Q&A with candidates for public hospital board position 3

Published 5:56 pm Tuesday, October 13, 2015

(Editor’s Note: Candidates were given a word limit to answer the six questions posed by the Journal, listed here. Responses have not been edited aside from AP style. Candidates are listed in alphabetical order by last name.)

1. Why are you running for the hospital district commissioner position?

Monica Harrington: Because I love living on San Juan Island and I have a passion for making our publicly supported health care system work better for all of us.  I care about cost and access issues, fairness, and transparency, and I’ve been a patient advocate for many years.

I know that when health care is too expensive, or services are restricted for reasons that have nothing to do with what’s medically appropriate, patients suffer. And when islanders are billed for $1350 or $1260 for services related to earaches and stitches that previously cost a few hundred dollars at Inter Island Medical Center, we need to work harder to improve on what we have.

I also believe that my extensive experience in business (Microsoft, Valve, Picnik), in the nonprofit sector (Gates Foundation, NetHope, Code for America), and as an emergency services dispatcher (Crater Lake National Park) will be an asset in serving both patient interests and taxpayer interests.

Jenny Ledford: What is my son’s life worth? That was my response to the question coming from the EMS Chief in February of this year. He was asking my fee structure for consulting services. This was not a number question, I told him. I can only ‘pay it forward’ for the EMS saving our son’s life on Super Bowl Sunday, 2012.

Little did I know that would lead to the opportunity to serve EMS (pro-bono) with my consulting skills and knowledge. That has led to my desire to serve this community through becoming a Commissioner on the Public Hospital Board. For a complete picture of my credentials and experience: www.trustjenny.net

2. What is the role of the hospital board commissioner?

Monica Harrington: The powers and duties of a public hospital district commissioner are very specifically laid out under Washington State law – RCW 70.44.060.  Broadly speaking, the role is to provide for the health care needs of district residents fairly and transparently.  The board and individual commissioners oversee the hospital district’s policies, organization, and operations, including the delivery of quality patient care. On San Juan Island, the major duties involve overseeing the provision of health care services through EMS, PeaceHealth, and other vendors as appropriate.  Commissioners have a fiduciary responsibility and a public duty to ensure that they are acting fairly and in the best interest of district residents at all times.

Jenny Ledford: Full legal definitions: Google: RCW 70.44.060Simpler terms are provided by the Association of WA Public Hospital Districts:* Safe guarding the health of your community.* Fiduciary responsibilities, to have oversight including budgets and to set overall policy for district operations.*Knowledge base, cultivate a keen sense of current and future health needs of the community and be informed about federal, state, and local health policies, laws, and finance that pertain to your district*Commitment to Teamwork, requires you to balance competing interest and work as a team. Making informed decisions based on thoughtful analysis of complex issues and work constructively with other board members.

3. In this nonpartisan race there has been heated debate on issues like abortion and end of life directives, how will your beliefs on these subjects affect you in the non-partisan role as commissioner?

Monica Harrington: I put the rights of patients first. Seventy-five percent of island voters supported Death with Dignity, which means these issues transcend party.San Juan County voters overwhelmingly supported the Reproductive Privacy Act and the Death with Dignity Act because they want these services available and accessible on San Juan Island in real life and not just in theory.

A public entity, supported with our tax dollars, should never be restricted or limited by the religious views of a provider.   Public entities also must follow the law. I’m committed to helping make sure islanders have the information and support they need to access Death with Dignity when they need it.  I also am committed to supporting reproductive health services, including early prenatal care and access to modern, effective contraception because these are crucially needed services in our community.  They’re also highly leveraged services, which means that a dollar spent today on prenatal care and effective contraception saves many more health care dollars down the road, while also making people’s everyday lives easier.

Jenny Ledford: There has been no debate, only letters of opinions. Two forums failed to provide voters with substantive information from both views on these topics. Comments were thwarted and the community knowledge base on the issues was not expanded.  Abortion and End-of-Life Directives are not policy decisions of a Public Hospital Board. As a Commissioner my personal belief is to uphold ALL settled civil law including the WRP act and Death with Dignity law.

The confusion is inflamed by rhetoric aimed from a bigoted approach to the Catholic Church about Ethical Religious Directives.  Our hospital is not owned by, not run by, nor reports to the Catholic Archdiocese or the Vatican. Period. It is a Catholic ministry with a secular board.  It is the misunderstanding of the difference between ‘ownership’ and ‘relationship’ that has been lost in the discourse.  I can answer questions of concern or interest on these issues with all factual information so you may determine where the truth is. I welcome you contacting me.

4. Name three goals for your term as commissioner?

Monica Harrington: 1) Help build a sustainable, trustable budget for EMS that can win the community’s support in 2016 and then work for the passage of a levy to fund it.

2) Ensure the Public Hospital District Board maintains ongoing oversight and control of our local tax dollars now and into the future. I also want to make sure we’re supporting health services based on what District residents want and need rather than funding only those services a specific vendor chooses to provide or not provide.

3) Minimize our legal exposure and find a pragmatic solution to the concerns raised by the American Civil Liberties Union. In my view, we should study what worked in Jefferson County, where a task force of experts pragmatically worked through the issues and came up with specific recommendations, since adopted by the public hospital district board, to bring the Jefferson Public Hospital District into compliance with the law and better serve patients.

Jenny Ledford: My goals are these:

* Support the hiring of the next EMS Chief and working with him/her in planning and executing a successful 2016 levy proposition. This goal encompasses budgetary issues and models, communication strategies, and clear wording on the ballot so voters are not confused about what they are being asked to approve or disapprove. All of these problems mesh with the skill set for solutions I employed for 30 years with a wide array of clients with positive outcomes! My experience will pay dividends for our community.

*I plan to work toward the establishment and implementation of a community Healthcare Ombudsman. An advocate and a one source place to go for answers to questions islanders have regarding who can? where can? is there? or I need information on. In other words an expanding on Kurt Van Heyning’s legacy of sharing his knowledge base and caring made available for free to us all. I’m committed to a solution. There is no reason for anyone to feel alone or confused and without a trustworthy advocate.

*Become more involved with the Veterans’ Choice program. Sharing my strategic thinking and planning skills to help create a model through PIMC for the state of Washington, of how best to serve veterans through our health care system with the Veterans Choice benefits. My dad was 3 years in Stalag Luft III. The movie The Great Escape was based on this WWII, POW camp. I know intimately the health and post life-time trauma they suffer. I can serve here.

5. What is your plan for transparent communication with the hospital board, the public, and other entities of interest?

Monica Harrington: I believe the board needs to operate more transparently and really reach out to the public to better understand everyone’s concerns and feedback.

Throughout my career, I’ve built and managed outreach programs where the whole goal was to understand the perspective of people who are too busy working or too engaged in living their own lives to come to regular meetings or write long, thoughtful letters.   Technology can help, but so can an attitude that says we’re going to treat the “public” aspects of the job more seriously and invite islanders to weigh in in whatever ways work best for them. We can also share the news of what the board and the health care entities we support are doing in various ways (on our web site; in town-hall style meetings; through existing community groups; and through local media, Facebook, email, snail mail, and video) that encourage thoughtful, productive dialogue.

Jenny Ledford: Working with the public, the hospital board, and other health related service deliverers on the island is an on-going challenge and an opportunity. Transparency is hard to define as each person has their understanding of what that word means to them by degree. Trust is the foundation for all growth and change. Lack of transparency is the step-child of mistrust. Collaboration is often the better term in that it encompasses the concepts of sharing knowledge, working together toward solutions of larger problems than one agency alone can provide.

Or, perhaps they could provide better with more resources.I believe you first establish a sound relationship with the people with whom you need to collaborate. That goes both ways; the public to the healthcare providers, and the healthcare providers to the public. Most health deliverers on the island find themselves working on multiple ‘task forces’ as issues arise that need resolution.There is always more that can be done but there is never one solution that would fit them all.

6. What is one problem and solution for the district?

Monica Harrington:

The fact that the levy failed twice means that voters didn’t trust the budget or the process. We have to build a trustable EMS budget and pass a levy to support it in 2016.

My goal for EMS is to thoroughly vet the budget and levy proposal through an open, transparent process where people feel free to ask questions and get straight answers in an atmosphere of respect.  Once the budget is in shape and has the board’s support, I’m going to join my fellow commissioners in working hard for the EMS levy’s passage.  We’re going to advocate in person and online, reach out through existing community groups and local media and basically continue reaching out in all of the many ways we can in order to motivate voters in our community to support the passage of a levy that makes sense.

Jenny Ledford: PROBLEM: A major problem is an implementable, workable, real solution of providing funds that could give financial relief to islanders who don’t qualify for indigent care.

SOLUTION: I hold an idea of a plan that would provide that financial aid to those ‘in-between the cracks’ working people who are financially over-burdened with brutally high deductibles and co-pays. There are a few templates available to review and I have my own plan that can be looked into as well, that would not require tax dollars.  I think of it as a ‘community initiated save to share’ type program that is working in other locations. We can make this happen here!

To read about San Juan County Hospital Board position 5 candidates read here.

To read about San Juan County Hospital Board position 2 candidates go here.