Candidate for
Board Member; Mendocino Coast Health Care District

Our hospital has lost millions of dollars over the past few years and is nearly bankrupt. This is not unusual. It is extraordinarily difficult to run a hospital, especially a small rural hospital, in these times + and it is likely to become even more difficult in coming years. But we cannot give up in the face of such difficulty, we must find new resources, new ideas, and especially new expertise, to keep the hospital alive.

Being on the board of a hospital used to be a fairly straightforward matter, something civic-minded people with little training could do successfully - but not anymore. Any hospital, but especially one in serious financial straits in a rural area, needs a board that includes people with expertise in healthcare, as well as people with real business acumen, and the vision and boldness to try things not tried before.

The current board has declared in public that they have "tried everything." Given the range of what they have tried, this shows that they are not very familiar with what is actually going on in healthcare these days. There are strategies yet to be tried, and resources yet to be tapped.

I have been involved in learning about, speaking, writing, and consulting about healthcare management for over 25 years. What I do for a living is helping hospital executives and boards think about how to deal with the changes that they are facing + and many of my clients are isolated rural facilities much like ours. By running for the board of the MCDH, I am offering that expertise for free.

Ultimately, given what I know and have seen elsewhere, I believe that it is not only possible for our hospital to survive, it is possible for it to become a truly great institution.

[Conflict of interest statement: MCDH is not now, has never been, and never will be my client. I will not accept compensation from MCDH for anything I do to help the institution.]