Providing high-quality care to the community first requires finding high-quality providers. At Olympic Medical Center in Port Angeles, a partnership with nearby Peninsula College has helped bring in qualified medical assistants to meet the community’s needs.
Through the partnership, students from the college’s medical assisting program work at the medical center’s clinics, known as Olympic Medical Physicians (OMP). The students gain the experience they need to provide a high standard of patient-centered care, obtaining vitals, performing blood draws and performing EKGs, among other procedures. They also help with administrative tasks, such as scheduling, insurance verification and registration.
After graduation, the students have good odds of joining the medical center’s team full time, as there are a number of vacant positions to be filled. “They are a highly sought after resource,” said Alicia Welch, a certified medical assistant, and supervisor of the OMP Walk-in Clinic in Sequim. “Every time we hire a new provider, we need a medical assistant to support them. Qualified medical assistants are hard to find, and Peninsula College has heard the call to help fill this need in the local workforce.”
Establishing partnerships is a key element to ensuring the delivery of high-quality care to our communities. Click here to read more about the partnership between Olympic Medical Center and Peninsula College. (Tim Pfarr)
