Matt Ready

On January 21, 2015 the Jefferson Healthcare board of commissioners approved the following letter to each of our Wa State representatives:

I was very proud that our board stepped up to the plate to include advocacy for single payer healthcare in this round of advocacy.  I believe we are still the first and only public hospital district in Washington State to do so.

On the other hand, it has been brought to my attention that more discussion was probably needed regarding another portion of this letter, the section on Nurse Staffing.  The section reads:

Nurse staffing: We oppose any new state rules dictating clinical staff levels for hospitals, including establishing strict staffing ratios, regulating meal and rest breaks for hospital nurses, or unreasonably limiting overtime or on call staffing. Instead, we advocate allowing hospitals the flexibility to staff according to patient needs, and utilize nurse staffing committees to set appropriate staff levels given the severity of their patients and the experience of their nurses.

Some clinical staff have pointed out to me that this section may directly oppose legislation favored by many nurses and, I am told, the Washington State Nurses Association.  In light of this new information, I am stating for the record, I do not support the “Nurse Staffing” portion of this advocacy letter- because I no longer feel I received adequate information to judge the merits of the recommendations.  In the future, I will be asking the board to work harder to ensure we hear all sides of such issues so we can make a fully informed judgment.

I am endorsing both Paul Stafford and Kees “Case” Kolff for Hospital Commissioner.  Here’s why:

I want a healthcare system that works wonderfully for everyone.  This means high quality services are accessible to everyone without unreasonable barriers.  I believe our elected officials and other leaders need to keep this goal firmly in mind as they set policy and take action to impact our healthcare system.

I believe hospital commissioners of every public hospital district can and should play a more vocal role in challenging our healthcare system to better serve us.  Hospital commissioners sit in a unique position to be able to witness and understand the needs of our local communities while also engaging with healthcare leadership and lawmakers at the State and Federal level.  I believe every community should strive to elect hospital commissioners who are ready and willing to serve as vocal, ambitious, and (to some extent) uncomprimising advocates for positive change.  For in the realm of healthcare, no one deserves to have their health and well being compromised by the system.  Moreover, there are some deeply entrenched and very powerful profit-driven forces blocking the types of changes needed.

In a way, I see the fundamental job of our public hospital commissioners to be extremely simple.  We need to point our fingers at the outcome we desire for our communities, a healthcare system that best serves the needs of all people.  We then need to tirelessly challenge our CEO’s, our fellow public hospital districts, our law makers, our partner institutions, and the people of our community to help us achieve that goal.  I am endorsing Paul Stafford and Kees Kolff because I believe they will help our hospital board better serve in that type of visionary leadership role.

At the most recent hospital commissioner meeting (9/2/2015) I made a motion that our board send a letter urging the Association of Washington Public Hospital Districts (AWPHD) to facilitate more discussion of single payer healthcare amongst public hospital commissioners at their regular conferences.  My fellow Jefferson Healthcare commissioners all voted against the motion.  This is one example of an instance where I do not feel my fellow commissioners are stepping up to be the type of healthcare leaders that we need.

Another area in which my fellow commissioners and I continue to disagree is in how to best manage the working relationship between a hospital board and the CEO.  I have challenged the board to set clear measurable goals to help guide and support the CEO in his extremely challenging job, but my fellow commissioners continue to prefer a much more hands off approach and have resisted many of my efforts in this area.  These actions have also disappointed me, for I believe it is critical that the people who run for election and represent the people as hospital commissioners need to be fully engaged in setting the vision for our public hospital district.

After talking at length with both Paul Stafford and Kees Kolff, I am confident they would both be extremely positive additions to the hospital board.  I believe they would both enter office with open minds and strong desires to work together to relentlessly explore ways our healthcare system might improve.

Finally, although I believe the hospital board needs to change, I do not want this to imply I think Jefferson Healthcare is wildly off track.  The hospital district is following a strong strategic plan, it has made many positive strides over the last several years, and it employees some of the most dedicated and talented people you are ever likely to meet.  I simply believe it is my job as hospital commissioner to continuously push for positive change to help us inch ever closer to the healthcare system we want, a system that works for everyone.  I think electing Paul Stafford and Kees Kolff to the hospital commission would be one such positive change.

As always, if you have any questions or concerns, or if you just want to chat with me about healthcare, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Sincerely,

Matt Ready