McGovern said the hospital and clinic are very interested in what West End residents would like to see at both facilities and what other services they are interested in. He encourages residents to stop by or call the clinic manager and share their thoughts on expanded services and how FCH and the Bogachiel Clinic can serve everyone better.

In the future, the clinic is hoping to expand services, a new generator is being installed behind the clinic and will help if there is an emergency or during one of the area’s many power outages.

The clinic and hospital strive to have open access for patients seeking orthopedic services. Patients can call the clinic at 360-374-6998 and the scheduling staff will be happy to assist you. They accept referrals from primary care providers and in many cases referrals are not required by the insurance company.

The staff at the Bogachiel Clinic is experienced with coordinating care with a patient’s medical insurance and other healthcare providers and most insurance is accepted.

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PORT TOWNSEND & JEFFERSON COUNTY • Port Townsend Gallery Walk, first Saturday of every month.

• Quilcene First Saturday Art Walk.

• Quilcene Fair and Parade and Classic Car Show, Quilcene/Brinnon, Sept. 16.

• Jefferson County Farm Tour, map of participating farms at Chimacum Corner Farmstand, Sept. 16-17.

• Port Townsend Film Festival, Sept. 15-17.

• Quilcene Oyster Half Marathon, TBA. • Port Townsend Ukulele Fest, Sept. 27-Oct. 1.

• National Park Free Admission Day, Sept. 30.

SEQUIM & DUNGENESS VALLEY • First Friday Art Walk and Reception, multiple venues.

• Sequim City Band, James Center for the Performing Arts at Carrie Blake Park, Sept. 17.

• Dungeness River Festival, Railroad Bridge Park, Sept. 29.

• Port Angeles Symphony Pops & Picnic, Boys & Girls Club, Sept. 30 • National Park Free Admission Day, Sept. 30.

PORT ANGELES • Concerts on the Pier, each Wednesday evening.

• National Park Free Admission Day, Sept. 30.

• Port Angeles Symphony Pops & Picnic, Vern Burton Community Center, Sept. 29.

• Arts & Draughts Beer & Wine Festival, downtown, Sept. 23-24.

• Free Story Swap, storytellers/open mic, Port Angeles Library, 2210 S. Peabody St., Sept. 19.

FORKS/WEST END • Forever Twilight in Forks, Sept. 14-17.

• West End Thunder, Forks Airport, Sept. 23-24.

• National Park Free Admission Day, Sept. 30.

OCTOBER PORT TOWNSEND & JEFFERSON COUNTY • Port Townsend Gallery Walk, first Saturday each month.

• Quilcene First Saturday Art Walk.

• Kinetic Skulpture Race, Port Townsend, Oct. 7-8.

• Port Townsend Ukulele Fest, downtown, Sept. 28-Oct. 2.

• Girls Night Out, multiple venues, Port Townsend, Oct. 5.

• Nordland Harvest Festival, Nordland General Store, Oct. 15.

• Scandic Fall Festival, Blue Heron School, Port Townsend, Oct. 21.

SEQUIM & DUNGENESS VALLEY • First Friday Art Walk and Reception, multiple venues.

• North Olympic Fiber Arts Festival, Sequim Museum & Arts Center, fiberartsfestival.org, Oct. 6-8.

• Port Angeles Symphony Chamber Orchestra, Sequim Worship Center, 640 N. Sequim Ave., Sequim, Oct. 14.

PORT ANGELES • Dungeness Crab & Seafood Festival, City Pier, Oct. 6-8.

• Port Angeles Symphony Chamber Orchestra, Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, 301 E. Lopez Ave., Oct. 13.

• Forest Storytelling Festival, Peninsula College Little Theater, Oct. 20-22.

FORKS/WEST END • Hickory Shirt/Heritage Days, Forks, Oct. 11-15.

• Fish N Brew, 110 Industrial Park, Forks, Oct. 14.

M.A., CCC-A, a Certified Clinical Audiologist and a licensed hearing aid dispenser, opened The Hearing Advantage in 1990 to provide the finest quality hearing aids and services to the Olympic Peninsula. The Hearing Advantage specializes in the newest technology in Scott John Raszler, M.A., CCC-A hearing aids, including new digital instruments. The Hearing Advantage provides complete hearing evaluations, hearing aid sales, repairs, batteries and accessories.

If anyone has a hearing problem, call The Hearing Advantage for the best in professional hearing healthcare.

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Fall 2017 LOP 33

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VISIT PORT TOWNSEND Key City Fish Market

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Local Seafood, Natural Meats, and Free Range Poultry.

Also serving top quality Tacos from our Tacos to Go Window.

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“From the Essentials to the Extraordinary.”

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From beachcombing our sandy shoreline to noshing on local Northwest eats to jamming with world-class musicians during summer festivals—Fort Worden is where memories are made!

start your adventure today: 360.344.4400 • FortWorden.org

“We didn’t realize we were making memories, we just knew we were having fun.”

– Winnie the Pooh

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112 Castellano Way, Port Townsend 360 344-3114 • www.acaringplace.net Fall 2017 LOP 35

Take a stroll on Rialto Beach Story and photos by Brenda Hanrahan

THE DAYTRIPPER The smell of salt air, calls of seabirds and the roar of the Pacific Ocean welcome visitors to Olympic National Park’s Rialto Beach.

As one of the parks easiest-toreach beaches, Rialto is a popular destination for tourists and locals alike throughout the year.

Growing up as an ocean-starved Midwesterner, I appreciate the wild and wonderful beaches of the North Olympic Peninsula.

When given the choice of a mountain or beach stroll, I choose going to the beach every time. Often, to the same handful of beaches because I enjoy the changes — big and small — that take place between visits.

The moody ocean is sometimes calm and soothing while playfully tumbling beach cobbles in pleasing composition of sound. Other times the turbulent surf roars to the shore in a dramatic fashion.

Rialto Beach has it all — beach cobbles in a rainbow of colors to stack and collect, large piles of driftwood, sea stacks and abundant wildlife viewing options.

The hike begins in a parking lot featuring informational signs, including a map of the beach and signs about wildlife you have a chance of viewing during your walk.

The beach is a great choice for people of all ages and fitness levels because you hit sand in a few steps.

When visiting any Northwest beach, be aware of tides and take care when clambering over beach logs because they can shift easily.

In addition, tall conifers that make the area beautiful can be a hazard when washed up by the surf as logs and driftwood.

Hole in the Wall, a natural

36 LOP Fall 2017

sea-carved arch, is about 1.5 miles north of Rialto Beach. It is within the Olympic wilderness but can easily be reached at low tide from Rialto Beach.

Consult a tide chart before heading to the beach so you reach the natural arch during low tide.

The wind-battered trees line the bluff providing nesting areas for bald eagles so it is not rare to see an eagle soaring above the beach.

A variety of other birds will entertain you along the way.

Watch for black oystercatchers, brown pelicans, guillemots, grebes, scoters and harlequin ducks as you stroll along the beach.

Looking south toward La Push you will see tree-covered James and Little James islands.

To the north, Gunsight Rock and numerous offshore sea stacks provide willing photography subjects.

At about 1 mile from the parking lot, you will reach Ellen Creek.

To avoid wet footwear, look for a log to cross or take your shoes off to plod through the chilly water.

Remember, logs can be slippery, and caution should be used when crossing even slow-moving streams.

Do not cross through Hole in the Wall when the tide begins to cover the floor of the arch.

If the tide is out, walk through the arch using care to explore tide pools under and near the arch so you do not harm the delicate creatures living in the shallow pools of water.

An overland trail above the arch provides panoramic views southward of Rialto Beach, various sea stacks and the Pacific Ocean.

This is one of the best places on the Olympic Peninsula to take a photo to illustrate how vast and beautiful the region’s coastline is so snap away.

Once on the beach again it is time to begin the scenic walk back to the parking area.

HOW TO GET THERE From Port Angeles, drive west on U.S. Highway 101 for 55 miles.

Turn west onto state Route 110 and drive for 7.7 miles.

Stay right on Mora Road for 5 miles to the trailhead at the end of the road.

Mora Road recently was repaved to reinforce the road following storm damages last winter.

In addition to reinforcing the road and repairing the pavement and slope failures, workers also stabilized adjacent sections along the river side of Mora Road that were showing signs of instability.

Water is available at the trailhead for those needing a drink.

Maintained rest rooms are also available.

Olympic National Park’s sevenday entrance pass, which allows a private vehicle to enter any of the park’s roadways, costs $25.

Rialto Beach is a wonderful place to experience and photograph the beauty of the Pacific Ocean.

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For more information or to schedule a tour, please call or visit us today!

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Enhancing Lives One Moment at a Time Fall 2017 LOP 37

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LIVING END

SOULFUL HEALING By the Rev. Pam Douglas-Smith We live in an amazing world full of infinite forms of potential creation.

Nature itself is constantly creating and recreating itself through the seasonal changes we can observe.

We see the seed planted deep within the earth that in due course emerges as a tiny green sprout, growing until it comes into full flowering and fruit bearing. There are times of cold and times of heat along with rainy nights and lengthening days. All part of the great cycle of creation.

At a more personal level, our bodies are intricately woven together from two cells into a complex and sophisticated form through which we experience this world around us. We are born and continue to grow and change throughout the duration of our lives.

This earth and human body become the places the soul abides in during its sojourn through the world. Beneath all these forms in nature and humanity lies the creative, sustaining energy of the cosmos. All is Spirit enfleshed into visible being from the great matrix of life from which it emerges.

Lynne McTaggart in “The Field: The Quest for the Secret Force of the Universe,” shares the five essential truths about healing she has discovered in her research: 1. Healing comes through intention and that is available to all beings.

2. Most healers put out an intention then surrender to greater cosmic force.

3. Any healing method can be used as long as the intention is faithfully held.

4. Intention creates healing that is available to individuals and also to the collective.

5. The most important thing that can be offered is a conscious hope for health.

This all reminds us that healing is not a “how to” practice but rather a consciousness that involves bringing health into all the levels of our being … body, mind, heart and soul. It reminds us of the interconnectedness of all of life.

The intention sets the energy forward, but it is truly compassion and love that empowers it at an even deeper and more effective level. The intention is the vision and the love is the power that manifests that vision. Mind and heart uniting in body with the wisdom of soul. It’s all about energy and consciousness. Healing is instantaneous in Spirit, but progressive in consciousness.

We are each truly a mystery at our deepest core and that mystery needs to be honored. One of the greatest challenges in soulful healing comes when we are attached to exactly how that healing should look and when it should occur.

When we judge the need for healing as punishment or negative, we are dishonoring the process of constantly emerging life energies. We are looking at just the outer appearances of something far deeper. We can instead remember to honor the soul secrets within ourselves and others.

There is soul work to be done and grace to be experienced. Healing opportunities are actually the growth edges of our souls. They are moments in which we can consciously connect to something greater than ourselves by whatever name each may call it. Opening to healing is responding to life itself.

38 LOP Fall 2017

Dawn Markova in her classic “I Will Not Die An Unlived Life” shares that our wounds can be our greatest teachers. One of her favorite ways to connect more deeply with others recovering from cancer was to ask what their favorite scar was.

She reflects that scars actually become the strongest tissue that comes from a healing after an injury. That place on one’s body becomes a marker not just of the wound itself but even more so of the grace of healing that comes as it emerges as a scar. A place of new strength and soul memory.

She then asks an insightful question … “What if the moments of the greatest wounding in your life were also the places the Divine crossed your path and the unquenchable dream of your life was born?”

Remember when you were a child and skinned your knee learning to ride a bike or to roller skate? Hopefully a loved one gathered you up in arms of comfort and put on some healing cream and a colorful bandaid. Then you had your badge of courage to share with your friends the next day along with an exciting story about how brave you were when it happened. You then checked it each day, knowing that soon the bandaid could come off.

There’s a lot of wisdom in children. They believe in the intention to heal, accept the love that encircles them and then go forward in their purpose to ride that bike or skate faster than ever.

The famous poem around which Dawna Markova wrote her book is an inspiring one. It reminds us that life is not just about what happens to us and our bodies, hearts, minds and souls. It’s about what happens to us in communion with life in an ongoing, unending process of creation.

When one seeks healing, it’s a moment to remember that the power of life is ever present at every level of being in every situation. It’s a reminder to live with awareness, passion and hope. And best of all, we get to do it among those who share this journey of life with us. Healing and inspiration lived at depth and breadth every day.

I will not die an unlived life.

I will not live in fear of falling or catching fire.

I choose to inhabit my days, to allow my living to open me, to make me less afraid, more accessible; to loosen my heart until it becomes a wing, a torch, a promise.

I choose to risk my significance, to live so that which came to me as seed goes to the next as blossom, and that which came to me as blossom, goes on as fruit.

The Rev. Pam Douglas-Smith is the minister at the Unity Spiritual Enrichment Center in Port Townsend who leads international spiritual pilgrimages. Contact her at revpam@unitypt.org.

Serving the Olympic Peninsula for Over 35 Years

YOUR LIFE. OUR COMMITMENT MISSION

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Fall 2017 LOP 39

ORTHOPEDICS It’s the summit view of Mt. Townsend that catches your breath like it’s the first time—every time.

It’s the mind-clearing, spirit-lifting climb to a new perspective.

It’s finding yourself in the middle of nowhere, and finding yourself.

TO US, IT’S NOT JUST YOUR HIP

DOES JOINT PAIN KEEP YOU FROM DOING THE THINGS YOU LOVE? Jefferson Healthcare Orthopedic Clinic can help you get back to what makes life great on the peninsula.

Our Total Joint Replacement Program—the only one like it in the region—means cutting edge joint care and surgical technology, without ever crossing the bridge.

And with a new team of orthopedic surgeons, you have access to the best in comprehensive joint care. Right here at home.

Learn more & take your online joint assessment at JeffersonJointCare.com

360.344.0400 | Jefferson Healthcare Orthopedic Clinic | 2nd floor, 834 Sheridan St. | Port Townsend