Candidate for
Member, Board of Directors; Peninsula Health Care District

I am running for the Peninsula Health Care District Board in order to ensure the continued availability of quality healthcare to everyone who lives in the District. During my fifteen year career in the healthcare industry I have worked closely with doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and staff throughout the Bay area, including Mills and Peninsula Hospitals. Through this experience I have gained a deep understanding of the changing trends in the medical industry, the economic pressures brought to bear by HMOs, and the increasing difficulty that many residents have in gaining access to affordable, quality healthcare services.

The current condition of Peninsula Hospital and the impending seismic safety deadlines makes building a new hospital an imperative. Sutter's offer to build a new $300 Million facility is certainly attractive from several different perspectives. It would certainly be difficult and costly for the District to pass the bond measures necessary to finance the construction of a new hospital, and it would be an additional cost of the taxpayers of the District to bear. In addition, we are fortunate that Sutter is today one of the better healthcare management organizations in the area as is evident by their success in running the Mills and Peninsula hospitals.

However, there are several aspects of the proposed agreement that I believe deserve further exploration. I believe that it is important that the community, through the District Board, continues to have an effective voice in determining what health services are offered in our community hospital. In particular, I would insist that basic services such as a full service emergency room, labor and delivery, critical care, and reproductive services be maintained at Peninsula Hospital. No party should have the unilateral right to discontinue patient services.

The proposed agreement also raises some groundbreaking issues in terms of transferring publicly financed assets to a private organization. I believe that assets that were financed by the public belong to the public, and will insist on full and fair compensation for any assets transferred to private interests. For this reason, I think that it is important that PHCD Board members should be independent of the influence of Sutter Health Care to fully represent the interests of the public.

We are looking at entering into a 50-year agreement that will determine the future of hospital healthcare in our community. While Sutter is a great healthcare provider today, what guarantees do we have that they will still be the best provider and partner for us 50 years from now? Granted, we need a long-term agreement to make the construction of a new hospital feasible, but we also need to include an escape clause that will allow the District to buy out of the agreement if the quality of care and community service becomes unacceptable in the future.

As your representative on the Peninsula Health Care District Board, I will fight to ensure that public assets will be protected and vital medical services will continue to be made available to you in a fair and equitable agreement for all parties. This is why I have been endorsed by community leaders such as State Senator Jackie Speier.