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| Name |
Forks Community Hospital |
| Address |
530 Bogachiel |
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| Town |
Way Forks |
| State |
Washington |
| Country |
USA |
| Post Code |
WA 98331 |
| Phone |
(360) 374-6271 ext. 169 |
| Fax |
(360) 374-5220 |
| Email |
lacijo@forkshospital.org |
| Website |
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Specialization Of Forks Community Hospital
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About Forks Community Hospital
** 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, "We are committed to personalizing healthcare to enhance the quality of life for everyone", clearly demonstrates our pledge to continue to provide high-quality, 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 3,500. Forks Community Hospital is a 15-bed acute care inpatient facility and 20-bed long-term care facility serving approximately 11,500 residents of western Clallam and Jefferson counties (the "West End"). 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 Washington's 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 life-threatening injuries).
In addition, Clallam County Hospital District #1 oversees two outpatient family practice clinics (Bogachiel Clinic and Clallam Bay Medical Clinic) and Forks Women's 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, co-workers, and others. We believe each person is worthy of love and respect, and we share the responsibility to safeguard personal dignity.
* Innovation & Creativity
As a rural hospital district serving a large geographic area, we have the responsibility for providing diverse health-related inpatient, outpatient, and residential services. We encourage innovative and creative ideas in problem solving to overcome limited resources.
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History Of Forks Community Hospital
** 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 "Pioneer in Rural Healthcare".
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 $170,000) 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 "Olympic Clinic" and charged a fee of $10.50 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 "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.
In the 1950's, 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 63,500 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.
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