Hospital sale is a chance for wider discussion, bids

Published 10:14 am Monday, September 15, 2014

I am quite encouraged by the amount of public attention being given to the potential sale of our Snoqualmie Valley Hospital. One of the recurring complaints against our hospital district  administration concerns transparency and public information. This increased public attention will hopefully result in increased transparency of hospital district operations.

As I stated in an earlier letter, I believe that the sale of our hospital and dissolution of Public Hospital District No. 4 represents an outstanding opportunity for both the taxpayers and the hospital patrons in our communities.

I am concerned about the apparent secrecy and lack of public knowledge concerning the letter of intent between Overlake Hospital Medical Center and our hospital district. In order to obtain the best deal for our communities, I believe that the sale of our hospital should be open for bids from competing private hospitals. Such an open bidding process would assure not only the best financial arrangement but also the best level of medical care for our communities.

I can understand that the specific details of negotiations between our hospital district and competing purchasers need to remain confidential, but I cannot understand why even the possibility of a sale must remain secret, as specified in the letter of intent, Section G, or why Overlake should be given exclusive permission to negotiate with our hospital district, as specified in Section E of the letter of intent, thus eliminating any competitive bidding process.

These issues need to be discussed and decided before our hospital district makes any further commitment to Overlake.

Philip Cassady

Snoqualmie

• Editor’s note: The letter of intent can be read in its entirety on the Snoqualmie Valley Hospital website, www.snoqualmiehospital.org, under the Community tab via the “Public Information” link.