Under the microscope: Hospital Commission candidates discuss finances, relationships at forum

Published 1:29 pm Wednesday, October 21, 2015

Accountability, in finances, transparency, and public outreach was the theme of the third and final Snoqualmie Valley Chamber of Commerce candidate forum on Oct. 16. This time, candidates running for positions on the Hospital District Commission answered the public’s questions.

Only four of the six candidates attended, David Speikers, incumbent in position 1, Ryan Roberts incumbent in position 3, and for position 5, Joan Young, incumbent, and Steve Weaver. Fritz Ribary challenging Speikers for position 1, prepared video messages for his opening and closing statements. Emma Herron, challenging Roberts, did not attend.

Moderator Steve Pennington asked the candidates six questions over an hour at the monthly luncheon at the Snoqualmie Ridge TPC and imposed a two minute limit on responses, which the candidates usually did a good job of sticking to.

The forum started with a discussion of the hospital’s $98 million debt and whether tax-payers would be liable for it. Roberts said the district was performing as predicted and the hospital is making the necessary payments. The remainder of the debt is on an amortization schedule and will be paid over the next 30 years.

All candidates agreed there was no need to increase taxes at all.

Pennington then asked the candidates why they feel they are a better choice than their opponents. Young spoke about her history in the medical field, citing her involvement in nursing for over 40 years and her experience seeing health care change over the years. Weaver said bringing a business and management perspective to the board would be more useful than a medical perspective today because board finances don’t require an in-depth medical background.

“We’ve got a staff that can educate us to those issues,” he said.

Speikers said he has taken a leadership role on the board through his handling of the finances and his knowledge of the hospital district. He emphasized his passion for this role and his ability to work while under pressure.

Roberts spoke about his career working with hospitals and physician groups around the state. He said his work gives him a unique perspective into running a hospital as he has seen the challenges many hospitals around the state face and understands the business side of what they are dealing with.

The hospital has been criticized for not being transparent about its decisions and finances. Candidates were asked if they felt the criticism was warranted and what they would do to improve that aspect of the commission.

Weaver, the only candidate present who was not currently on the commission, could not speak to the past, but said increased transparency could be easily achieved with improved advocacy in the community.

Speikers said he has appointed two people to help on the finance committee which is “headed in the right direction” to improve communication.

Roberts said the transparency issues stem from years past and the current board is trying to be as transparent as they can.

Young called out the public, stating they have public board meetings every month at city hall that are poorly attended.

“I’d love to see anybody there,” she said.

Circling back to finances, the candidates were then asked about their strategic vision to deal with the thin margins of the medical business.

Speikers, Roberts, and Young all felt similarly, stating the majority of the hospital’s user base doesn’t pay because they are on Medicare and Medicaid. Roberts said they need to look into a strategy that will take the hospital to a “fee for service” model and that this is a common concern with hospitals. Weaver spoke about possible affiliations with other healthcare providers and changing the entire reimbursement structure.

On the topic of community outreach and marketing the hospital, the candidates agreed letting people know about the new hospital is important and is something the current board is trying to address. Weaver suggested events and lunch-and-learns to bring more people into the facilities and Speikers suggested looking for grants that could help fund outreach projects.

The final question of the forum addressed the relationship between board members, the board and the leadership team.

Roberts described the board’s past working relationship as tumultuous, but said he has been an important contributor to bringing the relationships “from hostile to amicable.” Young agreed with Roberts’ assertion that the board has a better working relationship than in years prior, but said not all the board members are totally respectful of others, creating some issues.

Speikers said his position on the finance committee had been one of the most heated areas of disagreement for years, but now people were working together and focusing on issues.

As the self-proclaimed “outsider” on the panel, Weaver said from his experience, the board’s relationship could be described as “cautious tension,” and while it has improved, it seems as though they are “in a mode of ‘fake it till you make it.’”

He also said that in his career in management, he creates strong working environments and he would be able to do that for the hospital board.

A Si View Metro Parks Commission candidate forum was also scheduled at the luncheon. Only Susan Kelly participated.

Ryan Roberts explains why he thinks he is the better candidate for the Snoqualmie Valley Hospital commissioner position than his opponent.