Contract with PeaceHealth needs to be amended to allow local input | Letters

The public hospital district, as a public entity, has a legal obligation to adhere to the Reproductive Privacy Act.

September 1, 2015 6:32 pm

In her letter published Aug. 26, 2015, Janelle Teasdale asserts that “Monica Harrington is running on a platform to force PeaceHealth into performing elective abortions.”

This is absurd and false.

My campaign is all about amending the 50-year exclusive contract with PeaceHealth so that locally elected officials can decide, on an ongoing basis, how to fund essential health services in a way that makes sense for this community, keeping in mind that this community voted overwhelmingly to support WA’s Reproductive Privacy Act and WA’s Death with Dignity Act.

The public hospital district, as a public entity, has a legal obligation to adhere to the Reproductive Privacy Act.  The RPA does not apply to PeaceHealth or any other private entity.

Pregnancy-related medical services should be funded and supported through our public hospital district.  Young women living on this island should be able to get essential prenatal services with the support of our local public tax dollars, just as they did when IIMC was operating.  This doesn’t mean it makes sense for babies to be delivered regularly on island, any more than it means that a cardiac patient who gets his heart checked at a tax-supported facility should have open-heart surgery on-island.  Coordinated, integrated care is what we should all be striving for.

Services for patients who want to exercise their rights under WA’s Death with Dignity Law should also be supported through our public hospital district.

At the highest level, my campaign is about amending the existing contract with PeaceHealth in order to return oversight and local control of our public tax dollars to elected officials who answer to this community.  As a community, we should be able to fund services that PeaceHealth refuses to provide, and we should hold PeaceHealth accountable for making sure that the services they do provide with our local tax dollars are delivered cost-effectively over the life of the contract.

For more info about my campaign, visit my website.

Monica Harrington

Friday Harbor