Candidate Profile: Jeff Reynolds, challenger for hospital district commissioner at large

Jeff Reynolds has a unique perspective when it comes to healthcare – a view from inside the industry he hopes will benefit him if elected to serve Adams County Public Hospital District No. 2.

Reynolds, 56, is seeking election to the Commissioner at Large District 2 position, as the challenger. Additionally, he comes to the ballot as a former employee of the hospital district, having served as the Director of Patient Accounts and most recently Clinic Manager.

He and his wife, Gloria, have five children.

Reynolds graduated from Priest River High School and spent one year at Spokane Community College studying business administration.

His employment with the district ended earlier this year after being asked by the district’s administration to vacate the role of clinic manager and move into an entry level position and accept a sizeable deduction in pay.

Currently, he is self-employed, doing medical billing from his home.

Reynolds has been working and living in Ritzville for seven years after being recruited to the area by former administrator Larry Hutcheson.

Before that Reynolds worked for Newport Hospital and Health Services.

As a candidate, Reynolds is self-funding his campaign.

“I don’t want it to appear I am influenced by any group of individuals,” he said.

While some have suggested he is running for election over sour grapes, from the district’s removal of him as clinic manager, Reynolds said he’s running to help heal the district and put an end to the community division caused in January when employment contracts for the district’s doctors were not renewed.

“I have been in healthcare for 16 years. I know what it takes to be financially responsible,” he said. “I understand the Critical Access and Rural Health federal rules.

“When I was in the logging profession I was foreman over a 20-man crew,” he continued. “In healthcare I supervised numerous employees so I know what it takes to lead people.”

Reynolds conducted an interview with The Journal, discussing his background, why he is running for election and his view of the hospital district’s current situation.

Healthcare billing is a second profession for Reynolds, who spent the majority of his working life in the logging industry.

“For 30 years I was in the logging profession,” he said. “That’s becoming an extinct occupation. Way back when, I thought, okay I have to figure out what I am going to do with my life when this ends. And I needed something I could basically teach myself without going to college. I stumbled across medical billing from home. I bought training package and software and started learning.”

At one time, Reynolds was doing double duty. He handled billing for four ambulance companies in northern Idaho while continuing to work as a logger.

He officially changed careers when a job opportunity arose at Newport Hospital where he spent five years in the billing department. He was sought out for the Ritzville position.

“Larry Hutcheson contacted me and basically recruited me,” he said. “They didn’t have the position advertised. They had heard about me and Larry got in touch with me.”

Eighteen months ago then-CEO Paul Lewis asked Reynolds to accept a new assignment as clinic manager.

“I told them I wasn’t interested at first,” he said of the clinic manager position. “They told me the providers thought I would do a good job at it. At that time (the district) also was discussing outsourcing billing. I thought I would go over there and give it a shot.”

Reynolds maintains that his removal from the clinic manager’s role was strategic on the part of current CEO Mark Barglof.

“Mark told me he was righting a wrong the district did to Vicky (Johnson) six-and-a-half years ago,” Reynolds said.

According to Reynolds he was offered a position in the billing office again — as patient accounts specialist, a role he described as an entry-level position. He said Barglof asked him to accept a $16,000 a year reduction in salary.

“When I got here I was hired as Director of Patient Accounts,” Reynolds said. “With the title and pay cut offered, I said ‘no, I can’t do that.’”

Reynolds believes Barglof knew he was offering him a new assignment he would not accept.

“I think it was purely that I was not one of his friends,” Reynolds said. “The finances, when I was in the business office, accounts receivable days, were always within good numbers. That’s a fact. This is an insult and a slap in the face.”

Are you running for good reasons and not just sour grapes?

“I really do believe I know what it should take to run fiscally sound. I know the finances. That’s why I just can’t imagine being a board member. They keep saying we’re losing money and nobody is saying a word. I would expect to instruct Mark, what are you going to do? How are you going to stop this?”

While serving as clinic manager, Reynolds was aware the district administration wanted more production from the two physicians on staff. He said they also worked to speed up the completion of patient charts in order to allow the district to bill for services in a timely manner.

Reynolds agrees increased patient visits would have strengthened the clinic’s viability. Conversely, he said patients were pleased with the service they received from Doctors Charles M. Sackmann and Valerie Eckley.

Were there complaints about service patients received from the doctors?

“Once in a great while when things were going on in the emergency room and they had to wait, but that’s normal,” Reynolds said. “All of them (doctors and physicians assistants) are very good. That was his (Sackmann’s) fault, he cares about his patients. That’s a very good quality. He’s a very good doctor.”

As former clinic manager and a candidate, how do you feel about the overall contract process and final outcome?

“It was a bad thing. They were not honest with the doctors in their contract negotiations. They gave them a contract they knew darn well they would not sign and it was a done deal before that horrible meeting (in January). Regardless of what the public outcry was it was over. It was a well-planned scenario.”

How does the district recover from a huge loss in clinic patient volume?

“You try to advertise to the people who never went there to begin with. A lot of middle-aged and younger people who don’t even go there, never have. Those are the ones we need to try to get a hold of. We have to restructure goals. We have to figure out a way to work together with Hometown Family Medicine.”

What would you look for in a new physician?

“I would look for a younger, energetic go-getter. Personality would be number one. Obviously they will have medical skills. The benefit would be, hopefully we can keep them long term, just like Drs. Sackman and Eckley when they came. They built this up in 20 years. This doctor could hopefully do the same thing with new patients.”

Can the community sustain three physicians?

“If they work together.”

Is there a way to make the hospital and emergency room more viable?

“My idea would be to offer Sackmann a contract to get him back in there on call one weekend a month, or two. Whatever his schedule would allow. That in turn would help get the hatred away and people would at least come up there for lab work and x-rays.”

Where do you stand on construction of new building?

“I would not be opposed to it, new construction or a remodel of what we have. However, a new facility is not a $20 million building. It would be a more scaled back emergency room, four or five beds for inpatients and maybe one bed for swing beds.”

How important is the rural clinics?

“Want to make sure you keep your Rural Health Center status because of Medicare and Medicaid. Plus there’s the Critical Access designation. Financially those are huge things.”

Reynolds said the rural health status the district has results in higher reimbursements for Medicare and Medicaid patients treated at the outlying clinics. Reimbursements for patient visits at Lind and Washtucna bring in more money for the district.

The critical access designation for the hospital, because it is more than 30 miles from any other medical facility, results in higher reimbursements for patient services. Reynolds said the critical access reimbursements is something that hospitals such as Sacred Heart and Deaconnes in Spokane do not qualify for.

What are your priorities if elected?

“The number one goal is stop losing so much money every month. That has to be the number one priority. The way they are losing money, the financial stability is shrinking. We have to make sure that hospital is here 50 years from now.

“Then look into remodeling or build a smaller scale facility. There are ways to do that. You don’t have to go by the freeway and spend a million dollars on land. The taxpayers are loud and clear on that message.”

How do you fix the relationship with the community?

“I am hoping we can get Dr. Sackmann somehow back involved with the hospital. That’s going to help tremendously.”

What do you have to offer?

“I think what I have to offer is years of experience on the financial end. I am very even keeled. I don’t get upset. I don’t yell and scream like some.”

Is the current strategic plan effort premature?

“By far. They need to fix the community first. Fix it the best we can and then move forward, hopefully all together.”

If you’re elected, this won’t be an easy job?

“If there’s a new board, the losses aren’t going to stop that day. It’s going to take two or three months to at least slow it down.”

Reynolds feels strongly that the district needs to repair the rift between it and the doctors based at Hometown Family Medicine. He said repairing the relationship, even if the clinic remains downtown, will result in improved community relations and better hospital volumes.