Matt Ready

I think it is a perfect time to start posting more updates.  You can learn more about the new building and other operational items through the Jefferson Healthcare website- and if you have questions about those topics feel free to contact me.  For now on this site, I want to continue to focus on higher level issues the shape the future of healthcare in our community and beyond.  Here is a sneak peak of issues that I want to provide more in depth blog posts about in the coming weeks:

1. Governance – This continues to be a hot issue on the hospital board and for good reason.  You spend time researching and deciding what people you will vote to represent you on your public hospital board- but then what?  How do they take action to achieve anything?  How do they set goals?  How do they monitor progress toward those goals?  Are they actually doing anything once they get in office?  All these questions are part of the governance debate the board has been wrestling with since my very first meeting when I first began questioning the board process.  On October 28th, the board is having another special session where we will be again diving into this topic.  Feel free to attend or contact me if you want to learn more about this important subject.  This issue is fundamental to the means by which hospital commissioners are empowered to serve your interests while in office.  (You can listen to the last commission meeting where governance issues were discussed here.)
2. Single Payer/ Healthcare Costs/ Healthcare Access – On Dec 3, 2014 the Jefferson Healthcare Hospital Commissioners passed a resolution I brought forward titled:  A Resolution Supporting Single Payer Healthcare.  We are the first and only Washington State Hospital Board to pass such a resolution.  Of course, we as a state and as a country continue to be a long ways away from finally making Single Payer Healthcare a reality.  With that in mind, I have been planning and researching what the next steps your hospital commissioners can take to help elevate the conversation about Single Payer solutions- and how they will help lower costs and improve access and quality for everyone.  More to come on this topic.
3. Community Health Improvement Collaboration – I’ve been encouraging my fellow board members and hospital CEO Mike Glenn to make community health improvement a priority since my first day on the job.  Anyone who has listened to this topic as it has come up over the last year at board meetings know it has often been a topic of strong disagreement.  Nonetheless, great progress has been made and over the next several months you may start to hear about more initiatives in this area.
4. The Current Hospital Commissioner Races-  We have discovered two more people bold enough to throw their hats into the ring and run for hospital commissioner.  Kees “Case” Kolff, MD is running against incumbent Chuck Russell.  Paul Stafford, owner of William James Bookseller, is running against incumbent Marie Dressler.  Here is a link to Paul’s platform and Kees’ platform.  I think Kees and Paul are raising some critically important topics and they could bring great energy and new perspectives to the board.  I hope you will pay attention to these races as closely as I will!  In case you don’t know what Kees and Paul look like, here are their pictures:

Kees Kolff, candidate for Hospital Commissioner in East Jefferson County  (with wife Helen Kolff)

Paul Stafford, candidate for Hospital Commissioner in East Jefferson County (with books)