For all the handful of people who enjoy this fun Hospital Commissioner website for Matt Ready, I have added a fascinating and fun new feature! It is a virtual avatar of me you can talk to right now!! I cant gaurantee what it will say, but you might have fun talking to it. Please dont rely upon it for anything important- as I don’t actually have a record of what it says or really know how to control it. But sometimes it gives better answers to questions than i would. shrug?? click the “Talk to Matt Ready’s Virtual Avatar Live!”

Fraud is deception for personal gain.

Minor fraud is deception for personal gain that will never be prosecuted because the system only cares about explicit financial damages.

Experts in local politics, especially in the healthcare industry, know how to use hundreds to thousands of acts of minor fraud as an overwhelming blanket of action to craft the world to their desires- based on the agenda of whoever it is they follow and obey.

For the record, i obey my oath of office to defend the constitutions of Wa and the USA- in my role as elected public hospital commissioner. In the rest of my life, I rely mainly on unbridled honesty and the noble quest for happiness and global utopia.

I bet the practice of using thousands of acts of minor fraud to gain major advantage is probably a tactic used everywhere in local politics.

https://www.ptleader.com/stories/leak-sheds-light-on-plan-for-hospital-alliance,204196?

Leak sheds light on plan for hospital alliance

Jefferson Healthcare along Sheridan Street in Port Townsend.

Leader photo by Alex Frick

Posted Wednesday, April 9, 2025 3:00 am

By James Robinson

An effort to create a new regional health alliance between Jefferson Healthcare and Olympic Medical Center appears to be moving forward, with leaked project planning documents describing particulars of how an alliance might ultimately play out.

The project documents, acquired by The Leader, followed comments made by Jefferson Healthcare Commissioner Matt Ready at the March 26 meeting where he accused his co-commissioners of meeting secretly with OMC representatives to merge the two organizations.

Called Project Driftwood, the Jefferson Healthcare proposal calls for the formation of the Peninsula Health Alliance, effectively a not-for-profit alliance which project documents say would allow Jefferson Healthcare and Olympic Medical Center in Port Angeles to remain independent, while improving and expanding clinical programs, creating operating efficiencies and economies of scale and the ability to improve and expand clinical programs.

The plan, according to Project Driftwood documents, calls for a 12-member “super board” — with seven board members from Olympic Medical Center and five from Jefferson Healthcare. According to the plan, all currently elected commissioners would sit on the super board and the super board would govern the regional health alliance while individual boards would remain responsible for governance of their own organizations.

The proposal calls for a three-year phased-in leadership approach, with an appointed executive director planned for the first year. Project documents propose that Jefferson Healthcare Chief Executive Officer, Mike Glenn, would serve as the alliance’s first executive director.

“Frankly, many of the opportunities embedded in this model have been deliberated for years,” according to Project Driftwood documents. “Olympic Medical Center and Jefferson Healthcare have been strong partners for decades. We share the same governance, leadership and medical group models, electronic medical record and perhaps most importantly, commitment to excellence cultures.”

Project Driftwood is the outgrowth of an OMC decision announced in December 2024 to hire Juniper Advisory Group to guide them through a process to decide if they need a partner, and if so, who that partner should be. Roughly 20 organizations were invited to submit proposals, including Jefferson Healthcare.

“We are still in the preliminary stages of the exploration process,”said Bobby Stone, director of marketing and communications for Olympic Medical Center. “We received inquiries from several interested parties and are engaged in a due diligence process to learn more about these organizations. We are bound to confidentiality about who these interested parties are.”

A key player at Jefferson Healthcare also noted the non disclosure agreement as reason for their silence.

But no one from the organization has made public mention of the plan to submit a proposal and the other commissioners have remained quiet about Project Driftwood.

“A subset of Jefferson commissioners were involved or consulted during the drafting phase,” Ready said in a previous interview. “I was not. I only became aware of the proposal during the executive session on February 5. The full board has never voted to authorize the proposal or the direction of the negotiations. Much of the process has taken place out of public view, contrary to the principles of public hospital governance.”

Kolff said in the meeting that “all of our actions have been legal according to our legal counsel.” He also stated that Ready was “in violation of the board’s ethics policy.”

Emails provided by Ready show correspondence between Jefferson Healthcare Commissioner Kees Kolff and Jefferson Healthcare top executives, discussing the merger plan, and Kolff’s efforts to draft language and an organizational chart.

“Thanks for the conversation with Mike about this exciting possible alliance the other day, and thanks for the opportunity to share some ideas for edits on the organizational chart and the governance comments that go along with that,” Kolff wrote to Pranav Sharma, head of strategic planning, marketing and communication for Jefferson Healthcare. “I have attached a reworded narrative. There were too many edits to make ‘show changes’ useful,” the email stated. It was copied to Mike Glenn, Shannon Groff and commissioners.

At the March 26 commissioners’ meeting Ready made his concerns public and alleged that members of the board had been negotiating secretly with representatives of OMC. Ready further alleged that members of the commission had violated open meeting laws and abused the use of executive session.

When asked about the use of executive session to discuss the possible alliance, Jefferson Healthcare Commissioner Jill Buhler Rienstra did not respond to requests for comment. According to Kolff, Buhler Rienstra is out of town this week, and he was traveling and not able to provide a complete comment by presstime.

Should Olympic Medical Center continue its evaluation of the Jefferson Healthcare’s proposal, the next step would involve representatives from Jefferson Healthcare visiting OMC facilities for a site visit and further discussions. Olympic Medical Center project documents indicate the agency would make a decision in April or May on whether OMC will pursue a partnership.

The OMC decision to seek a partner comes amidst myriad financial challenges, including federal cuts and halts to Medicaid reimbursements.

I received the following inquiry from the Port Townsend Leader reporter James Robinson (My response follows):

Hi Matt,
1. Can you describe the content of the secret negotiations you alleged in last week’s commissioner’s meeting? What’s the goal/objective?
2. Who was involved — the board of commissioners, hospital management?
3. What is the Peninsula Health Alliance?
4. Is this regarding a partnership/merger with Olympic Medical Center?
It’s clear by the audio that you don’t like how this is going down. What do you propose as an alternative?
That’s the gist.
Thanks in advance.
Kind regards,
James Robinson

Hi James,

Thanks for reaching out. I appreciate the opportunity to clarify my concerns.

1. Content of the “Secret Negotiations”

In early February, the Jefferson Healthcare Board was presented in executive session with a draft proposal for a new nonprofit entity called the Peninsula Health Alliance. The plan would create a “super board” above both Jefferson Healthcare and Olympic Medical Center (OMC), shifting significant governance authority to this new structure.

The proposed board would give Clallam County 7 seats and Jefferson County 5, creating an automatic voting majority for Clallam over decisions that affect both communities. It was also discussed that Jefferson Healthcare’s CEO, Mike Glenn, would likely become the Executive Director of the new Alliance.

These foundational decisions—board structure, leadership, governance—were never authorized by public vote and were not disclosed to the public, despite their far-reaching implications.

In a second executive session—this time with the hospital’s attorney Brad Berg—commissioners were informed of a strategy to move forward using what CEO Glenn referred to as a “binding non-binding” agreement with OMC. The intent was to appear as though public input was still pending, while legally committing Jefferson Healthcare to the plan. Brad Berg confirmed this could be achieved by having the board authorize the CEO to sign a letter of intent, effectively binding the district before public engagement.

2. Who Was Involved

The proposal appears to have been developed by CEO Mike Glenn and some JHC Commissioners in coordination with:

• OMC’s executive leadership (though it’s unclear how involved their board was),
• A firm called Juniper Advisory (based in Chicago),
• And Jefferson Healthcare’s legal counsel, Brad Berg of Foster Garvey (formerly Foster Pepper PLLC).

A subset of Jefferson commissioners were involved or consulted during the drafting phase. I was not. I only became aware of the proposal during the executive session on February 5. The full board has never voted to authorize the proposal or the direction of the negotiations. Much of the process has taken place out of public view, contrary to the principles of public hospital governance.

3. What Is the Peninsula Health Alliance?

The Peninsula Health Alliance (PHA) is the proposed nonprofit entity that would oversee a joint governance structure for Jefferson Healthcare and OMC. While the proposal claims both hospital districts would retain their autonomy, the Alliance’s board—with a built-in Clallam majority—and a central Executive Director would control strategy, operations, and potentially finances.

There are no legal safeguards currently outlined to prevent future changes to the Alliance’s structure—such as removing public commissioners or closing meetings to the public.

4. Is This a Merger with OMC?

It is not being called a “merger,” but the effects would be similar. The phased partnership creates a shared governance body, a central executive, and a new layer of authority above both public boards. That structure could drastically shift power away from our elected commissioners and undermine local control—a change that deserves the same level of scrutiny as a formal merger.

5. My Alternative Proposal

This process must be stopped until it’s made transparent, legal, and accountable. I propose:

• A public vote by the board before submitting any proposals on behalf of Jefferson Healthcare.
• A new general council hired immediately and directly by the Jefferson Healthcare board who is not implicated in the potential wrongdoing of this secret negotiation process and who does not report in any way to the CEO or the CEO staff.
• An independent legal review to evaluate compliance with Washington’s Open Public Meetings Act (OPMA).
• An independent financial analysis to understand the true impact on patients, taxpayers, and services.
• Public forums and community engagement before any commitments are made.
• Internal and external investigations and audits to prevent future governance breakdowns.
• A review by organizations like the Washington State Hospital Association, the Association of Public Hospital Districts, and MRSC, to help other districts avoid similar missteps and uphold public trust.

This proposal may contain elements worth exploring—but it must not proceed in secrecy or under the illusion of transparency.

I’m happy to provide sources, timelines, transcripts, and documents to support all of the above.

I have written and shared more information on this on my Hospital Commissioner website:  http://readyforhealthcare.org including transcripts, meeting video clips, and commentary by AI that I have asked to help review these events and information.

Thank you for your interest,

Sincerely,
Matt Ready
Commissioner, Jefferson Healthcare Board

Posted April 1, 2025 | By Commissioner Matt Ready

Below are direct links to the two key documents related to Jefferson Healthcare’s proposed partnership with Olympic Medical Center (OMC):

📄 Draft Proposal

“Commission Packet.pdf” – Dated February 5, 2025
This draft was discussed in executive session and emailed to all Jefferson Healthcare commissioners.
👉 Download Commission Packet.pdf

📄 Final Submitted Proposal

“Jefferson_Healthcare_Peninsula_Health_Alliance_FINAL (4).pdf” – Dated February 12, 2025
This is the final proposal submitted by Jefferson Healthcare to OMC in response to their public RFP.
👉 Jefferson_Healthcare_Peninsula_Health_Alliance_FINAL (4).pdf

I will be posting the full transcript of events, correspondence, and board actions related to this proposal below. These records are provided to ensure transparency and accountability in the governance of our public hospital district.

— Matt Ready, Commissioner
Jefferson County Public Hospital District No. 2