Forks Community Hospital

Name :

Forks Community Hospital

Address  :

530 Bogachiel

Town  :

Way Forks

State  :

Washington

Country  :

USA

Post Code:

WA 98331

Phone  :

(360) 374-6271 ext. 169

Fax  :

(360) 374-5220

Web URL  :

Available

Email  :

lacijo@forkshospital.org

Description

About Forks Community Hospital
Since 1949 Forks Community Hospital has offered medical care to residents of the West End right here at home Like local schools businesses and churches a hospital is a key resource for a community Our mission statement quotWe are committed to personalizing healthcare to enhance the quality of life for everyonequot clearly demonstrates our pledge to continue to provide highquality affordable healthcare services to the West End Forks Community Hospital is a public hospital district of Clallam County

Forks is the primary town in the area with a current population of 3500 Forks Community Hospital is a 15bed acute care inpatient facility and 20bed longterm care facility serving approximately 11500 residents of western Clallam and Jefferson counties the quotWest Endquot The West End is isolated from the rest of the Olympic Peninsula by the vast land holdings of Olympic National Park Olympic National Forest and the State of Washingtons Department of Natural Resources It is also home to three Native American tribes the Hoh Quileute and Makah

The Hospital is overseen by the governing board of Clallam County Hospital District 1 comprised of three commissioners The Hospital has a surgical suite and performs limited inpatient and outpatient surgical procedures obstetrical services radiology mammography and ultrasound laboratory services physical rehabilitation services a Health Resource Center and a volunteer ambulance service The Hospital also has three Level IV trauma rooms the Hospital stabilizes prepares and transfers by ambulance or airlift all patients who have potentially lifethreatening injuries

In addition Clallam County Hospital District 1 oversees two outpatient family practice clinics Bogachiel Clinic and Clallam Bay Medical Clinic and Forks Womens Clinic West End Outreach Services provides outpatient mental health and chemical dependency treatment for residents of Clallam County particularly the West End In addition West End Outreach manages the CARES an employment program for challenged individuals has an adult day treatment program and provides Family Support Services The Oak Street Center in Port Angeles is a satellite center of West End Outreach Some staff work at both sites providing Assessments Family Support Services employment through Emerging Enterprises and other services provided in the main center in Forks

Value Statements
Teamwork
We believe teamwork results in the attainment of the finest finished product possible This is achieved through the cooperation and use of resources of individual team members

Personalized Care
We believe that personalized care is an essential element of the healing process Personalized care should be individualized to patients residents clients and their families thus integrating their physical emotional spiritual and social needs

Dedication Compassion Respect
We believe that those who serve in our organization reflect a tradition of gentleness and empathy for all patients residents clients and their families coworkers and others We believe each person is worthy of love and respect and we share the responsibility to safeguard personal dignity

Innovation amp Creativity
As a rural hospital district serving a large geographic area we have the responsibility for providing diverse healthrelated inpatient outpatient and residential services We encourage innovative and creative ideas in problem solving to overcome limited resources

History

Hospital History
The first hospital in Forks was built by Dr Ulrick S Ford in 1929 The hospital eventually grew to occupy an entire block and Dr Ulrick and his family lived upstairs The hospital offered surgical services through the help of a nurse anesthetist and two visiting physicians from Port Angeles

In 1932 Dr Ford successfully campaigned for the state legislature on a platform centered around rural healthcare needs His vision and energy eventually won the passage of the Washington Hospital District law in 1947 Clallam County Hospital District 1 was the first district formed in the state Thus Forks Community Hospital deserves to be called a quotPioneer in Rural Healthcarequot

The first members elected to the Clallam County Hospital District 1 Commission were Thomas Mansfield George Warnock and Paul Johnson In 1948 the Chamber of Commerce offered to the district a three acre site donated by Thomas Mansfield and his brother Plans for the new building estimated to cost 170000 were accepted and the hospital was completed and opened for full operation on November 5 1952 Many of the hospital supplies drawsheets surgical and patient gowns and towels were made and donated by the Hospital Service Guild now called the Hospital Auxiliary

The hospital was originally named quotOlympic Clinicquot and charged a fee of 1050 per day Initially Dr Edwin F Leibold from Minnesota provided nearly all the medical care Dr Ford retired from medical practice in 1947 Dr Leibold practiced in Forks from 1947 to his retirement in 1986 He was known as a real quotcountry docquot 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 quotcradle to gravequot 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

In the 1950s need for competent emergency medical services was recognized and Ray Ellis created the Forks Ambulance Service and trained community members to administer emergency treatment The service is now named in his honor and has 22 volunteer certified Emergency Medical Technicians

By 1956 the hospital had served over 63500 patients The commissioners of Clallam County 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 long term care facility was completed in 1994 and again in 1998