Candidate for
Director; West Contra Costa Healthcare District; 4 Year Term

1. Fiscal Stewardship

As a steward of public monies, my first priority will be to ensure that every dollar is spent wisely. In addition, I am committed to finding new ways to generate revenue and trim costs.

The problems we face are bigger than the district itself, and there will be times when political action at the regional and state level are required to secure funding and support for DMC. I would also advocate for the board to re-invigorate a Hospital Foundation and to engage in fundraising to complement the administration's efforts to balance the budget.

Additionally, I would pursue "impact mitigation" agreements to secure funding from entities that produce harmful social, economic and physical burdens on the West County population.

2. Quality Services

The success of Doctors Medical Center rests on providing the highest quality of care to each and every patient. To do so, we must preserve competitive wages and benefits to attract and retain high-caliber health workers.

To attract new patients from the insured population, DMC must position itself as a competitor in the Bay Area's healthcare marketplace. The hospital must promote its existing, high-quality services, especially the hospital's under-utilized specialty centers (burn and wound care, cancer, labor and delivery, cardiac services, and orthopedics).

3. Responsive Communications

I am concerned about the lack of communications between the district and administration and the community at large. I want to ensure that the products and services delivered by DMC truly meet the needs and the standards of the consumers.

As someone with experience in the community as well as at the county and state levels of government, I see my role as that of liaison. I would work diligently to facilitate cooperation between the hospital, the county health department and the Brookside Clinics to ensure a continuum of preventive and emergency services to the underinsured population of West Contra Costa County.

In addition, personal outreach and interface with patients is required to serve our multicultural community with dignity and to provide quality services. I will look for ways to expand multilingual access, signage and interpreters, as well as creating a position of hospital ombudsman to respond to community concerns.

I will be always be an accessible advocate on behalf of West County residents.

To read more about Susan's philosophy, visit http://www.SusanSwift.org